Laura Gunion

The application deadline for this immersion has passed and the program is full. If you would like to still apply, please do so, and the guides will review your application if a cancellation occurs. Crossing Into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche is an advanced version of the Soulcraft Intensive for people prepared for a radical immersion in the enigmatic dark waters of soul. This intensive is designed for those with previous Animas experience, people who have cultivated the personal resources we call the four facets of wholeness, people whose primary longing in life now is for a first or…

Based on Bill Plotkin’s book, Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche, this 5-day intensive 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…

The Way of Council empowers us to gather together, speak from our hearts, and witness each other fully, not only by making it safe enough to do so but also by generating a group field that enables us to reveal our hidden depths to ourselves as well as to others. Through council, we cultivate our capacities for empathy, compassion, and sensitivity to where we are and how we are with each other and in the world. The Art of Mirroring: There is an art to hearing a story as well as telling one. Mirroring is a collection of skills employed…

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…

The application deadline for this immersion is July 26, 2024. Please submit your application prior to that date.  The Yearlong Soulcraft Immersion: Cultivating Soul-Infused Artistry and Leadership in a Time of Global Change is an advanced program for people already immersed in their soul-discovery process and who are either in a leadership position or are longing to support radical change in our world through cultivating their most vital, visionary essence. This program is focused on neither healing nor therapy, but rather on the journey of soul initiation and on the development of the skills and sensibilities required for the embodiment…

The Way of Council and the Art of Mirroring are invaluable practices on the descent to soul. Although much of the descent is solitary, gathering with others in council can make all the difference in finding our way. In the mirror of another, our eyes are opened to aspects of both our gifts and our challenges that we might not have seen otherwise. We are encouraged and inspired to drop into realms that are scary, edgy, darkly alluring, mysterious, and ecstatic — dangerous, yes, but keenly aligned with our deepest longings. Council and Mirroring can crack us open to irrefutable…

Sweet Darkness: The Initiatory Gifts of the Shadow, Projections, Subpersonalities, and the Sacred Wound, is Animas Valley Institute’s most intensive short program. Because of this, we require that people have participated in other Animas programs before applying to Sweet Darkness. Additionally, we have extended Sweet Darkness into a 6-day immersion. Before diving into Core Wound work, we will begin by gathering our facets of wholeness, our internal resources that allow us to travel into uncharted territory.  Unlike in many modalities, we will strive to get close to the ways we are vulnerable and the ways our sensitivity has been challenging.…