New cognitive models—rooted in embodied mind theory and Varela's neurophenomenology—offer more precise tools for analyzing the actor-spectator relationship in theater. These models introduce three key paradigm shifts: a direct link between perception and action; consciousness as a circular process between person and environment, not just brain activity; and a move beyond the inner/outer dichotomy. From this perspective, four refined concepts emerge: dilated intention, performative body schema, co-constitution of theatrical space, and the spectator's performative experience.
In Meknes over the last decade, a couple—a man possessed by a female spirit and a woman possessed by a male spirit—has become established in spirit possession contexts. Their life stories and marital relationship are deeply intertwined with experiences of the invisible world. Their alliance with spirits reveals a personal drama unfolding around daily life and ritual activities, and serves as proof of their expertise as rites officiants to the wider possession cult community. Hamid, possessed by female spirit Lalla Malika, is a specially qualified officiant of female possession rites. Iman, possessed by Jewish spirit David, embodies double otherness of gender and religious affiliation.