Possession, Addiction, and Belonging
On the Perils of Intimacy and Identity
A four-part series from Dr. Daniel Foor
This course is on demand, and may be enjoyed at your own pace.
About the Course
We human folk are pickled with mirror neurons, hardwired for empathy, including with larger, unpredictable forces. As the late Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung posited, unconscious identification with or possession by diverse archetypes or collective energies is the human norm rather than the exception. Despite having little training in recognizing and navigating these states, most of us experience different degrees of merging or possession on the regular.
“Possession” may conjure spooky images of Catholic exorcism or visions of ecstatic communal ritual with old gods (it’s all that), but we’ve all witnessed, if not experienced personally, states of possession—whether in the form of disturbingly charismatic dictators and their followers, loved ones stuck in addictive patterns, or simply being flooded with a singular focus that defies all discernment and reason.
In this short course, participants will learn to recognize and to more consciously navigate possession states in themselves and others. The approach will be free from shame and will include exploration of potentially helpful possession states like channeling collective rage, grieving as the Earth, and potent merging with Source. We’ll consider the need to skillfully navigate possession states not only in extreme and harmful examples like genocide, hazardous nationalism, or ethnic cleansing but also in interpersonal conflicts and spiritual development.
We human folk are porous and always in the company of larger forces; the choice is whether we’re going to pretend we’re alone or be a conscious dance partner.
– Daniel Foor
Course Overview
This course is for anyone moved to bring more conscious the wildly divergent forces that seek to work through us with the intent to know greater freedom, peace, and choice in our everyday lives.
Mental health professionals, ritualists, community leaders, teachers, students of history, folks working for cultural change, and anyone wanting to better understand the range of human motivation and experience are likely to find the course especially helpful. This is not a training in depossession practices, but you can expect to leave with a framework for understanding the prevalence of possession states along with some new tangible skills for navigating this terrain.
Lessons will be rooted in an inclusive, international ethic that includes respect for diverse approaches to psychology and ritual arts. Teachings will openly explore dynamics of othering and systemic oppression as well as malice, evil, and other-worldly hazards. We’ll be unflinching in our acknowledgement of the political, but the focus of this course is ultimately heart-connected, pragmatic life skills.
Four recorded 90-minute lessons
Guided, experiential practices with each lesson
Extensive additional resources featuring diverse voices
Lifetime access to all course materials
Access to a dedicated community discussion space
Course Curriculum
Lesson One: Possession and Permeability
- Compare Jungian and animist frameworks for possession and mediumship
- Build skills to have more choice in your level of permeability and porosity
- Reflect on personal experiences of acute communion with larger powers
- Practice bringing more awareness to the forces that already move through you
Lesson Two: Trauma, Hunger, & Addiction
- Unpackage important connections between trauma, porosity, and basic needs
- Examine ways that personal and collective pain can lead to possession states
- Consider sacred stories of hazardous possession and remedies they suggest
- Reflect on ways you’ve encountered harmful possession states in others
Lesson Three: Identity and Belonging
- Explore what is essential and what can be fatal about identity and belonging
- Consider intoxication and ego inflation in light of possession and identity
- Reflect on historical and real-time dynamics of collective possession states
- Join in collective prayer for depossession from a place of neutral center
Lesson Four: Love, Moonlight, and Surrender
- Learn how mystical, unitive states are similar and different from possession
- Consider ways to soften fear and ego in the presence of larger forces
- Reflect on ways to harness your hunger and longing for collective good
- Practice embracing the porous, flexible, responsive nature as human beings
Register for Possession, Addiction, and Belonging
3 and 6 month payment plans available at checkout at 0% interest.
Supporter
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Our standard rate allows us to sustain our work. This typically applies if you’re employed in the Global North, and you’re able to provide for your needs in a consistent way.
Standard
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Our standard rate allows us to sustain our work. This typically applies if you’re employed in the Global North, and you’re able to provide for your needs in a consistent way.
Reduced
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This rate applies if you’re relatively less economically advantaged in the ways listed under “standard rate” or that cost is simply out of reach for you financially.
BUNDLE THIS COURSE WITH TWO OTHERS
Relating
with
Evil & Malice
Prayer,
Curses, and
Ritual Power
Possession,
Addiction,
and Belonging
Explore light and shadow in three transformative courses. Gain insight into addiction, belonging, and the crafty nature of evil. Equip yourself with ritual skills and build resilience to face life’s hazards.
Daniel Foor
Founder and Director of Ancestral Medicine
Daniel is a doctor of psychology, experienced ritualist, and the author of Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing. He is an initiate in the Òrìṣà tradition of Yoruba-speaking West Africa and has learned from teachers of Mahayana Buddhism, Islamic Sufism, and the older ways of his English and German ancestors. Daniel is passionate about training aspiring leaders and change makers in the intersections of cultural healing, animist ethics, and applied ritual arts. He lives with his wife and two daughters near Granada, Spain in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Frequently Asked Questions
To the very best of our ability, yes. All Ancestral Medicine offerings seek to embody an anti-racist, feminist, LGBTQ-celebrating, decolonizing, and Earth-honoring ethic. They are also class-aware and internationally conscious. We offer a heartfelt, non-dogmatic approach that seeks to honor each participant’s unique life experiences and ancestral storylines. Resources included with each lesson favor ancestrally and geographically diverse voices.
All live teaching calls will be recorded and made available 24-48 hours later in the course portal to watch and listen to at your leisure, with indefinite access.
All of our lesson videos have auto-generated English subtitles, as well as downloadable audio-only versions of the lessons. If you have needs not met here, please feel free to reach out to us with suggestions at info@ancestralmedicine.org.
Should you wish to withdraw from an online course for any reason, please contact us at info@ancestralmedicine.org to request a full refund within the refund window of that specific course. For this 6-week course, you can request a refund before the second call begins.
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