The SPR’s 40th International Annual conference will be held at the University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9JT, U.K. between Friday 2 and Sunday 4 September 2016. The University Leeds is in the centre of the city. As always, our very full conference programme will address a broad range of topics, covering both spontaneous cases and laboratory research. In addition to the talks, conferences are a marvelous opportunity to network and share views, and there will be time to socialise over lunch and the regular breaks, not to mention during the President’s drinks reception on Friday evening and Saturday’s conference banquet. Speakers have come from all over the UK, as well as from Europe and the United States, making it truly an international event. This year’s conference promises to be full of interest, as ever, and the new chairman of our Conference Programme Committee will add a fresh take on a tried and tested formula. Those who attend, whether this is their first conference or their fortieth, can be sure of having both an informative and a very enjoyable time. We look forward to seeing you in Leeds!
Wild or Domesticated Interdisciplinary Conference
An interdisciplinary conference organized by The Mind and the Other Research Project and by The Finnish Anthropological Society.
Helsinki, Finland (The House of Science and Letters), September 20-22, 2016
I shall be speaking at this conference on the topic of Spirit Release Therapy Methods of Discernment.
Uncanny experiences, the search for the inexplicable, or the belief in supernatural beings or universal energies trigger disputes about at least ontology, rationality, sanity, and the limits of the mind. Modern Western society is for the most part characterized by principles such as rationality and efficiency. Quoting Max Weber, these ideas comprise the leading forces of modern society and science. However, what several scholars in religious studies currently call post-secularism has given rise to new spiritual tendencies and movements in society. These post-secular tendencies have brought about something that several authors term ‘re-enchantment’: new spirituality and uncanny experiences are perhaps more than ever a part of Western everyday life. Some scholars define the situation as a crisis of rationality, whereas others again accentuate the recurrent nature of historical phenomena, pointing to recurring waves of thought stretching from the Ancient past to the present. Still others claim that in practice the rational and the uncanny are intertwined in a new mode. In historical and ethnographic explorations the uncanny can be understood, not as a boundary between rational and its “outside”, but as an element of connection and compromise between them practiced by ordinary people and practices of institutions, such as modern medicine and science.
Psychic Protection at the Crazy Wisdom Bookstore
Psychic Protection with Terence Palmer
Tue May 10th 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Psychic Protection with Terence Palmer • May 10, 7-8:30 p.m. in the Crazy Wisdom Community Room •Participants will learn to protect themselves from negative spirit intrusions during meditation practices. $10 suggested donation. Call Priscilla at 269-339-1951; pbrowndec3@gmail.com or tjpalmer.org.
Discernment: Recognising the Presence of Spirits
Wild or Domestic is an interdisciplinary conference to be held in Helsinki from 20th to the 22nd of September.
Discernment is a key skill in many traditions concerned with non-physical, non-ordinary beings, whether in the context of shamanism, spirit possession and mediumship, or spirit release therapies and ghost hunting in contemporary post-industrial societies. How do practitioners know that spirits are present? How do practitioners distinguish between what they perceive to be an external, ontological other and the ‘normal’ self? What methods are employed to make this distinction? Inherent in such questions are issues relating to the nature of personhood and consciousness – what exactly constitutes a ‘person,’ and what is ‘consciousness’? This workshop will explore the theme of discernment from a range of different cultural contexts, and will discuss the implications of traditions of discernment for wider questions about the nature of consciousness and self.
Convenors:
PhD candidate Jack Hunter University of Bristol, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, UK
Dr. Fiona Bowie, King’s College London, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, UK
Dr Terence Palmer will be presenting evidence of how Spirit Release practitioners can discern the differences between different types of spirit. For a pdf of all abstracts for the workshop click on this link. Helsinki Abstracts – Discerning Spirits.
The Coptic Center, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Exploring the extraordinary conference
7th Conference
Friday 4th – Sunday 6th December, 2015
York Marriott Hotel, Tadcaster Road, York, UK
Since its inception in 2007, members of Exploring the Extraordinary have organised six successful academic conferences that have brought together researchers from a variety of different disciplines and backgrounds. The purpose of these events has been to encourage a wider dissemination of knowledge and research, and an interdisciplinary discussion of extraordinary phenomena and experience. By ‘extraordinary’ we refer to phenomena and experiences that are considered to be beyond the mundane, referring to those that have been called supernatural, paranormal, mystical, transcendent, exceptional, spiritual, magical and/or religious, as well as the relevance of such for human culture.
5th British Congress on Medicine and Spirituality
‘SPIRITUALITY IN CLINICAL PRACTICE’
A two days event with 10 Speakers.
31st October and 1st November 2015
London – Rudolf Steiner House and Theatre
Come and experience this cutting edge event where pioneering scientists present their research findings on the relationship between medicine and spiritual practice. For the programme and booking information click the link below:
5th British Congress on Medicine and Spirituality
Ethnic Health Initiative – spirit possession and mental health conferences
9TH MARCH LONDON / 13TH MARCH MANCHESTER
Spirit possession is recognised worldwide across many cultures and by several religions. Spirit possession is often seen as an idiom of distress causing a change in behaviour and mental well being. Spirit possession is also included in the ICD 10 and DSM IV classifications of mental disorders, yet the extent to which it is recognised and / or discussed in clinical practice is less than we would expect, even in UK cities where there resides a diverse population.
This one day event will consider the critical themes and debates on spirit possession from an anthropological, social, psychological, medical and religious perspective using a range of illustrative case study, clinical practice and research.
THE AIMS OF THE CONFERENCE
• Discuss possible definitions and different kinds of spirit possession
• Debate the key elements which typify spirit possession
• Discuss who can make a diagnosis of spirit possession and how such a diagnosis might be made
• Compare and contrast how spirit possession might be viewed by clinicians, religious leaders, healers, the “the patient”, family and community members
• Discuss the value of using patient’s explanatory model of illness
• Reflect upon the key issues associated with defining what is “normal” and “abnormal”
• Discuss folk healing practices in different cultures and “treatment” options including exorcism
• Consider whether there is a need to enhance joint working between mental health professionals and transitional healers.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
This conference will be relevant to all professionals in the field of Mental Health and Social Care, including those from Local Authorities and NHS trusts across the UK, Social Workers, Approved Mental Health Professionals, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Psychotherapists, Counsellors, Early Intervention Teams, CPN’s, OT’s, Chaplains, Community Faith Leaders & Healers, Equality Leads, Community Development Workers, Service User Representatives, Charities, Third Sector, Educational Establishments, Academics and Policy makers.
DOWNLOAD: CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
DOWNLOAD: BOOKING FORM (LONDON)
DOWNLOAD: BOOKING FORM (MANCHESTER)
2nd edition of The Science of Spirit Possession released
This second edition includes an additional chapter on neuro-imaging and automatic writing, together with a draft research protect protocol to test the efficacy of remote spirit release therapy under strictly controlled conditions.
Click on the image to purchase direct from the publisher.
SMN Frontiers of science and spirituality
A day of 10-minute talks at Imperial College, London
Costs just £15 and free for undergraduates
More info and booking form here:
https://www.scimednet.org/
Speakers: Prof John Drew, David Lorimer, Dr Sheelah James, Dr Fiona Bowie, Prof Jim Malone, Vasileios Basios, Paul Kieniewicz, Dr Oliver Robinson, Dr Peter Bowman, Prof John Poynton, Prof Kevin Gurney, Prof Brian Lancaster, Hugh Standish Harrison, Brian Isbell, Mark Mathews, Dr Peter Davies