ONLINE COURSE
Possession, Addiction, and Belonging
On the Perils of Intimacy and Identity
with Dr. Daniel Foor
Live Teachings June 11, 13, 25, 27 | Tuesdays & Thursdays
12:00 LA | 3PM NEW YORK | 21:00 BERLIN
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.
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. Each lesson will include Q&A and opportunities for guided practice, and the learning space will be lively and engaging.
*The timing of live calls for this course will favor participants in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Thanks to our community of learners in Asia and Oceania for your understanding around the challenges of international inclusivity. All who register get lifetime access to recordings, and you’re welcome to send in questions ahead of time for Daniel to answer during live calls or in written form.
Price
Accessibility is a core value of our organization, and all price levels also include monthly payment options.
Early Registration | Save 30% before May 2 (or till spaces run out)
Price
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Our standard rate allows us to sustain our work. It best applies if you’re employed in the Global North, come from generational land ownership, and/or you’re able to provide for your needs in a consistent way.
Supporter
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This rate helps us make our work accessible to those with modest means and applies if you have investments, a retirement plan, and/or access to economic abundance or generational wealth.
Other Pricing Options
Community
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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.
Economic Hardship
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This rate applies if other options are not within reach. Ideally for historically marginalized populations, and anyone who may experience economic hardship. *Spaces limited
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
What’s Included
- Four live (and recorded) sessions, each 90 minutes in duration.
- One to two guided, experiential practices accompanying each lesson.
- Access to dedicated community forum for those engaged in similar learning.
- Accompanying curated resources from outside sources with each lesson
- Responsive and helpful support, if needed, from Ancestral Medicine staff
- Lifetime access to course resources
About the Instructor
Daniel Foor, PhD
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 practicing Muslim who has also learned from Mahayana Buddhism and the older ways of his English and German ancestors. Daniel is passionate about generational healing and training leaders and change makers in the intersections of cultural healing, animist ethics, and applied ritual arts. He lives with his wife and two daughters, ages six and three, near Granada, Spain in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Learn More
Frequently Asked Questions
This course directly addresses vulnerable topics related to ongoing violence and harm in the world. The material may stir complicated emotions for some participants. Support outside of the lessons may be helpful as the course is not a replacement for personal therapy or spiritual care.
Enrollment includes access to our Community Forum – an online discussion group of students past and present, including supportive members from Ancestral Medicine’s Practitioner Network and Ancestral Medicine staff. Sharing experiences, reflecting on practices, and making connections in this private online community can provide one form of support.
Please also consider reaching out to someone in the Ancestral Medicine Practitioner Network for one-on-one support and guidance. Most are available for private individualized sessions, and many are willing to provide low-cost sessions to support financial accessibility needs.
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, and the online Community Forum includes BIPOC and LGBTQ-only discussion spaces.
All of our lesson videos have closed captioning, as well as a full transcript and additional downloadable audio-only versions. If you have needs not met here, please feel free to reach out to us with suggestions at info@ancestralmedicine.org.
For full-length online courses (8 weeks or more), we offer a 30-day money back guarantee starting when the first lesson is released, no questions asked. For shorter courses, we offer full refunds before the first lesson begins and partial refunds if requested before the second lesson begins. See our Terms & Conditions
We’d be happy to help with additional questions. Reach out to info@ancestralmedicine.org and someone from our team will be in touch, usually within one or two business days.
