Foundations of Wild Mind, Online - August, 2025

Based on Bill Plotkin’s book, Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche, this 6 day program is an experiential exploration of our human psyches as unique expressions of the universal forces and patterns of nature. We will work with what we call the Nature-Based Map of the Human Psyche, which is, among other things, a comprehensive inventory of what can be right about a person, a “shadow” version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), mainstream psychology’s list of what can go wrong with people.

Our wild minds possess astonishing resources, untapped potentials and depths that we might not even know exist until we discover how to access them, cultivate their powers, and eventually integrate them into our everyday lives. In this online course, we’ll access these depths and potentials — which we call the four facets of the Self, or the four dimensions of our innate human wholeness — and also the four sets of fragmented or wounded parts or “subpersonalities” that form during childhood.

We will cultivate the four facets of the Self and deepen into our innate wisdom, creativity, vision and emotional aliveness. Rather than attempt to eliminate our protective and wounded parts (which is not possible) or to beat them into submission, we’ll listen compassionately to them and uncover their gifts. This online offering not only invites an opportunity to experience and embody the parts of the Wild Mind map of the human psyche in an accessible and simple way, it also supports you to bring the learnings home into your daily life, in order to practice awareness of your resources, protective strategies and wounded ones as they show up in your relationships.

You are encouraged to practice deeply within a supportive container as we engage in an intensive week of zoom calls with invitations for wanders, journaling and other practices. If possible, we invite you to clear your schedule of as much as you can in order to step into the wilds of your mind and the wilds outside your door as much as possible during these days. The sunday is a day off from zoom, in order to pause from the computer and have time for a longer wander within the time frame of the course. 

This offering is for those who are curious about a first step into nature-based soulwork as well as those further along the Journey of Soul who are needing support with more advanced wholing and healing practices. This is an opportunity to cultivate your Wild Mind facets of wholeness in each of the 4 directions of the map and for a supportive container to compassionately bring protective parts back home to your “inner village”.

Discover:

• how to recognize and consciously cultivate the four facets of the Self — your innate human wholeness

• how to identify the protective strategies or subpersonalities that supported you in childhood and adolescence to adapt to the challenges of family and social life, but ultimately became barriers to the full and authentic expression of your wholeness
• practices and guidelines for cultivating Self-healing relationships between the Self and your subpersonalities, enabling you to gratefully welcome them home and discover and integrate their gifts.

• how each facet of the Self provides essential resources for the underworld journey (the descent to soul), its radical transformation of personal identity, and for living as a visionary artisan of cultural evolution.

We’ll explore the landscape of the psyche through a variety of practices, including creative expression, self-designed ceremony, solo exercises while wandering on the land, group work, movement, voice dialogue, journaling, and deep imagery work.  Our goal is to fully embody our multifaceted wild minds, commit ourselves to the largest, soul-infused story we’re capable of living, and serve the greater Earth community.

If you are not able to dedicate time (2-4 hours) for wanders and journaling between each online session, this may not be the time for you to participate. This work relies on you having solo time with the more-than-human world. You don’t need to be in totally wild places. Access to a place where you feel safe and that the rhythms of nature are at least as noticeable as the human rhythms (some city parks can work) will be extremely supportive.