Wild Mind Intensive – February 2026, Australia
February 3 - 7, 2026
With Doug Van Houten and Jules Howatt
Based on Bill Plotkin’s third 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 mainstream psychology’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), a 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 intensive, 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 subpersonalities that form during childhood.
Rather than attempt to eliminate our subpersonalities (which is not possible) or to beat them into submission, we’ll cultivate the four facets of the Self and uncover the gifts of our subpersonalities. 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.
Discover:
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how to recognise and consciously cultivate the four facets of the Self — your innate human wholeness
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how to identify the subpersonalities that supported you in childhood and adolescence to adapt to the challenges of family and social life, but ultimately became barriers to your full and authentic humanity
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practices and guidelines for cultivating relationships between the Self and your subpersonalities, enabling you to heal your subpersonalities, discover their gifts, and foster Self-actualisation
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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.
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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.
Guides
The singular dream that has been a perennial guide for Doug van Houten’s own guiding practice is one where humans thrive in a mutually enhancing relationship with Earth, know our cosmic origins, and see ourselves as integral and yet necessarily unique participants in the ongoingness of the universe. His lineage of teachers and inspirators includes: Bill Plotkin and the Animas Valley Institute, Joanna Macy, Matthew Fox, David Whyte, Mary Oliver and Brian Swimme to name a few. In co-creating wild, ceremonial and soulcentric spaces for human development, Doug draws upon the wisdom of deep imagery and dreams, somatic and embodied…
Learn more about Doug Van Houten
From earliest memory, Jules has been entranced by the allure of wild places, devoting her life to uncovering their manifold intricacies, from the raw beauty of natural landscapes to the profound depths of the psyche and the mysterious realms of the Underworld. She is dedicated to helping others explore their own authentic nature so as to further cultivate a deeper relationship to Soul and embracing the mystical longing for interconnectedness with all things. As an ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide, wilderness guide, and photographer, Jules resides amidst the enchanting peaks of the Columbia mountains in Canada, where she offers unwavering support for…
Learn more about Jules Howatt