Emily Goddard - Ritual Reset: radical ethnographies of liminal spaces

This talk explores how we can understand states of consciousness and how to use them effectively. This will be investigated through ethnographic research into examples of radical immersion art-forms and therapies and what they have to offer to this. The concept of liminal will be approached in the context of the space where thought processes inhabit, whilst they re-contextualise themselves before metamorphosis; this is where we reconstitute the self and transition through different identities to develop the evolving theoretical self.
The therapies and art-forms in question become ‘radical’ through their holistic approach to the human experience of how the body and mind work in harmony to embody knowledge of self and environment in a synergistic manner. The ethnographic data comes from studies conducted using participant observation and auto-ethnographic practices from two ethnographies:
The first is of the Waldorf Project in London (UK), which uses radical art and immersive performance. Sensory, creative, ritualistic, experiences are offered to the participants so that they become a part of the installation and their experiences and responses are integral to the piece.
The second is a model of a sound healing group in Ceredigion (Wales, UK) that uses trans-personal psychology, and ‘sound yoga’. The course structure maps and encourages physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional immersive experiences to stimulate sensory responses which enable a broader toolkit to develop self and environmental knowledge, plus emotional and psychological processing. In questioning the polarity of the human condition, this paper applies anthropological perspectives to observed thought process of acting within liminality. It offers insight into how these relate to therapeutic practices, plus the issues which arise related to social and therapeutic power dynamics within the self and groups. This research uses key concepts from material culture, power dynamics, ritual, and porosity in anthropology; Ingold's theories on environment and humanity will be explored, as will Haraway's theories of kinship. A byproduct of this process, from the position of the ethnographer, is the concept of ethnographic research being caught within the duality of reality; the experiential state and analytic observer simultaneously. The research suggests that these immersive experiences offer holistic interpretations of the human experience of reality, which creates the potential for solutions to evolve. They create ways of effective thinking for better development of ‘theory of mind’ and modes of logic, benefiting all states of consciousness in liminal and non-liminal spaces.
Emily Goddard is an anthropology graduate of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Her approach is informed by interdisciplinary education in philosophy, psychology, ancient Egyptian religion, and therapeutic DBT.
As an autistic academic, she became the Mental Health Officer for the student union in Graig College and then again in university, while working as an assistant staff member for SoCom (a support group for students with social and communication difficulties). Her current research is on immersive performance with The Waldorf Project, ritual sound healing therapies, effective communication, theory of mind, personal performance, and therapy for both the body and mind.