Shamanism & Psychoanalysis

Means for Self-Empowerment vis-a-vis Society

Thursdays at 8PM at 457 Bathurst St. starting January 19th, 2006.

Facilitator: Eric Moot - schoenezukunft@hotmail.com

This course will be given in a dynamic open discussion format, pushing all boundaries of the academic paradigm. Participants shall be encouraged to present their own interpretations and ideas creatively by using not just words but all forms of art and free expression on many levels. Theoretical concepts will be used to inspire direct experience from which the deepest lessons shall be learned and applied to all spheres of life. Bring an open mind and a nostalgia for paradise.

No registration is required for those coming to the first class, but please send an e-mail to say hello anyways and write a bit about where you're coming from with your interest in this course.

Class #1 - Introduction and Basic Themes & Survey of Content

Society & Civilization

• Basic perspective which course assumes (& its epistemological roots)

Linguistics & Psychoanalysis (Basic Concepts)

• Interpreting the role of the English language in our thought structures and this course

• Concept of language as programming for the mind

• What defines reality & consciousness (& sub-consciousness)

• Discussion on psychoanalysis and its functions

• Direct experience vs. linguistic perceptions (& psychoanalytic reconciliation)

Shamanism

• Perspective that this course will assume (Experimental approach to shamanic culture)

• Hazards of approaching this topic through western linguistic structures

• Traditional role in a village: Primary role being the healer

• Anthropological Perspective

• Mystical Perspective

• Psychedelic Perspective

Conclusions

• Both are means for personal empowerment
• Ways to understand and improve your relationship vis-a-vis society

• The combination of both as a powerful formula for the healing of mind, body and soul

• Finding your own path in life, free from social pressure
• Towards a beautiful future

Class #2 - Psychoanalysis vs. Psychiatry

Psychiatry

"Be Normal!" - Psychiatry as means for preserving social control

• Basic assumptions of Psychiatry
• Mental diseases (dis-ease) and psychiatry's rigid categorization of them
• The philosophy of pharmaceutical medications applied to psychological 'disorder'
• The specific applications of pharmaceuticals and the ways that these drugs work
• Experience reports on psychiatric medications
• When all else fails: Institutionalization as a means for suppression and a threat used for social control

Psychoanalysis

• Overview of various influential psychoanalytic thinkers
• Overview modern day perspectives and theories
• Focus on Wilhelm Reich and his work
  • Biographical information (Austrian Jew from Ukraine/Student of Freud/Exiled by many regimes/Work in America/Books burned, Death in American Prison)
  • Sexual theories
  • Discoveries of the influence of emotions on the body
  • Orgone research
• Do-it-yourself Psychoanalysis Primer
  • Putting it into language (usefulness of Psychoanalytic Vernacular)
  • Analyzing relationships in your life (e.g. mother, father, former lovers)
  • Finding the humor and wisdom in it all
  • Example: "Panel of experts"
  • Reaching deep in the psyche: The need to articulate it to diffuse what's repressed

Class #3 - The Psychological Building Blocks of Civilization

• General theme: "Sexual frustration builds such pretty civilization"

• Organization into Class structure/Hierarchy

• Historic presence of an elite

• Habit and Novelty: Conservation and Progression (Change in society)

Class #4 - Ancient Shamanic Practices

• Overview of worldwide shamanic traditions, what varies and what is universal
• The call to shamanize - lineage vs. calling
• Spirit realms recognized by shamanism & means of invocation
• The nature energies encountered and interacted with
• The shaman as the warrior of worlds unseen
• The illusions that the shaman puts out to avoid interference and to gather power
  • (The attitude of power/Use of symbolism/Transgenderism)
• Methods of healing employed and examples of how healing is achieved

Class #5 - The Use of Psychoactive Substances to Heal

• To express not repress - how this approach is different than the use of drugs in modern psychiatry
• Anthropological perspective on ethno-botanicals
• Case study - Amazonian Shamanism (Psilocybin Mushrooms/Coca/Focus: Ayahuasca - The most powerful medicine known to man!)
• Integrating psychedelic experiences into everyday consciousness
• How LSD & MDMA were used in psychotherapy before they were made illegal
• How stimulants can bring repressed material into mental consciousness
• The power of drugs to unleash buried material
• The Dangers: How what's unleashed can go out of control
• Discussion on MAXIMUM SAFTEY
• The rewards of being a psychonaut

Class #6 - Using this knowledge to heal in face of the insanity of our civilization

• Why much of this knowledge has remained secret for so long
• "Culture is not your friend"
• How to avoid and/or deal with confrontation by people with fascist mentalities
• Avoiding conflict
• How to recognize and negate your own fascist mentalities and your own psychological blocks to success in your goals
• How to minimize negative attention drawn towards yourself as you share your views (removing the need for validation)
• Maintaining freedom under authoritarian regimes
• Hacking society to suit your goals
• Spreading the message of healing and freedom

Class #7 - Conclusion: Paths to wholeness & Self Empowerment

• Summation of all that has been taught
• How these ideas and practices can be used to attain wholeness and liberation from the prison of Western Civilization
• Changing the world from your insides out
• How important this message is now to set the future in the right direction
• Different perspectives on the evolution of humanity and how we shall transcend this point in history
• This path towards a beautiful future

Class #8 - Open discussion and group activities

Class #9 - Ending gathering/field trip

Extra-Curricular Activities and Gatherings will be announced during the classes.

Brief Selection of Readings

• On Belief (Thinking in Action) - Slavoj Zizek

• The Mass Psychology of Fascism - Wilhelm Reich

• Freud and Beyond: A History of Modern Psychoanalytic Thought - Stephen A. Mitchell & Margaret J. Black

• One River: Explorations and Discoveries in the Amazon Rain Forest - Wade Davis

• Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution - Terence McKenna

• Cosmic Trigger Volume I - Robert Anton Wilson

• Emotion and Spirit: Questioning the Claims of Psychoanalysis and Religion - Neville Symington