Dates: November 4th – December 9th 2023
The Finding Your Wild Soul course consists of 6 pre-recorded theory videos and 4 two-hour long live sessions.
- What your Soul is and what it isn’t.
- How to find your true and authentic Soul and discover who you are, and were, truly meant to be.
- Learn the difference between ego, body, Soul and Spirit, between soul and Soul, and between adult and Adult.
- Discover practices to connect to your authentic, fully-alive, wild and free Lower-World Soul.
- Stages of being human: role of children, adults and elders
- Finding your Lower-World Human Tribe. Soul as a part of tribe. Recognising unhealthy patterns of tribe, and what a healthy tribe is from an animist perspective.
- Explore the power of initiation ceremonies and rites of passage, deconstruct childhood self and embrace true Adulthood.
- How to grow into living a more Soul-filled life
- What finding out Soul can teach us about living in the right relationship with the Other-Than-Human too.
IN THis COURSE:
WE ARE A MULTITUDE – BODY, EGO, SOUL AND SPIRIT
Most people have a single “self” or “I,” but the truth is more complex. Each of us consists of multiple parts, each with its own needs, desires, agendas, and stories. Throughout our daily lives, we shift our sense of self between these parts, often without conscious awareness.
In therapeutic shamanism, we focus on four primary parts-of-self: our Upper-World Spirit, our Middle-World Self, physical body and Lower-World Soul. These parts align with the main shamanic realms and must be honored, accepted, allowed the expression, and have their needs met for a healthy and balanced life. We will look at the difference between ego, body, Soul and Spirit, between soul and Soul, and between adult and Adult.
WHAT IS SOUL?
Our Lower-World Soul is our truest self, our true nature. It is a part of us that is wild and free; part of nature; part of Human, of Animal, a sibling to Plant and Stone, and a child of Mother Earth. It is both who we truly are deep down, and the blueprint for what we are meant to grow into and become in the world. It’s what our middle world self should be modelled on. We will look at:
- What your Soul is and what it isn’t.
- How to find your true and authentic Soul.
- What nourishes your Soul.
- How to grow into living a more Soul-filled life.
ADULTHOOD, SOUL AND INITIATION
Because they understood the extent to which, as Humans and storytellers, we can be strangers to our true, authentic Soul, all hunter-gatherer cultures had initiation ceremonies. Performed around the time of adolescence, these ceremonies were designed to shock the initiate out of childhood thinking and help them step up to become a true Adult, which middle-world self is based on Soul.
We will learn:
- The qualities of actual Adults, from an Animist perspective;
- What becoming an actual Adult involves, including deconstruction the childhood self.
- Rites of passage and initiation ceremonies.
- Curing ourselves of wetiko and co-wetiko, and Taker culture thinking.
STAGES OF BEING HUMAN
Children. Hunter-gatherer childhoods cf. modern human childhoods. The importance and role of play in hunter-gatherer societies. Experiencing a hunter-gatherer childhood. Recognising and healing our mother wound (and, our Mother Wound). Recognising and experiencing healthy Mother.
Adult. The qualities of actual Adults, from an Animist perspective; What becoming an actual Adult involves, including deconstruction the childhood self.
Elders. Healthy eldership and aging. The role of elders in a healthy tribe. The role of death and of grief as vital shamanic teachers. Meeting lower-World Elders and learning their teaching. The “meaning” of life. How to live your life – the animist answer.
Tribe. Soul as a part of tribe. Recognising unhealthy patterns of tribe, and what a healthy tribe is from an animist perspective. Finding your Lower-World Human Tribe.
... AND WHAT FINDING OUR SOUL CAN TEACH US ABOUT
LIVING IN THE RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER-THAN-HUMAN AGAIN
Read more about Soul: What is Soul & how do we find it?
DETAILS
The course starts on November 4th, 2023, and consists of:
- 6 pre-recorded teaching videos
with accompanying learning resources, released on Saturdays, November 4, 11, 18, 25, December 2, and 9. - 4 live experiential and community sessions
focusing on journeying, discussion, and community. These are two hours long, start at 2 pm (UK time), on the following Saturdays: November 11, 18, December 2, and 9. - A website forum and (an optional) Signal group
where students can ask questions, discuss topics, share experiences and additional resources, and get support, encouragement, and a sense of community. - Free bonus videos
addressing students’ questions and offer additional teaching.
THE CURRICULUM
(MIGHT BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
WHAT IS SOUL?
In our first session, we will explore the concept of the Soul. In modern culture, knowledge of the Soul has been largely lost, with many people confusing it with the Spirit or using the terms interchangeably. Our goal is to reintroduce the animistic perspective of the Soul, which is deeply connected to the Lower-World and nature. We will differentiate the Soul from Spirit and the Middle-World self, aiming for precise usage of the term.
We’ll also discuss how the Soul serves as a template for one’s unique individuality and achieving true Adulthood. In contemporary culture, genuine Adulthood, as understood in animism, is rare. We will explore what animism teaches us about growing into an Adult and the initiation processes. While traditional hunter-gatherer tribes had collective initiation ceremonies, we will discuss alternative ways to grow into the adults we are meant to be in the absence of such tribal rituals.
what it means to be human
We will delve into a detailed exploration of how Soul is an integral part of nature, mainly focusing on what it means to be human from an animistic perspective. To truly comprehend what it means to be human in an animistic framework, we must also understand both the similarities and differences between humans and other People – Animals, Standing People, Plants and Stones. This examination will help shed light on our unique human nature and what it means to be a healthy, interconnected human from an animistic perspective.
healthy human relationships
In the third module, we will explore the animist template, often referred to as the original instructions, for healthy human relationships, particularly within human groups. This applies not only to tribal groups but also to modern human groups like families and work environments. We will highlight the challenges in today’s human groups and provide a blueprint for improvement and healthier relationships with other humans.
stages of life: childhood
In the fourth module, we’ll explore animist ideas related to child-rearing. This topic may interest parents or grandparents, but it’s relevant to everyone. By comparing how hunter-gatherer societies raise children with our own childhood experiences in the modern era, we can identify dysfunctional aspects and learn how to address and heal these wounds. This will involve examining concepts like the mother wound and the father wound, which reflects a broken and dysfunctional understanding of parent-child relationships. We’ll also explore how these dynamics impact our adult relationships and our connection to the sacred masculine and feminine. The module will provide insights into the challenges of the modern era and offer solutions to address these issues.
adulthood & living a soul-full life
In the fifth module, we will transition to a practical exploration of applying these principles in our everyday lives, focusing on the practical ethics from an animistic perspective. This section will address the fundamental question of what authentic animist ethics truly look like. We’ll examine how these ethics guide our actions and choices, offering insights into how to live in alignment with the original instructions, fostering a deeper understanding of how our behavior and decisions impact our interconnectedness with the world around us.
stages of life: elderhood
In the last module, we will explore the transition from Adulthood to Elderhood. Healthy elders, from an animistic perspective, are rare in our culture because elderhood is not solely determined by biological ageing. We will delve into the concept of Eldership, which is relevant not only to those who are already elders but also to everyone, as it offers a model and template for a healthy path in animistic terms. We will discuss what it means to grow into an elder, a stage that often involves reflecting on life as it nears its end. Additionally, we’ll address an age-old question: ‘What is the meaning of life?’ Or perhaps a more fitting question, ‘How shall I live my life?’
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.
WHAT OUR STUDENTS SAY?
JOIN US!
To attend the Finding Your Wild Soul course, you need to have completed one of the college’s online First Steps courses.
The closing date for enrolment is Saturday 4th of November. The course is highly unlikely to be repeated until 2026 at the earliest, so please do take this opportunity to book (remember, once booked, you can always work through the recordings at your own pace, and with no time limits).
Payment by instalments. We are committed to keeping our courses as affordable as we can, and our courses are usually cheaper than most comparable ones. 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.