C.G. Jung Society, Seattle

Bill Plotkin, Ph.D.

Nature and the Human Soul: Ecocentric Individuation in an Egocentric World

Lecture: Friday, May 2, 2008, 7 to 9 p.m.
Good Shepherd Center, 4th floor theater, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., Seattle
$15 members, $30 nonmembers
2 CEUs

Workshop: Saturday, May 3, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Good Shepherd Center, 4th floor theater, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., Seattle
$50 members, $70 nonmembers
5 CEUs

• See Inside Pages for Randy Morris's book review of Nature and the Human Soul, by Bill Plotkin.
• To learn about preregistering for the workshop, see Preregistration Policy and Form.

In response to a pervasive hunger for meaning and belonging in our time of global crisis, this lecture and workshop introduces a new ecopsychology of human development that reveals how fully and creatively we can mature when soul and wild nature guide us. The Eco-Soulcentric Developmental Wheel—the subject of Bill
Plotkin’s new book, Nature and the Human Soul—is a model for a human life span rooted in the cycles and qualities of the natural world, a blueprint for individual development that ultimately yields a strategy for cultural transformation.

If it is true that we live in a culture dominated by adolescent habits and desires, then the enduring societal changes we so desperately need won’t happen until we individually and collectively evolve into an engaged, authentic adulthood. During this weekend, we’ll explore eight stages of human life, each defined by the joining of a human archetype to an Earth archetype — the Innocent in the Nest, the Explorer in the Garden, the Thespian at the Oasis, the Wanderer in the Cocoon, the Soul Apprentice at the Wellspring, the Artisan in the Wild Orchard, the Master in the Grove of Elders, and the Sage in the Mountain Cave — and the challenges and benefits of each. We’ll explore how we can progress from our current egocentric, aggressively competitive, consumer society to an ecocentric, soul-based one that is sustainable, cooperative, and compassionate.

The lecture will be an overview of the Eco-Soulcentric Developmental Wheel. The workshop will focus on the Cocoon and Wellspring stages, provide an experiential introduction to soulcraft practices for addressing the tasks of those stages, and include a discussion of the important differences between psychotherapy and the process of soul initiation.

Bill Plotkin, Ph.D., has been a psychotherapist, rock musician, river runner, research psychologist, and mountain-bike racer. The founder and president of Animas Valley Institute, he has guided thousands of people through initiatory passages in nature since 1980. As a depth psychologist, ecotherapist, and wilderness guide, he leads a variety of experiential, nature-based individuation programs. He is the author of Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World and Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche. His doctorate in psychology (1976) is from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

This program has been approved for 7.0 CEU’s by the Washington Chapter, National Association of Social Workers (NASW) for Licensed Social Workers, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists and Licensed Mental Health Counselors. Provider number is #1975-157. The cost to receive a certificate is as follows: 7.0 units for lecture and workshop $15; 2.0 units for the Friday lecture $10; 5.0 units for the Saturday workshop $10.

Updated: 25 March, 2008

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