Wild Mind Intensive – June 2024, Dominican Republic
June 28 - July 2, 2024
With Laura Gunion
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 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 recognize 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-actualization
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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.
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.
VILLA PAJON ECO-LODGE, VALLE NUEVO NATIONAL PARK, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
We will be held by the sacred lands of the mountains of Dominican Republic, 6800 ft above sea level, where the clouds and the pines meet, where the silence is so profound you will have no other choice but to listen, really listen to what she has to say, & where the darkest of nights gift us the brightness of the stars.
You will be staying at the beautiful Villa Pajón. Villa Pajon is the only eco-lodge within Valle Nuevo National Park and within it are miles and miles of hikes within many diverse ecosystems. It consists of 7 cabins, all with different capacities from a 2-person, to a 10-person lodge. All cabins have several bathrooms, a chimney, living room and kitchen.
The eco-lodge also has a main kitchen and dining area where we will all be gathering for our meals together and other activities.
Villa Pajon is solely solar-powered, and we encourage the preservation of this energy to all guests.
Guide
Laura believes that humans have tremendous potential, much of it hidden and unconscious. As a mentor, wilderness guide and naturalist, it is both her privilege and responsibility to support others as they encounter their true nature. She feels it’s essential that we grow, not only for ourselves, but also to create cultures that will benefit future generations. She insists on bringing the soulful and sacred into daily living. Her curiosity, acute listening, and precise questioning support people in living boldly and courageously. Laura has been a mentor at Wilderness Awareness School since 2002, and continues to love instructing at their…
Learn more about Laura Gunion