Brian Stafford, MD, MPH

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…

This contemporary Western embodiment of the ancient, pan-cultural vision fast is a dynamic wilderness rite for all who are seeking greater depth and clarity about life purpose and meaning. As a rite of initiation, the quest is a ceremonial descent to the underworld, in which you die to your familiar way of belonging to the world, uncover the passion and wisdom of your soul, and retrieve the gift that is yours alone to bring to the world, enhancing personal fulfillment and genuine service. The Animas Quest catalyzes the encounter with soul by temporarily displacing everyday consciousness through five primary means:…

This Program is FULL. Please sign up for the waitlist. 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…

THE ART OF MIRRORING: There is an art to hearing a story as well as telling one. Mirroring is a collection of skills employed in receiving, embracing, and honoring each others’ stories. In mirroring, we neither project nor interpret but rather celebrate the magic of the story and the gifts of the One Who Bears the Tale. We help the storyteller glean-harvest-reap the jewels, the dark ones as well as those that sparkle. 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…

This Program is FULL. Please sign up for the waitlist. In the Wild Mind Mirroring Training, we practice detecting the greater story that pulses beneath the events of a person’s life. By immersing ourselves in the practice of deep listening and mirroring, we uncover the archetypal themes that might frame a per-son’s experience within the arc of their destiny. When our story is compassionately reflected through the skilled mirroring of anoth-er, we feel fully heard and able to experience ourselves in a larger and more meaningful context; we’re enabled to catch up to ourselves and perhaps leap into the next…

Anchored in pan-cultural four-directions wisdom, contemporary depth and archetypal psychologies, and forty years of nature-based soul guiding, the Soulcentric Developmental Wheel (SDW) is a new ecopsychology of human development and cultural transformation. It’s a blueprint showing how richly we can grow and mature when soul and nature are embraced as our wisest and most trustworthy guides. It includes an integrated set of developmental guidelines that can help every human mature into an adulthood of visionary leadership — precisely what we need in this century if we are to create a just, compassionate, and sustainable world. A life-span model of development…

There is a sacred portal, a mysterious door, a green gate, a dark space into certain realms of our consciousness, of our and the collective Psyche. These portals are both within and without. Many of us struggle to find enchantment in the world and a connection to our imagination. An important practice for intentionally accessing the sometimes-hidden realms of the Self, the Earth, and the Cosmos is through the practice of deep imagery. Around us we see the cleverness of the human ego creating artificial intelligence and striving for virtual reality when, in fact, what we most deeply long for…

Life is a wild adventure. And this programme is a great starter to rewild one’s life, move beyond domestication and to remember our primary place of belonging – the Earth community. We will venture into wildish places leaving our previous identities behind. We will engage in conversation with each other, but in a sacred circle. We will engage in conversation with the wild ones (dragonfly, raven, river, klipspringer) whose ecosystem we are stepping into. We will engage in conversation with long-forgotten aspects of ourselves – our muse, our wild self, and our innocent child. We will converse with the sun,…