What is psycho-spiritual mentorship?

Psycho-spiritual mentorship integrates depth psychology (particularly Jungian psychology and shadow work) with sacred spiritual tradition. It addresses the whole person — mind, soul, and spirit — to facilitate profound inner transformation that goes beyond conventional therapy or coaching.

Where is Daniel Harner located and does he offer online sessions?

Daniel Harner, PhD is based in Sedona, Arizona and offers in-person sessions there. He also works with clients worldwide via video sessions, making his work accessible internationally.

What is shadow work and how does Daniel Harner use it?

Shadow work, rooted in Carl Jung's depth psychology, involves bringing unconscious patterns, repressed emotions, and hidden aspects of the self into conscious awareness. Daniel uses Jungian shadow work alongside spiritual tradition to help clients integrate these hidden parts, leading to greater wholeness, authenticity, and inner freedom.

How do I begin working with Daniel Harner?

The first step is to reach out via the contact form on this website or by email. Daniel will schedule an initial conversation to explore whether the work is a mutual fit. From there, you would begin regular sessions — either in Sedona, AZ or via video worldwide.

What credentials does Daniel Harner hold?

Daniel Harner holds a PhD in depth psychology from Saybrook University. He has 18+ years of experience as a psycho-spiritual mentor, Jungian therapist, life coach, and spiritual healer. He is based in Sedona, AZ and works with clients in person and worldwide via video.

Is Daniel Harner a life coach or a therapist?

Daniel Harner, PhD bridges the roles of life coach, depth psychologist, and spiritual mentor. His work is deeper and more holistic than conventional life coaching — it draws from Jungian depth psychology, shadow work, sacred tradition, and direct spiritual experience to facilitate transformation at the soul level.

Daniel Harner, PhD | Psycho-Spiritual Mentor & Spiritual Healer

From the Rich Soil of Austria
to the Red Rocks of Sedona

Daniel was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria — a small town with a long history, where he learned early that darkness is not something to be avoided but something to be understood, integrated, and ultimately redeemed.

At seventeen, two encounters changed the direction of his life: a solitary spiritual experience in an Austrian forest that dissolved the edges of his known world, and a copy of Carl Jung's Memories, Dreams, Reflections that felt, in his own words, like "coming home." He decided that day to become a psychologist.

At twenty-four, following an invisible pull he could not yet name, Daniel left Austria and moved to Sedona, Arizona to study with Dr. David Hawkins — consciousness researcher, author, and one of the most remarkable teachers of his generation. He stayed for seven years, receiving direct transmission through hundreds of hours of study and presence.

You will be the new Carl Jung.

— Dr. William A. Tiller, Stanford · to Daniel Harner

He went on to become the last PhD student of William A. Tiller — Stanford physicist and consciousness researcher — working at the intersection of science, intention, and the psyche until Tiller's passing in 2022. His formation also included years of Jungian training with Nathan Schwartz-Salant, one of the foremost analysts of his generation, and eight years of transformational work with Steve Hardison, known simply as The Ultimate Coach.

Daniel has been in practice for eighteen years — working with individuals and couples from Sedona to London, New York to Vienna — in the one place where real transformation happens: the living encounter between two human beings willing to go all the way in.

You have done the work.
You know the map.

You may have read the books. Sat in the circles. Done the therapy. And yet — something essential has not moved.

You sense that the work you need lives somewhere between psychology and mysticism, between the mind and the body, between the self you know and the one that has been waiting. You carry a longing for belonging — for love, for depth, for a life that feels as true on the inside as you wish it looked on the outside.

You are, in some way that is difficult to name, homesick.

This is where Daniel begins.

Poem

The Ray

Receive your own Love Even if all external conditions are met Your search remains futile Until you go to the place where Love originates Like a ray of Sunlight Remember where you come from The way you want to change the world Says a lot about you — the Beauty and Innocence in your Heart It is safe to set yourself free from all conditions and expectations And release yourself into the arms of the Self You will find that your love is sufficient to itself You are enough Nothing has gone wrong You are whole You are your own Medicine Nourish, Heal, Rest Come HOME to your SELF

Poem

The Whisper

When life comes so close to you As if a Presence is talking to you behind the veil of appearance So familiar and personal A new dimension opens up Something is calling to you Revealing what your heart has always known Yet to the mind it seems like uncharted territory This sense of longing has always been connected to you, my Self. You make the story of the other seem like a stale dream of separation. When you become so intimate with life The waves on the surface become visible as the outer edges of a vast ocean. The sense of other melts and the feeling of HOME emerges. The Presence of Love The ONE behind the many I AM YOU

Poem

An Uncommon Path

I have made a commitment to the feminine in man. I am on a pathway to surrender I am Love. She flows through me. Without her I am not connected. I see and love her in everything. She guides my life. She is the life giver. Without her I am willful A lone warrior on the road Following a routine that is heartless Schematic and calculated — a life unfulfilled I give up all my goals and my best thinking So you can take the lead and guide me To the dreams that I am not capable of dreaming. I love you.

Declaration

This Is Who I Am

I am a servant of God. I am the embodiment of Truth, Beauty and Love. I rest in my center, at Home, one with the Divine. I know who I am and what I want. I am a warrior of the heart. I am powerful, confident, strong. I am Discernment. My vision is clear. I am Safety and Trust. I lead with the heart. I am my word. I am excellence and success. I am Inspiration. I am creative Intelligence. I am the source of wealth. Miracles are my reality. What I seek is seeking me. I serve in extraordinary ways. I have a continuous love affair with life. I live passionately without apology. I honor my parents and teachers. I am proud of my heritage and birthplace. I love and adore my wife. I honor and protect the Feminine. The kingdom of God resides within me. I am both human and divine. I am absolute faith and certainty. My path is straight and narrow. Gloria in excelsis Deo!

On the Feminine

Him & Her

A man who has done his inner work has found his way into his heart. He is willing to put himself on display, revealing his naked soul. When he has touched the deep well of love within himself, he has found access to his "inner gold." He is now free to share his love with the world and give his heart to his Beloved, fully.

A woman who has done her inner work demands from a man his greatest. She will not receive his heart as long as self-serving motives come attached with it. Her incredible capacity for intimacy makes her a true servant of Divine Love. She is aware of the sacredness of her gift. It is so profoundly deep that she will not fully reveal and share it unless she feels it in her core that a man can truly receive it. Her need is to feel safe.

To drink the love potion and fall in love is easy. To find safe and sustainable intimacy requires deep, embodied soul work. Only when we begin to understand the ways of the Divine do we become Love's worthy recipient.

Clinical Reflection

Emergence

Client shares that she has been doubting herself. Her approach to life. Pushing herself to find balance and consolation in the seemingly broken parts of existence. Underneath the overt narrative of desperation, a tangible joyful sound is implicitly moving through her voice. It presents itself as a portal to enter deeper into essence.

Through my imaginal descent into the quality of her voice, a weightless presence is invited to enter the space. As it grows, moments of silence become longer. We both acknowledge the Presence and its feminine character.

After a period of silence, I ask the client what is alive in her awareness. She describes a picture — it is as if she is held like a child by a greater Self, which feels like a mother. I encourage her to expand her point of view — to allow herself to grow into that which is holding "her." Let this presence have all of you. Become one with it.

It is now time to let yourself back into life. To receive yourself as the precious Beauty you are, untainted by the harshness of the world. You no longer have a need to dim your radiance for the world. You have become independent of the opinions of other people. This is a moment of true psychological birth.

On Love

Mature Love

The true groom is willing to relinquish his pride. In humility he kneels down and hands the crown over to the true bride. He has come to honor Her, in all her forms. He no longer uses her for his own gratification. He has stepped through the resentments carried by his immaturity and protected by his pride. Instead of using her to compensate for what he never had, he has now come to be her humble servant. The self-serving agenda of the false groom has vanished.

She can feel his genuineness, for his want is not motivated by lack. She feels moved to let the space within her to be filled. But before she can receive him, she has to relinquish her armoring — her identification with the goddess, the stripping of all her cosmic superpowers. She has to arrive at his door with empty hands, as the woman she is. She, too, cannot wear a false crown. Only then can she receive her true glory through him.

For the true groom and true bride to meet, both must have stepped past childhood and adolescence. Both must endure the fire of being reduced from cosmic inflation to their actual size. Only then can Man and Woman meet and truly see each other.

One cannot be a conscious individual without being fully related to these two aspects of life — divine and human reality — one present within the other.

On Spirituality

Spiritual Bypassing

Spiritual bypassing is a defensive process whereby we use a set of spiritual and/or esoteric concepts and practices to forgo basic psychological work by prematurely exiting either inner immediate experience or the encounter with the world. Spiritual bypass shields us from the Truth.

Over the years it has become clear to me — by virtue of my own journey as well as working with countless people in spiritual communities — that it is very easy to engage in this. I would go so far as to say that it has become endemic.

Why have we accumulated a thick and nasty spiritual shadow? Spiritual practices are now a commodity. Akin to over-the-counter analgesics, spiritual bypassing fits neatly into our collective habit of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. It protects us from the unpleasantness of our wounding, while also furnishing a rationalization for why we are employing it.

No surprise that we so desperately seek refuge in a transcendent place in the face of inner soreness and pain. Yet abandoning ourselves without actually meeting face to face with what is alive in and around us won't calm the raging fire within. Never. One cannot escape a place we have never been to.

In my experience, the only robustly fruitful approach is the honest, related, intimate encounter with oneself and another human being — inner work carried out in a container wherein our emotional wounding can be felt and explored. Many spiritual practices can be helpful and perhaps necessary, but utterly insufficient if we are to strive for an embodied spirituality — a spirituality that is grounded, sincere, and authentic, fully related to two aspects of life — divine and human reality — one present within the other.

On Spirituality

Signs of Spiritual Bypassing

There is a limitless amount of ways spiritual bypassing can express itself. Below is a sample of characteristics I have seen time and again within myself and in clients:

Bias toward detachment, numbing, repression
Neglect and judgment of the emotional process
Overemphasis of the positive ("follow your bliss")
Anger and desire phobia
Body transcendence with concomitant body armoring and restricted breath
Blind or overly tolerant compassion and rescuing
Spiritual pride — defensive use of carrying others' problems or excessive advice giving
Idealism vs. realism ("spiritual Puer aeternus")
Responsibility deflection ("it's just an illusion anyways")
Entitlement: "I deserve… because I am spiritual"
Overuse of the word "ego" to escape one's shame or shadow side
Debilitating judgment of the personal narrative relative to the transpersonal
Relativism/solipsism: perception equals reality
Delusions of having arrived at a higher level of being
Equating individuation with Enlightenment
Intellectualizing instead of embodying

Poem

As Above, So Below

Many are invited but few choose to follow, Dark waters submerging light, difficult to swallow, Exploring deep layers of a sea unknown, Sinking for Truth to be shown, The Embrace of all fears to drown, will in the end reveal to you, the Crown.

On the Feminine

Sleeping Beauty

What has been present in the field for me lately is an awareness of the "wounded feminine." A part of her is withdrawn and hurt. Waiting to be seen but not wanting to — because our current reference frame for viewing "Her" is off. We are not providing a safe place for her. We are not ready to let Her beauty, love, and radiance shine forth because we are not attuning ourselves to what really matters in life.

The "false bride" and everything she stands for dominates our modern world — fame, appearance, money, how many likes you get online. So much is about "self-image," surface, and the overtly sensual. Having worked with young women for many years, I cannot say enough about how much they are hurting. Deep down they know how beautiful they are. Hence confusion ensues if physical appearance does not meet the conditions projected by our world. Beauty is associated with so many conditions that literally no one can fulfill them — everyone feels inferior, unlovable, that there is something "wrong."

Men, it's time to step it up. Not with bravado and false self-confidence. True warriors need not impress. Dare to see the radiant beauty in all women. Don't close your heart — have the courage to feel "Her." Once you see it in all women, dare to see Her in all men. The Feminine is there as well. From there, see and feel it in everything.

Women, embrace your soul and dare to go beyond what you "think" you should be. Know that your inner radiance surpasses the pleasantness of your appearance. Know your sacredness, hold it most dear, and reveal it only to those who deserve it as evidenced by their Honor of your true Soul.

When we allow ourselves to change the way we look at things, the world of appearance will lift its veil and Her true Beauty will shine forth. The Radiance of Love is yours forever.

Clinical Reflection

The Presence

I had a session with a mentoring client today. We have been working together for over two years. As she shared the week's vicissitudes with me, I allowed myself to breathe in all of the perceived torment in her field. The inner male tyrant was attacking her feminine essence in the form of thoughts.

As we moved through this process, a space opened up that ascended us both into a realm of utter tranquility, peace, and power. We both merged in this space and were able to use it as a means of reflection — a space from which the trials of her life could be viewed more objectively. We both were no longer individuals in the world; rather, we became a greater space within which the world of form exists. With the passage of time, the contents of consciousness became increasingly immaterial. A deep silence emerged, which had no beginning and end.

Union states like this often appear when two individuals allow themselves to be vulnerable and open for prolonged periods of time characterized by inner anguish and torment. This eternal presence reveals itself only through Grace. It cannot be forced, only invited by surrender. This field of love holds the power to endure all suffering that life lays upon us.

At the end of the session, a caveat was shared: union states often unearth more contents from the unconscious, which require reorganization and integration. Yet it is nothing one needs to be concerned about as long as one's identification rests with the field, rather than with the content of the field.

On Love

Splendor of Your Love

Life wants to love you. It is waiting for your surrender. Many wait until they have exhausted all options promised by the personal narrative. Like the waves on the ocean, the outer appearances of life come and go. What remains hidden to most are the treasures and jewels that can be found deep, deep down, far, far in.

The reservoir of love can be called on at any time. No conditions need to be fulfilled by "you" to access what is unconditional. Waiting is optional. Go diving for Yourself and bathe in the splendor of your Love.

Poem

Dark and Light

As I breathe in the vacuum of empty space My heart is oscillating through this act of embrace Leaning into this vast, enlivened field of absence Nothing and all contained in its vibrant substance In the distance, Her voice echoes delight Sounds of celebration anticipating the union of Dark and Light

On Healing

Innocent Love

There was a clear theme present throughout this week in my work. Many a chronic health or psychological issue is motivated by love — a love that only the small child knows, a love that operates according to magical belief systems:

"Mom, I love you so much that I want to be with you, always. I will follow you, even in your illness. It's better that I go instead of you. I don't want you to die. Therefore I am going to die for you. I am going to take your pain and suffering. I give up my childhood to save you."

Whenever someone loves in this way, he or she naturally is vulnerable to becoming chronically ill. This deep desire to atone and compensate for someone else's fate resides deep in the unconscious. By bringing these fundamental dynamics to light, it is possible to dismantle them of their power and disentangle the person from much suffering and pain.

For healing to occur, a child must honor the parent's fate: "I did it out of love. I didn't know what I was doing. I am now allowing myself to be a child again, free from the burden of what was not meant to be mine. May order be restored in the system. May the truth set us free."

Clinical Reflection

Her Heart

Client: I feel tired of my relationship with my wife. I feel as if she is judging and rejecting me. I have tried everything. She is not letting me in. I don't think I can change anything.

Me: Rather than choosing a story of her judging and rejecting you — what would happen if you would allow yourself to drop deeply into yourself, into a place where your assumptions are replaced by true vision? A great deal of power resides in those areas "in-between." I am willing to share with you what I "see."

She is waiting for you. There is a great deal of longing in her. She is sad that you have resigned yourself to seeing an object instead of the true soul you have married. She has given you the key to her sacred space. Even though you have not used this key, she still has not changed the lock. She wants your love in the form of strength and presence. A strength that cuts through the toxic thickness of the relational field you both have created.

Client: Wow.

Me: This relationship is not happening "to" you. The condition of our inner relational configurations are often perfect mirrors for what takes place on the "outside." Everything I shared about your wife's "heart" would also be an accurate depiction of the condition of your own inner feminine, your feeling soul. There is no difference between you "seeing" your wife and allowing yourself to receive yourself fully.

On Psyche & Soul

Forgive Me, Dr. Jung

I had a conversation with Dr. Jung the other day. We entered into a deep discussion about how self-realization might be distinct from individuation. In my experience, both terms denote separate stages in psycho-spiritual development and should therefore not be conflated.

Jung's concept of individuation describes how elements of the immature psyche become integrated into a well-functioning whole — what Jung called the Self. It is the psychic nucleus and sum total of personality. From the viewpoint of the Self, we gain a more objective understanding of the nature of the ego. This shows good correspondence to Maslow's "self-actualization."

In distinction to Jung, it makes more sense to me to reserve a capital "S" Self for stages of self-transcendence — in which the individual ego or self are no longer the nucleus of identification, and notions of you, me, relationship, and integration are merely arbitrary abstractions. Individuation or psychic integration are merely stepping stones en route to even greater stages of Self-realization.

Is individuation a necessary stage to reach Self-realization? I am not qualified to answer this definitively. But what I do know is that the individuation process generally begins with a wounding of the ego-personality — which is often an entry point to a deepening of one's spirituality. At this wounding stage, I often find people caught up in what I call "spiritual bypassing," a mode in which ego, self, and Self are often blurred.

Dr. Jung, forgive me if I misinterpret your work. But I found it important to clarify, to prevent further confusion and blurring.

Poem

My Inspiration for You

Words fail in expressing what you are and what comes through you. I am in awe of your sublime presence. This day will be like no other. I allow the container to break. I am tired of keeping things together, to make sure they are neat and nice. I am willing to let you be Her. I will tell you everything I think, feel, and dream. I am willing to look like a nobody in your presence, knowing nothing compared to the infinite Allness contained within you. I love you, for the difference between us has just disappeared.

Poem

Your Dark Friend

Only the power of love has the energy to transform your shadow into your friend, It is this unwelcome visitor who holds the key to a portal leading to a life unlived without end. Only the power of Love allows you to lean into the darkness unknown. Unbeknownst to you, it is him you have been waiting for so long alone. Like a bottomless vacuum, he tends to repel your false sense of self encapsulated in this fragile shell. A pregnant darkness full of power but no mercy, for all the uncertain parts of your identity replete with controversy. This enlivened space of darkness begs for your willingness to become dust, A true test of your faith and trust. Annihilation of everything dear is at stake for this endeavor, a price many a man not willing to pay to become free forever. Power of Love, the only force to penetrate this hell, by virtue of its strength and majestic beauty, everything will be well. Love, both the means and the end, this wished for destination will soon become alive in you through your dark friend.

On Healing

Thoughts on Self-Love

Of late, I have been reading several posts that express confusion about the concept of self-love. Some argue that self-love is endemic in our culture and that we need more love for others instead. Whilst the self-less service portion of the argument appears to be true, I believe that the self-love criticism is predicated on an erroneous assumption.

It is useful to distinguish three concepts that often get conflated: (1) self-love; (2) self-esteem; and (3) narcissism. Self-esteem exists on a spectrum — an excess is regarded as narcissism, and too little is a robust predictor of poor mental health. Both extremes are shame-based. In contrast to self-love, self-esteem is based on superiority/inferiority self-evaluations. Self-love is not — it often enters the picture when self-esteem fails.

Self-love has the ability to deactivate the threat/fight-flight system and activate the self-soothing system associated with feelings of security and safety. Self-esteem, in contrast, is an evaluation of superiority/inferiority aimed at establishing social rank. Researchers hypothesize that self-love has the ability to act as a moderator to rebuild self-esteem in times of hardship.

We don't have an excess of self-love in our culture. What we have an abundance of is narcissism and shame — and its concomitant superiority/inferiority appraisals: "I am better than," "I am less than," "I must be seen as," "I deserve." While healthy self-esteem is essential, all appraisals of self are arbitrary and subject to change — a house of cards. Self-love, in contrast, is an ever-present option that awaits choice. It is not an idea — it is a way of life.

Begin the
Inner Journey

If you feel a pull to return home — to step fully into your truth and transformation — reach out. There is no pressure, no script. Just a real conversation.

All new clients begin with a complimentary 15-minute consultation. Work available in English and German. Sessions conducted in Sedona or remotely worldwide.

Daniel Harner

From the Rich Soil of Austria to the Red Rocks of Sedona

You have done the work. You know the map.

Three Doors In

Psycho-SpiritualMentorship

Deep ImmersionIntensive

Remote &Virtual Work

As Heard On

What Happensin the Encounter

Shaped by the World'sMost Remarkable Teachers

David R. Hawkins, MD, PhD

Nathan Schwartz-Salant

Ron Young

William A. Tiller, PhD

Steve Hardison

Published in theInternational Journal of Healing and Caring

A Novel Approach to Broadcast Intention for Depression and Anxiety

The Effects of Intention-Broadcasting on Self-Compassion in Adults: A Pilot Study

Intention-Broadcasting on Subjects with Autism Spectrum Disorder — Part I: Proof of Concept

Intention-Broadcasting on Caregivers of Subjects with Autism Spectrum Disorder — Part II: Proof of Concept

From the Archive

The Ray

The Whisper

An Uncommon Path

This Is Who I Am

Him & Her

Emergence

Mature Love

Spiritual Bypassing

Signs of Spiritual Bypassing

As Above, So Below

Sleeping Beauty

The Presence

Splendor of Your Love

Dark and Light

Innocent Love

Her Heart

Forgive Me, Dr. Jung

My Inspiration for You

Your Dark Friend

Thoughts on Self-Love

Sacred Images That Shapea Way of Seeing

Enter the Depth

How to BeginWorking with Daniel

Reach Out

Initial Conversation

Begin the Work

Real Transformation

Begin theInner Journey

From the Rich Soil of Austria
to the Red Rocks of Sedona

You have done the work.
You know the map.

Psycho-Spiritual
Mentorship

Deep Immersion
Intensive

Remote &
Virtual Work

What Happens
in the Encounter

Shaped by the World's
Most Remarkable Teachers

Published in the
International Journal of Healing and Caring

Sacred Images That Shape
a Way of Seeing

How to Begin
Working with Daniel

Begin the
Inner Journey