Start date: November 10th, 2024.
Animists know that not only is everything around us sentient, but everything around us is a teacher, even the things that modern-day humans mistakenly regard as non-living things: the freedom and power of the wind, the persistence of water and its ability to change, the joyfulness and cleansing of a waterfall, the stillness, silence and patience of stone.
Building relationships with other-than-human beings is crucial if we’re to truly understand ourselves as humans and reclaim who we were always meant to be – an interconnected part of the wider ecology.
Learn:
- What Plants, Animals and Stones really are – stalking unanimist modern stories that we bring to the process.
- Peoples’ teaching and healing gifts, and how to work with them – building your Medicine Bundle.
- Find out what understanding the Other-Than-Human People can show us about what Humans really are and should be.
- How to take our healthy place again in the Web of Life.
Closed
IN THIS COURSE:
LEARNING TO CONNECT TO GENUINE LOWER-WORLD PLANT, ANIMAL AND STONE PEOPLE
While journeying to meet other-than-human beings might seem straightforward, the truth is that much of what we experience is deeply filtered through the lens of our modern-day thinking, which distorts the clarity of the messages we receive. Remember, the shamanic journey is a co-created process. The shamanic realms, in their raw form, are completely unintelligible to us, and to make sense of them, we have to fashion them using imagery, symbolism, and metaphors. To really grok and work with true Lower-World Animals, Plants and Stones, we need to stalk what we bring to the process.
If we are going to truly learn animism and shamanism – not some kind of tame, domesticated, upper-world heavy, human-centric version of it – we must become aware of the unconscious beliefs, stories, and attitudes we carry, many of which are far from animist. This involves a process of unlearning and relearning in terms of our relationship to the other Peoples.
DIFFERENT LEVELS OF WORKING WITH ANIMAL, PLANT AND STONE PEOPLE
In our shamanic practice, we work with Animals, Plants and Stones in different ways:
- Helpers in Our Journeys: During a journey, you can encounter various Animals, Plants, and Stones, all of which can assist you with tasks such as extractions, de-possessions, disentanglements, burials, and burnings. This isn’t overly complicated; it’s something most people can begin to explore early in their shamanic journey.
- Creating a Medicine Bundle: As we learn from the teachings of these beings, we discover valuable lessons. The courage of the lion, the quick-wittedness of the Fox, the balance and patience of the Heron, the steadfastness of Turtle, and the vision of the Eagle – all contribute to what is often referred to in shamanism as our medicine bag or medicine bundle. These are the Animals, Plants, and Stones we come to know and work with in our shamanic practice, helping as our teachers and guides.
read more - Understanding Our Humanity: Unfortunately, many people find that their shamanic practice remains limited to the level of working with People in journeys, which is merely scratching the surface of what the Animal, Plant, and Stone peoples can truly offer. To access this vast reservoir of deeper teachings, we must move beyond our human-centred perspectives and our tendency to anthropomorphise. It’s essential to shed the un-animist beliefs and stories we unconsciously carry into our practice. By doing so, we begin to experience these other beings as they truly are, allowing us to tap into their profound teachings, wisdom, and healing gifts. This deeper understanding can guide us in remembering who we are meant to be as human beings, addressing our questions about our true nature, purpose, and place in the larger tapestry of life. As the poet Mary Oliver beautifully puts it, this is about living our “one wild and precious life.”
- Re-establishing Right Relationship: Perhaps most importantly, this journey allows us to live in right relationship with the other-than-human People once again. Cultivating this relationship is at the very heart of what it means to be animist.
WHAT ANIMAL, PLANT AND STONE PEOPLE REALLY ARE
On the course, we will start unlearning the often wonky stories our modern culture have about People. The process then involves about learning who Animal, Plant and Stone People really are:
- Working with Animals. We are Human and we are also Animal. Knowing what Animal is like and how it differs from Plant and Stone helps us to know what to step away from, and what we need to step into, when it comes to understanding and working with the non-Animal Peoples. Animal People are dynamic, driven, and highly social beings. Unlike plants, animals must actively seek out food, which creates a predator-prey dynamic at the heart of their existence. They are expressive, forming deep bonds, communicating through complex language and behaviours, and displaying a wide range of emotions—from fear and rage to joy and affection. Their restlessness and need to adapt make them curious, inventive, and ever-moving, shaping the energetic, busy nature they bring into shamanic journeys.
- Working with Plants. Amongst other things, Plant teaches us how healthy beings are deeply rooted, and shows us the value of slowing down and being less aggressive and more content with what we have. They operate at a much slower pace than animals. To really understand Plant medicine, to get inside them and grok them, you need to slow right down. To do that, we will look into their kind of consciousness – collective consciousness.
- Working with Stone People. The Stone People are the closest thing to Mother Earth herself, they are Mother Earth manifest and made physical. In turn, the Stone People go on to form everything else in the physical universe, including the stars, the planets, the Plant People, the Animal People, and us Humans. Stone People embody stillness and patience, moving at a pace almost incomprehensible to humans. Unlike the restless Animal or the growing Plant, they follow the rhythms of the Earth, unhurried and timeless. Their existence is marked by structure, order, and predictability, grounded in the laws of physics rather than emotions or agendas. Detachment is their gift, offering a calm, steady presence that helps us step back from human concerns and see the bigger picture. They remind us that in the grand scheme of things, many of our worries fade into insignificance.
- Working with Fungi and the Small People. The main focus of the course is the Animal, Plant and Stone People, as these are the main other-than-human People that usually feature in shamanic (Lower-World) journeys and in most peoples’ shamanic practices. In addition though, on the course we will look at the Fungi People, their nature, and how we may work with them in journeys too. In top of that, we also spend some time looking at the Small People — microorganisms such as virus and bacteria — their role in the web of life, and the challenges involved in doing shamanic journeys with them.
practical DETAILS
The course starts on Sunday November 10th, 2024 and consists of:
- 6 pre-recorded video presentations, with accompanying learning resources. Each presentation is between 1 and 3 hours in length. The provisional plan is as follows (this may change in response to the needs of the group):
- Module 1: Overview. How to get over ourselves and really meet the other-than-human. The Animal People – like humans, but with important differences too!
- Module 2: The Plant People – a very different kind of consciousness.
- Module 3: The Standing People (Trees). Great teachers of animist spirituality.
- Module 4: The Stone People. Not just crystals and rocks, but the Sea, the Wind, Mountains, and even the chemical elements.
- Module 5: The Fungi People in shamanism. Also, some discussion about the Smalls or Small People (micro-organisms, including viruses and bacteria) from an animist perspective.
- Module 6: What all the above teaches us about how to be Human, our nature, and how to live in right-relationship with the other-than-humans.
- 4 live experiential and community-orientated sessions. These are on Sundays, are 2 hours long, and start at 2pm (UK time). Recordings of these will be available (minus the break-out room discussions, for reasons of privacy) for anyone who cannot attend live. Live sessions are on November 17 and 24, and December 8th and 15th.
- 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.
- Bonus recordings as needed.
THE CURRICULUM
(MIGHT BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Part 1: SOUL LOSS & SOUL RETRIEVAL
We’ll start with soul loss and shamanic soul retrieval. In our culture, the word “soul” is often used imprecisely, meaning different things to different people. In original animist and hunter-gatherer cultures, there were specific words to describe different aspects of the soul.
Our first task is to clarify what we mean by soul retrieval and differentiate it from other concepts like power loss, which can appear similar but have distinct causes and remedies. We’ll also examine shamanism as a parts-of-self model, recognizing that we consist of various aspects. We’ll discuss the differences between the middle world soul (small ‘s’ soul), the lower world soul (capital ‘S’ Soul), and the upper world spirit. Additionally, we’ll clarify the distinction between spirit and the aware self or witness, which are often conflated. Understanding these distinctions will help us determine when soul loss is relevant and how to address it.
We’ll explore traditional soul retrieval techniques from indigenous practices and consider complications that may arise, such as intrusions, possessions, entanglements, and ancestral or family burdens. We’ll also address modern challenges in soul retrieval, particularly when parts are resistant to returning. This issue, common in contemporary times but less so in indigenous cultures, requires insights from modern psychotherapy, specifically parts-of-self models.
Part 2: PARTS-OF-SELF MODELS
Shamanism is the original parts-of-self model in terms of recognizing there are different parts of us – our Middle-World self, Lower-World soul or Upper-World spirit, a body and so on.
There are in psychotherapy many other parts-of-self models as well that are incredibly useful. So we’ll explore some of these models, focusing particularly on Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, which is currently one of the most popular ones. While we’ll look at the IFS in a fair bit of detail, we’ll also compare and contrast it with other psychotherapeutic models. This comparative analysis will demonstrate how these models contribute to and enrich the shamanic understanding of the self.
Often, it’s not enough to perform a soul retrieval alone. If there’s a part that opposes the return of the lost soul fragment, integration becomes incredibly tricky, if not impossible. Therefore, understanding our inner system of parts is crucial for dealing with any opposing elements.
Part 3: SELF-COMPASSION PRACTICES
When performing soul retrieval, we may encounter resistance from other parts of ourselves. In psychotherapy, the idea that “there are no bad parts” is crucial—every part must be welcomed back. This requires us to practice self-compassion and loving-kindness toward all parts of ourselves.
Self-compassion often needs to be learned, especially in a culture where many people have strong inner critics. For soul retrieval to be effective and lasting, it’s not just about bringing the soul part back or integrating it through dialogue. It involves learning and practicing self-compassion. There is a wealth of knowledge on self-compassion practices from psychotherapy and meditation, and we will explore these practices from a shamanic perspective, focusing on shamanic self-compassion practices.
Part 4: EMBODIMENT PRACTICES
Finally, we will delve into embodiment and grounding practices. Being whole, having inner parts in harmony, and being properly present and embodied are interconnected. The body plays a vital role in integrating parts-of self.
The field of embodiment and shamanism is vast and fascinating. This course will serve as an introduction, with two follow-up courses planned for next year: one specifically about shamanism and the body, and another on the work of Wilhelm Reich, the founder of Body-centered Psychotherapy, and what shamanism can contribute to his understanding of the body.
SOUL LOSS & SOUL RETRIEVAL
We’ll start with soul loss and shamanic soul retrieval. In our culture, the word “soul” is often used imprecisely, meaning different things to different people. In original animist and hunter-gatherer cultures, there were specific words to describe different aspects of the soul.
Our first task is to clarify what we mean by soul retrieval and differentiate it from other concepts like power loss, which can appear similar but have distinct causes and remedies. We’ll also examine shamanism as a parts-of-self model, recognizing that we consist of various aspects. We’ll discuss the differences between the middle world soul (small ‘s’ soul), the lower world soul (capital ‘S’ Soul), and the upper world spirit. Additionally, we’ll clarify the distinction between spirit and the aware self or witness, which are often conflated. Understanding these distinctions will help us determine when soul loss is relevant and how to address it.
We’ll explore traditional soul retrieval techniques from indigenous practices and consider complications that may arise, such as intrusions, possessions, entanglements, and ancestral or family burdens. We’ll also address modern challenges in soul retrieval, particularly when parts are resistant to returning. This issue, common in contemporary times but less so in indigenous cultures, requires insights from modern psychotherapy, specifically parts-of-self models.
PARTS-OF-SELF MODELS
Shamanism is the original parts-of-self model in terms of recognizing there are different parts of us – our Middle-World self, Lower-World soul or Upper-World spirit, a body and so on.
There are in psychotherapy many other parts-of-self models as well that are incredibly useful. So we’ll explore some of these models, focusing particularly on Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, which is currently one of the most popular ones. While we’ll look at the IFS in a fair bit of detail, we’ll also compare and contrast it with other psychotherapeutic models. This comparative analysis will demonstrate how these models contribute to and enrich the shamanic understanding of the self.
Often, it’s not enough to perform a soul retrieval alone. If there’s a part that opposes the return of the lost soul fragment, integration becomes incredibly tricky, if not impossible. Therefore, understanding our inner system of parts is crucial for dealing with any opposing elements.
SELF-COMPASSION PRACTICES
When performing soul retrieval, we may encounter resistance from other parts of ourselves. In psychotherapy, the idea that “there are no bad parts” is crucial—every part must be welcomed back. This requires us to practice self-compassion and loving-kindness toward all parts of ourselves.
Self-compassion often needs to be learned, especially in a culture where many people have strong inner critics. For soul retrieval to be effective and lasting, it’s not just about bringing the soul part back or integrating it through dialogue. It involves learning and practicing self-compassion. There is a wealth of knowledge on self-compassion practices from psychotherapy and meditation, and we will explore these practices from a shamanic perspective, focusing on shamanic self-compassion practices.
EMBODIMENT PRACTICES
Finally, we will delve into embodiment and grounding practices. Being whole, having inner parts in harmony, and being properly present and embodied are interconnected. The body plays a vital role in integrating parts-of self.
The field of embodiment and shamanism is vast and fascinating. This course will serve as an introduction, with two follow-up courses planned for next year: one specifically about shamanism and the body, and another on the work of Wilhelm Reich, the founder of Body-centered Psychotherapy, and what shamanism can contribute to his understanding of the body.
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 AND COMMUNITY
- 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 Animal, Plant, Stone course, you need to have completed one of the college’s online First Steps courses.