The Third Space: Alchemy of the Physical and Digital in Ritual Practices

Dr. Barbara Doran - Transdisciplinary School, University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

Eileen Wiediger - Independent Researcher

Technology and AI play ever-increasing roles in our lives, functioning as mystical “black boxes” whose inner workings remain opaque even as we become more reliant upon them. While technology offers undeniable benefits, it often detracts from real-world engagement. Drawing upon Iain McGilchrist’s insights into the interplay of attention and meaning and David Abram’s reflections on technology’s dual role as both enabler of magic and disruptor of our connection to the earth, this workshop reimagines technology’s role in ritual practices.

Anthropological studies of myth cite the power of ritual in cohering the space between chaos and connection/certainty and in this workshop it serves as an alchemical “philosopher’s stone,” dissolving boundaries between physical and digital, individual and collective, to facilitate the emergence of a third space that expands both imagination and consciousness.

Participants will explore how merging tangible and virtual elements creates a new whole by engaging in craft-oriented and somatic activities that integrate technology as a transformative element. This experience is an invitation and opportunity to rethink our relationship with technology, seeing it not as a necessary tool or source of mindless distraction, but as a partner in restoring balance, fostering creativity, and reconnecting to human and spiritual sensibilities.

This workshop was co-presented in July 2025 at the 5th International Possibility Studies Conference at Maynooth University, Ireland