Avatar

Domain XIV · Western esoteric, divinatory & new spiritual movements · Harry Palmer · 1986

What it is

Avatar is a commercial, trademarked large-group personal-development training, first released in 1986, taught in multi-day workshops and licensed to independent "Avatar Masters" worldwide. It is not a psychotherapy and this guide does not teach a therapist to deliver it. The guide is for a…

Format

• ReSurfacing - described by Star's Edge and its Masters as Section I of the Avatar Course: a 2-day workshop of information, demonstrations and experiential exercises using around 30 "tools" to surface and examine self-limiting beliefs. Often introduced through a free "Info Hour" or evening/webinar…
• Masters Course - trains graduates to deliver and sell the lower courses; taught by Star's Edge. As of 2008 the course had five sections, with Masters teaching the first three and Star's Edge teaching the two advanced sections.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Avatar is sold as a sequence of escalating courses; a graduate who pays to become a Master or Wizard may then teach lower courses and pays a royalty/licence share to Star's Edge on income earned.
• The Avatar Course - a roughly 9-day course comprising Sections I-III, delivered by licensed Avatar Masters; this is the core training and the gateway to the ladder above it.
• Professional Course / Integrity Course - further licensed/advanced offerings; an "Integrity Course" has been reported as a 5-day course around US$500.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Pressure to merge roles; your own curiosity or bias leaking in. Working well: roles stay clear and the client's autonomy is protected.
• Escalating distress, sleeplessness, derealisation. Working well: brief contact helps the client re-ground and either continue safely or leave safely.
• Isolation, depression, suicidality, intrusive shame, financial ruin. Working well: the client rebuilds meaning and relationships and self-blame softens.
• Us/them framing, secrecy, guilt-driven loyalty, fear of leaving. Working well: the client can see the dynamics and chooses their level of involvement freely.
• Residential settings far from home; phones discouraged; social pressure that makes leaving costly. Working well: the client has a concrete, independent way out.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.