Anthropologists and evolutionary psychologists find a sophistication in the shaman’s cultivation and the use of certain procedures for altering conscious experience that go beyond what is currently available in more industrialized societies. This course presents lectures and experiential exercises to illustrate shamanic use of language and art as instructive in regard to the utility of metaphors and symbols in social interactions as well as their therapeutic value. Rituals and methods used in shamanic healing are reviewed.
- Instructor: Michelle Dexter
This course is based on the Institute’s mission encompassing an interdisciplinary approach to the student’s choice of academic discipline. Topics include comparative religion and philosophy studies, psychology, biology, and an understanding of Western and Eastern paradigms. From this experience, the student develops a holistic study of human life. This includes mind, body, and spirit. This multidisciplinary emphasis intends to bridge different paradigms of thought advancing consciousness and fostering the pursuit of a global society. The course introduces students to this integral view of life and the interdisciplinary study that is the foundation of CIHS’ curriculum.
- Instructor: Roger Cavnaugh
This course encompasses aspects of the psychological problems in the geriatric study of aging including disorders of old age and infirmities, as well as their application in long-term care and sociocultural considerations. In addition, the psychotherapeutic issues in addressing issues associated with AIDS/terminal grief counseling are discussed.
- Instructor: Sharon Mijares, Ph.D.
This course examines the chakra system from the perspective of their affect on the four archetypes of the whole human being: mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional. Chakras are transformer of energy, but they are also transformers of consciousness into the physical dimension. The chakras are also examined as to their particular dominance in person’s life: how one chakra may more prevalent than others do in affecting the way in which one perceived reality.
- Instructor: Richard Jelusich