Joseph Rael (Beautiful Painted Arrow) has been called our greatest living shaman. Here, in the first scholarly examination of his remarkable life and teachings, Kurt Wilt, PhD places this Native American mystic in the context of other writers and mystic traditions, from Buddhism and the Kabbalists to Hildegard of Bingen, Joseph Campbell and William Blake. In doing so, he uncovers vital connections between Rael’s Native American worldview and the deepest roots of other visionary teachings. The Visionary, tells the fascinating story of a life lived in tune with the Vast Spirit and inspires the reader to learn more and to implement the visionary’s teachings through the 33 meditation practices detailed in the “Following the Visions” section of the book. This book is for the reader ready to go deeper into the emerging worldview that acknowledges humans’ connection to earth and sky, to matter and the unmanifested, to all that is, and all that is coming to be. It is not a book to be read and forgotten, but opens a path to a new way of knowing and being for humans now. Kurt Wilt, PhD is Associate Professor of English at Saint Leo University, a specialist in comparative mysticism and Native American literature. He has studied with Joseph Rael for 25 years and attended Joseph's mystery school workshops in northern New Mexico.