Dates: January 31st to March 7th 2027
- Recognise human separation as a distortion of modern-day life
- Learn to live with one foot in this world and one in the other – the veil between the worlds is thinner than we think!
- Explore the mysterious power of the Borderlands and their inhabitants and learn about the significance of moving between the Realms and its transformative power
- The importance of rites of passage – to become an Adult is to become an interconnected being, a part of Nature
- Learn focusing technique – betwixt and between places in psychotherapy as a way deeper
Bookings open soon.
£150 for the course
Or just £165 bundled with 6 live sessions
The Live Shamanic Journeying Sessions are now open to all students with an account, not just those in the Betwixt and Between course, so they are sold separately. You can either buy just the course for £150, or add 6 Live Sessions for just £15 more (a saving of £15 off the Live Sessions price if bought separately). Details of the Live Sessions are here.
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WHY NEXT-STEPS COURSES?
After completing the college’s First-Step course, these courses are the next step for those who wish to explore therapeutic shamanism and animism further. The courses focus on exploring the shamanic Lower-World practices in detail, developing a deep connection with Lower-World Guides (including Human, Animal Plant and Stone ones) and finding our own true and authentic Lower-World Soul – the person we are truly meant to be. In doing so, as well as being potentially profoundly healing and life-changing, the courses also help people develop a shamanic practice that is both deeply rooted and grounded.
You can take Next-Steps courses in any order.
IN THIS COURSE:
Video: HUMAN SEPARATION AS A DISORDER OF MODERN WAY LIFE
Video: SELF-AWARENESS EXPERIMENT
HUMANS ARE THE MOST SEPARATED THING ON THE PLANET
In modern times, we are hugely more disconnected than our hunter-gatherer ancestors, who literally lived in nature and experienced themselves as being part of nature. Whilst we are, arguably, the most self-aware species on the planet, from an animist perspective we are also the most boxed-in species – the most isolated and disconnected. Other things are sentient in a much more collective way than us, and much less obsessed with self.
In this culture, many people have the mistaken notion that a healthy adult is an independent being, someone who can stand on their own two feet. In animistic cultures, Adult is someone who really gets interdependence – who understands how much they are part of the community, a twig on a branch of a bigger-than-human tree. For a twig to declare independence would be nonsensical and suicidal. And yet, that is what we’re doing. We have not only declared our independence from the ecological community of which we are a part, we’ve waged war on it (leading to the Anthropocene extinction).
Video: OUR WAY BACK TO INTERCONNECTEDNESS
betwixt and between places are A WAY OUT OF SEPARATION into interconnectedness
Shamanic cultures lived with one foot in this world and the one in the other – they understood that worlds run in parallel. When we visit the shamanic worlds, we experience this deep interconnectedness and that everything is alive and sentient and can be communicated with, so when we come back that awareness stays with us and influences the way we experience this reality.
The veils between the worlds really are thinner than you imagine, you just need to learn to step between them at will. The separation of this physical reality and the shamanic realms is just a symptom of modern-day life. It’s not how animists experienced the world.
Video: RITES OF PASSAGE – THE WAY TO ADULTHOOD
RITES OF PASSAGE AS BETWIXT AND BETWEEN PLACE
Most modern-day human “adults” are children in adult bodies. All indigenous cultures understood that kids are born with a strong sense of individuality. They also understood that becoming a healthy adult means transcending that childhood self-centeredness. Plus, they understood that the process is not automatic – there needs to be a deliberately managed transition – a rite of passage – to shock us out of childhood and help us grow up. And hunter-gatherers knew the importance of that rite of passage, and how to manage it, as a betwixt and between place.
The problem is modern people have largely lost the knowledge of this rite of passage into adulthood, at least in any meaningful way. As a consequence, we live in a world where most “grown-up” people are effectively still children, or functioning adolescents at best. On this course, we will explore the transition to adulthood from an animist and shamanic perspective.
Video: BETWIXT AND BETWEEN PLACES ENABLE YOU TO GO DEEPER, WHERE THE REAL CHANGE CAN HAPPEN
Video: FOCUSING TECHNIQUE
FOCUSING TECHNIQUE – NOTICING BETWIXT AND BETWEEN PLACES IN PSYCHOTHERAPY
Any psychotherapy that works at depth is not about just about techniques, practices, knowledge or information Rather, it is a relational thing, because most of the time what takes people into therapy are human relational wounds.
Initially, people come to therapy with content and stories (“he did this, and then I said that” sort of stuff). Whilst important, if we just stick with the surface content though, the underlying issues will remain unacknowledged and unresolved. One way to go deeper is to notice the gaps or inconsistencies between what is being said and how it’s being said. This gap, this betwixt-and-between place, can act like a mini Axis Mundi – leading us deeper and towards lasting change and insights.
On the course, we will learn one way of doing this – a technique known as Focusing. It was originally developed by a therapist called Eugene Gendlin, however it can be of great use to everyone, not just to psychotherapists. It is simple and easy to learn, and yet truly profound. We will explore how to incorporate it into our lives and shamanic practices.
Video: PLACES WE WILL EXPLORE IN SHAMANIC JOURNEYING
shamanic journeying to betwixt and between places
On the course, explore the mysterious power of the Borderlands and their inhabitants, and the significance of moving between the Worlds and how this can transform us in turn. This includes: an exploration of the Shoreline and its healing, and the significance of moving between Land and Sea; understanding the descent into Fire and the Under-World; moving from being Earth-bound to being free in the Air and the Sky; and more. We will also explore the shamanic healing medicine and teaching of some of the Animals that live in these betwixt-and-between places, including Birds and Insects, and the creatures of the Shorelines.
More about BETWIXT AND BETWEEN:
also available as podcast
DETAILS
The course starts on SUNDAY, JANUARY 31ST and consists of:
• 6 pre-recorded theory modules. Each module contains a video presentation of between 1 and 3 hours in length, with accompanying learning resources. They will be released at weekly intervals, on Sundays, on January 31st, February 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th, and March 7th.
• As usual, a Signal group, where students can ask questions, discuss topics, share experiences and additional resources, and get support, encouragement, and a sense of community.
• Bonus recordings if and when needed.
In addition, there is the option of adding:
• 6 live shamanic journeying sessions. On each of the 6 dates above, there will also be a Live Shamanic Journeying session. These are optional, so you can buy the course without these (for £150), or add all 6 live sessions for just £15 more (a saving of 50% on the usual Live Sessions price). Whilst the Live Sessions are optional, people who attend them usually find them of great benefit. The Live Sessions start at 1pm UK time and are two hours long. Click here for more details of our Live Shamanic Journeying sessions.
• 5 Questions, Answers and Discussion (QAD) sessions. Run by Cat and Kaja, these provide a live and online space for students on the course to ask questions, discuss things, and for Cat and Kaja to provide more in-depth answers and additional teaching too. The QAD sessions start a week after the course starts, and are only open to people booked on this course. You can add all 5 QAD sessions for £20.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
LIVE & PRE-RECORDED ONLINE TRAINING
- Zoom Online Sessions With Founder of Therapeutic Shamanism, Paul Francis.
- Live Shamanic Journeying.
- Study in the Comfort of Your Own Home.
SUPPORT BETWEEN SESSIONS
- Detailed Course Notes.
- Video Recording of Every Class.
- Submit Your Questions for the Next Session and Discuss with Peers.
- Learn at Your Own Pace.
YOUR SHAMANIC TRIBE
- Meet Like Minded People.
- Connect Between Sessions on Website Forum and (optional Signal group).
- Deepen the Connection in Break-Out Rooms During Live Sessions.
Entry Requirements
To attend the Betwixt and Between course, you need to have completed one of the college’s online First Steps courses.
Payment by installments. We are committed to keeping our courses as affordable as we can, and this course is way cheaper than almost any comparable one. However, please remember that (depending on what country you are from) PayPal offers the option of spreading the payment over 3 monthly instalments. There is no fee at all for this, nor any interest incurred.
Bookings open soon.
£150 for the course
Or just £165 bundled with 6 live sessions
The Live Shamanic Journeying Sessions are now open to all students with an account, not just those in the Betwixt and Between course, so they are sold separately. You can either buy just the course for £150, or add 6 Live Sessions for just £15 more (a saving of £15 off the Live Sessions price if bought separately). Details of the Live Sessions are here.
