The Spirit of the Land and the Force of Dreaming - Co-creating Alternatives

An Individual and Collective Alchemical Experiment to Co-create Alternatives

A Large Group Facilitation and Personal Coaching Training

A Process Work and World Work Clinic

Presented in Partnership by the Deep Democracy Institute, USA and Domus Solis, Lithuania

Untamed Ecology

The 2025 Intensive confronts the deepening fault lines of global polarization—manifesting as political fragmentation, regional and continental wars, resource-driven trade battles, escalating climate crises, and the rising specter of unpredictable pandemics.

Around the world, political and interest groups are locked in a battle of narratives, vying for the hearts and minds of everyday people. But our two decades of work bridging the Global North and Global South have revealed something quieter—and more powerful—beneath the noise: a deeper reality where human connection transcends ideology.

Outside the glare of media cycles and political framing, people from vastly different worlds come together—not despite their differences, but because they see through them. Like ecosystems that thrive through diversity and interdependence, these grassroots collaborations emerge across boundaries, supported by something more ancient than any narrative: the enduring spirit of the land itself.

Our inspiration draws from the enduring wisdom of surviving Indigenous cultures—teachers in the art of listening to and living by the spirit of the land. In our view, this seamlessly converges with Arnold Mindell’s Earth-based Psychology—a path that weaves together the insights of modern physics with the depth of intercultural awareness, grounding transformation in both the seen and unseen forces of life. As community builders, we are called to rediscover this voice together, to sense its presence in the rhythm of daily life, and to let its guidance shape both our personal paths and our shared futures.

2025 Intensive Themes

• The Spirit of the Land and the Indigenous Voice - Path to Collective Alternatives
• Innner Work for Watershed Moments in Life - Creating Alternatives for Yourself
• Alternatives in Relationships: The Creativity of Conflicts
• Migration, Territories, Borders, Wars and Indigenousnes - Alternatives to Mainstream Narratives of Polarization
• Death, Life and Creativity - the Alchemy of Body Symptoms
  

Who we are

This Clinic is an initiative of the Deep Democracy Institute International. We are members of the Deep Democracy Alliance, an alumni network of DDI colleagues from East Africa, West Asia, Southeast Asia, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, Australia, and the USA, all of whom have completed a Process Work Diploma program.

Our annual Intensive courses are regularly attended by co-learners from our global community—an essential expression of our organization’s core purpose and the meaning behind our logo: Unity in Diversity.

We are a member of the International Association of Process-oriented Psychologists (IAPOP) and our training program follows their guidelines.

We broadly indentify also with the Pluriverse Movement, whose core idea is based on the concept that there is no single universal way to live well, organize societies, or relate to nature. Instead, it honors diverse worldviews, cosmologies, and ways of knowing and being.

Daily Topics

Day 1: Riding the Horse and not the Saddle

Co-Learning Communities: Levels, Awareness and the Multidimensional Rank and Privilege Concept of Process Work, Essence of Personal Power (Mini Lecture, Inner Work and Group Process) Creating Alternatives to Power Narratives

Day 2: The Wisdom of the Sky

Quantum Mechanics, Entanglement, Rotational Symmetries in Conflict Resolution. Multidimensional aspect of Conflict Resolution. Creating Alternatives to Conflict and War

Day 3: The Spirit of the Land

Parallel Universes of the Dreaming of Ancestral Knowledge and Collaboration in Nature and Modern Narratives of Survival, Identities and Borders

Day 4: Morning: Co-Creating Personal Alternatives 1:

Fluidity across Realities – and Conflict Phases

Day 4: Afternoon: Free

Many offers of the Lithuanian community

Day 5: The Alchemy of the Dreambody

Human Flourishing (aka quality of life) and Rainbow Medicine (Health, bodies and dreams, and medical narratives) Alternatives in pursuing physical and mental health.

Day 6: Vanishing Points of Awareness

The Alchemical Elixir of Parallel Universe of Dreaming and Consensus Reality in Individual Lives and in Relationships, in Teams and Communities (from grassroots to governments and corporations) Creating an Experiment of Alternatives for yourself and your community.

Day 7: Co-Creating Communal Alternatives 2: Rythm and Ecstasy

The Power of Dancing and Singing and the Celebration of Life

Our 2025 Intensive Community: Awareness, Power and Communities

Our Intensive is a training event and at the same time action research experiment for creating alternative narratives for individuals, teams and communities.

We use aspects of Process Work to demonstrate and practice how the discipline of differentiating the Process-oriented Awareness Modes including multi-dimensional Process Work rank awareness modes can change perspectives, narratives and outcomes of community work.

We practice the use of the essence level when facilitating escalation, polarizations and hotspots. Our focus is on dropping personal history, and facilitating from the ground we stand on up.

Process Work differentiates between three types of rank, each with its own power, privileges, and characteristics:

• Consensus Reality Rank refers to measurable power hierarchies, whether individual or systemic, based on factors such as social status, wealth, or institutional influence.

• Dreaming Rank arises from an understanding of subjective roles and deeper psychological or relational awareness, existing on both individual and systemic levels.

• Essence Rank stems from a connection to deeper spiritual cores or essences, holding both dualities and offering a sense of interconnectedness beyond conventional and energetic hierarchies.

We practice the alchemy of awareness of multi-dimensional rank structure, and Process Work Conflict Phases to transform conflict into authentic collaboration.

The Paradigm

Arnold Mindell’s Process Work paradigm expands the traditional concepts of depth psychology, the existing narratives of modern physics, and ancient and modern spiritual traditions through his research of how we use diverse awareness modes to create our own realities.

Our Intensive focuses on demonstrating and practicing how dualities and polarizations shift when we cultivate the discipline to distinguish between our experiences in Consensus Reality—the collective ‘truth’ agreed upon by a culture or community—our Dreaming Reality, and our sentient knowledge.

Building on postmodernism, which deconstructs generally accepted stories of what reality, truth, and knowledge is, etc., it opens new and unexpected perspectives on the challenges we face as individuals, communities, and as a species.

This paradigm transforms not only our inner work but also our coaching and facilitation practices, giving us the fluidity to facilitate in complex, "chaotic" and also violent situations.

Inner Work in this Intensive

Process Work integrates the broad scientific fields of genetics, neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and linguistic research, challenging the idea that children are born as a blank slate. Instead, it proposes that children are born with an inherent personality structure. Building on Jung’s research on childhood dreams, Process Work explores how these early dreams reveal patterns that express themselves in various ways throughout life, creating a ‘life myth’—a journey principle, akin to a psychological-spiritual DNA. This life myth - your natural journey principle through life, is the core of individual adaptility and hence "resilience", not as a static force, but as an individually diverse dynamic organizing principle that creatively adapts to and processes external challenges and internal evolution. The discovery and befriending of our life myth, or deeper self, is an ongoing journey of self-awareness and growth. It works as an elixir against outer and internalized oppression and a life vest in turbulent situations.

Large Group Processes - Community Building - Conflict Facilitation and Resolution

In this Intensive, we explore how these conflict dynamics interconnect and how precolonial wisdom and postmodern collaboration models are deeply intertwined in fostering sustainable transformation. Conflicts—whether personal, communal, geopolitical, or even full-scale wars—are expressions of timespirits (Zeitgeist). They emerge as roles within the collective, manifesting in different forms across time. Although this is a process of evolution and innovation, it follows a cyclical pattern can be understood through four distinct phases:

1. Status quo identification,
2. Polarization:One-sidedness,
3. Mutual recognition of the other side
4. Detachment and resolution into a new role

Large-group processes and facilitation help reduce both inner and outer polarization by uncovering and reintegrating marginalized essences. This process allows us to engage with conflict from a place of renewed detachment, bringing awareness to the perennial nature of life that we all share.

The Spirit of the Land

The Spirit of the Land is a sentient experience—a vibe or atmosphere that belongs to a place. It expresses itself through geography, biology, and the interdependence of species, as well as through symbols, myths, and the cultural, historical, and religious practices, as well as artistic expression of the people who inhabit it. It also shapes the ways in which knowledge is gained and shared. Indigenous knowledge and identity - indigineousness - is a deep and persistent force within all of us. Though often marginalized by mainstream thought and replaced by modern concepts of rational enlightenment, it continues to express itself through our dreaming. The global marginalization of indigenous people mirrors the global marginalization of everyone's indigenousness, the alienation from our connection to nature and the spirit of the land.

A key aspect of Process Work is the deconstruction of modern frameworks that separate us from using our awareness to find our own inner wisdom, allowing us to reconnect with our own indigenousness—an innate, living presence within us.

Our host: Lithuania

Lithuania has a rich indigenous history deeply rooted in the Baltic region and is one of the few remaining countries in Europe where the influence of a natural spirituality, often described as "paganism", remains vibrant and deeply felt. The Lithuanian people, part of the Baltic ethno-linguistic group, have preserved one of the oldest Indo-European languages, closely tied to ancient Sanskrit. For centuries, Lithuania resisted Christianization, maintaining its animistic and polytheistic traditions until the late 14th century. The medieval Grand Duchy of Lithuania became one of the largest and most diverse states in Europe, stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea, fostering a unique fusion of indigenous Baltic traditions with Slavic, Jewish, and Central European influences. Despite occupations and being integrated into the Soviet Union, Lithuania has remained deeply connected to its folklore and land-based spirituality. The genuine respect and love for its history is also expressed in the growing popularity of Sutartinės, ancient multipart songs characterized by polyphonic singing, where singers perform different melodic lines in parallel, and Romuva, a movement that emphasizes a harmonious relationship with nature and the cycles of life, and revives ancient rituals.

The Ancient Tradition is reflected in Lithuanias Modern Life

(like in the picture above of the reflection of an ancient structure in the windows of a modern Vilnius business complex)
Today, Lithuania balances modernity with a deep reverence for its ancient heritage, which together with its rich and unique Christian Catholic tradition developed after the 14th century, making it a living testament to Baltic resilience and identity.

Co-learning Together: The Team

The Intensive follows a Process Work Clinic format, developed and co-facilitated by Ellen and Max Schupbach. It brings together a dynamic mix of seasoned Process Work Diplomats, advanced learners, and newcomers, creating a living co-learning experience where a unique culture of collaboration emerges differently each year. This evolving process adapts to each group and environment, leading to powerful, inspirational experiences that are shaped by those who participate.

Our participants come from diverse backgrounds across the globe. For this Intensive Clinic, we are actively engaging with communities in Eastern Europe and post-Soviet countries, as well as members of the Deep Democracy Alliance who are deeply connected to indigenous traditions in their daily lives.

Clinic Format: An Immersive Experience

This is not just a course—it is an immersice experience designed for individuals who feel an inner calling to explore these themes, regardless of their current life situation. It is for those seeking a deeper sense of wholeness within themselves and a way to apply that wholeness to building stronger communities and facilitating conflict resolution at all levels.

A Fluid, Participatory Daily Format

Our daily schedule is flexible and co-created, emerging from the group process and the flow of our ad hoc community of participants. While the structure adapts, the basic framework includes:

• 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Large group gatherings, demonstrations of inner work, and facilitated large-group processes. Different facilitator teams and willing participants lead these sessions daily.

• 2:30 – 3:30 PM

Tutorials on the theory used that day, along with open Q&A sessions for Newcomers to Process Work.

Small Groups of 15-20 People

• 4:00 – 5:30 PM

Small group sessions for inner work practices (individually or in dyads) and participant-led small group processes.

All of us together

• 5:45 – 7:00 PM

This slot features colleagues that live in indigenous communities, possibly allowing also individual work in a fishbowl setting, reflection time for small learning groups of three (which stay together throughout the Intensive), and additional integration activities.

Thursday, Oct 10 - 10:00a.m.- 1:00pm only

Online + Face to Face

Most participants send us great feeback on the inclusion processes of the face-to-face and the online participants.The facilitation of any issues and the collaboration between the two parts of the communities is an important aspect of creating alternatives.

Morning - We plan for a beginning structure to include online and f-2-f participants during the morning sessions (10a.m.-1p.m. CEST)

*for online participants who cannot join during that time period, recording will be available!

Afternoon – The format will most likely be mixed, where we break up into smaller groups and/or dyads, where as the online participants create their own small groups that fits into their timezone. There will be an online facilitator for the parts that are separate.

The question of combining or separating online and f-2-f participation in the afternoons will not be planned prior to the event, but processed by everyone to facilitate consensus-based solutions.

Evening - All of Us Together again, which recordings for online participants who are not able to join

Course Fee :

F-2-F Vilnius 980 Euro

Online 480 Euro

We Follow Geographical Pricing - Please Inquire about Special Fees for Your Region.

Scholarships are available! Please write to mpere@deepdemocracyinstitute.org

***course fee for Vilnius includes coffee and tea (meals + lodging are not included)