Talking to Anthropologist Dr. Felicitas D. Goodman - World ...

Music Therapy Today 

Vol. V (2) March 2004 

Bridging Ordinary and 

Alternate Realities – 

Talking to Anthropologist 

Dr. Felicitas D. Goodman 

by Petra Kern 

PetraKern@prodigy.net 

1

Kern, P.. (2004) Bridging Ordinary and Alternate Realities – Talking to Anthropologist Dr. Felicitas D. Goodman 

Music Therapy Today (online) Vol. V, Issue 2, available at http://musictherapyworld.net 

Introduction 

More than 27 years ago, Dr. Felicitas D. Goodman, anthropologist and 

linguist, re-discovered a doorway to enter the Alternate Reality through 

“Ritual Body Postures and Ecstatic Trance.” Her research investigations 

revealed a system of more than 50 body postures used in native societies. 

These postures when applied in ritual and in conjunction with auditory 

stimuli, frequently rattling or drumming, alter the body’s functioning and 

allow one to perceive and experience non-ordinary reality. Until her 

retirement Felicitas D. Goodman taught linguistics and anthropology at 

Denison University, Columbus, Ohio. She is known internationally for 

her numerous publications related to religion, ritual and trance. Felicitas 

has visited Germany and Austria on many occasions for workshops, presentations, 

and research projects. As the founder of the Cuyamungue 

Institute located in New Mexico, USA, she has trained several certified 

instructors in “Ritual Body Postures and Ecstatic Trance.” I had the privilege 

to spend many hours with Felicitas at the Cuyamungue Institute, 

overlooking the beautiful Pojoaque Valley and to ask her questions and 

learn more about ancient cultures, rituals, and altered states of consciousness. 

Felicitas spent her young adult life in Germany and enjoys the 

opportunity to speak German. To celebrate Felicitas’ 90. birthday, I 

would like to share selected audio excerpts from our German conversations. 

Audio Excerpts (German) 

Frage: Was ist die wichtigste neue Erkenntnis, die mit deiner Arbeit 

gewonnen wurde? 

Introduction 2



[Question: What is the most important outcome of your work?] 

[GOODMAN_TEXT 1.MP3] 2,1 MB 

Frage: Welche Bedeutung hat das in New Mexico lokalisierte Cuyamungue 

Institut für dich? 

[Question: What meaning does the Cuyamungue Institute located in New 

Mexico have for you?] 

[GOODMAN_TEXT 2 MP3] 268 KB 

Frage: Wie kam es zu der Wiederentdeckung der rituellen Körperhaltungen? 

[Question: How did the rediscovery of Ritual Body Postures come 

about?] 


Frage: Haben die rituellen Körperhaltungen und die ekstatische Trance 

etwas mit Glaubensinhalten zu tun? 

[Question: Do Ritual Body Postures and Ecstatic Trance have anything to 

do with faith?] 


Audio Excerpts (German) 3



Frage: Sind die Tranceerlebnisse heute denen der alten Kulturen ähnlich? 

[Question: Are today’s trance experiences similar to that of ancient cultures?] 


Frage: Sind rituelle Haltungen und die Trance Teil der Pueblo Kultur, der 

im Pojoaque Valley lebenden Indianer? 

[Question: Are Ritual Body Postures and trance part of the pueblo culture 

of the Indians living in the Pojoaque Valley?] 


Frage: Verwenden alte Kulturen heute noch musikalische Elemente im 

Zusammenhang mit Heilritualen? 

[Question: Do ancient cultures still use musical elements as part of healing 

rituals?] 


Frage: Gibt es rituelle Körperhaltungen, die mit Lauten verbunden sind? 

Welche Tranceerlebnisse werden dabei beschrieben? 

[Question: Are there Ritual Body Postures connected with sounds? 

Which trance experiences are described with them?] 




[INSERT: GOODMAN_TEXT 8 MP3] 1 MB 

Frage: Gibt es rituelle Körpehaltungen bei denen Heilung stattfindet? 

[Question: Are there Ritual Body Postures for healing?] 

[INSERT: GOODMAN_ TEXT 9 MP3] 1,2 MB 

Frage: Welche physiologischen Veränderungen treten mit den rituellen 

Körperhaltungen und der ekstatischen Trance ein? 

[Question: Which physiological changes can be seen with Ritual Body 

Postures and Ecstatic Trance?] 

[INSERT: GOODMAN_ TEXT 10 MP3] 700 KB 

Frage: Inwiefern hat das visionäre Erleben der anderen Wirklichkeit eine 

Bedeutung für unsere alltägliche Wirklichkeit? 

[Question: What meaning does the visionary experience of the alternate 

reality have for our daily lives? 

[INSERT: GOODMAN_ TEXT 11 MP3] 468 KB 

Many thanks to Dr. Felicitas D. Goodman for her teaching and sharing of 

trance experiences, discoveries, ancient myths, and life stories. 




References 

Goodman, F. D. (1988). Ecstasy, Ritual and Alternate Reality. Religion 

in a Pluralistic World. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 

Goodman, F. D. (1990). Where the Spirits Ride the Wind. Trance Journeys 

and other Ecstatic Experiences. Bloomington: Indiana University 

Press. 

Goodman, F. D. (1997). My last Forty Days. A Vision Journey among the 

Pueblo Spirits. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 

Goodman, F. D. (1997/1998). Ritual Body Postures, Channeling, and 

Ecstatic Trance. In C. Rätsch & J. R. Baker (Eds.), Yearbook for 

Ethnomedicine and the Study of Consciousness Vol. 1997/98 – 6/7, 

(pp. 71-76). Berlin, Germany: VWB – Verlag für Wissenschaft und 

Bildung. 

For more information, please check the following websites: 

www.ritualbodypostures.com 

References 6



www.cuyamungue-institut.de 

This article can be cited as: Kern, P.. (2004) Bridging Ordinary and Alternate 

Realities – Talking to Anthropologist Dr. Felicitas D. Goodman. 


References 7

Talking to Anthropologist Dr. Felicitas D. Goodman - World ...

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