Soulcraft Musings

Today, January 20, 2017, we inaugurate Soulcraft Musings, a new offering from Animas Valley Institute (see below). This is the same day America inaugurates a new president, a cultural upheaval currently mobilizing thousands of response teams worldwide. On this day we commence our humble project of Soulcraft Musings in support of the deepening, diversification, and flourishing of all life. At this time in the world, may we all inaugurate actions and projects that collectively give birth to a life-enhancing society.

The journey of descent to soul has largely been forgotten in mainstream culture, but there is nothing more essential in the world today. The experiential encounter with soul is the key element in the initiatory journey that culminates in true adulthood. And true adults — visionary artisans — are the generators of the most creative and effective actions in defense of all life and in the renaissance and evolution of generative human cultures.

The encounter with soul is not a weekend workshop but an unfolding journey over many months or years. Harvesting its fruit and feeding the world with its bounty plays out over the rest of one’s life. Every day holds opportunities for each of us to prepare for the journey to the underworld of soul, or, once we have embarked upon the journey, to take our next steps, or to gather its mystical treasures and hone them into practical shapes, or to fashion never-before-seen delivery systems for carrying these gifts to the Earth community.

We, at Animas Valley Institute, would like to gift you with this weekly email of trail markers (cairns) on the journey to soul. These Soulcraft Musings, although each only a couple minutes of reading, will be, we trust, valuable guidelines and support on your journey. Each includes references for further reading, study, and practice. And each features a resonant image and poem.

The central theme that ties together all the Musings is, of course, soul and the human encounter with soul. But even the original depth meaning of the word soul has been lost to the modern mind. What we at Animas mean when we speak or write about soul is not what you’ll find in contemporary religious, spiritual, philosophical, or psychological traditions or in everyday conversation. We’ll explore these and many other fundamentals and principles in Soulcraft Musings.

If you’re already on our list, you’ll receive an email with a Soulcraft Musing once a week. If you’re not on our list and would like to subscribe, please click here.

And please feel free to share Soulcraft Musings widely with friends, family, and colleagues.

In wildness and wonder,

Bill Plotkin

Founder

Animas Valley Institute

View Previous Musings

In Honor of Joanna Macy: Homage to my teacher and friend of 20 years

Barbara Ford

Friday, November 7, 2025

On July 19, my beloved teacher and friend died after a fall and subsequent medical complications. There are many folks who have written beautiful pieces on Substack and other platforms honoring her work as an activist, teacher, Buddhist scholar, systems theorist, and guiding star to thousands of people working to heal our planet and cultures, staying present and honoring all the human emotions one goes through when one pays attention to the pain and beauty of the world.

So, I will not offer another essay, but this poem came to me not long after her death. I had the great good luck to be able to spend a good amount of time with her over the past couple of years. We shared many meals, many laughs, and many deep conversations.

For Joanna

because she died

eleven days ago

because her hands

fluttered like leaves

when she was happy

because joy for her was

coffee ice cream and the cosmos

because she saw the cosmos

in the bowl

because the bowl reminds her

of the mystery

empty bowl which

is full of elegies

and storms and waiting

because she never

shirked from joy

because grief and anger

were her tickets to

the big dance

because bodies can dance

and also become fossils

because fossils reveal the history

of softness, of vulnerability

because the vulnerable are always aware,

always alert to the moment of impact

because impact changes us

because change is windy and pernicious and sometimes

an alchemy of rhizomes

holding fast

because roots

because leaf

because hollow bones of prey

left in the nest above

because bones become branches

and branches bleach to bone

because of the sway of limbs

because that gesture is a way

to dislodge the story

that aims to break us

because a question

a big one

is all there is to know

because she was so good

at the knowing

and the not knowing

she made her hands into leaves

her small bones fluttering

waving hello and goodbye

at the same time

—Barbara Ford, 2025

Link to Barbara’s Substack Click here

To read previous musings click here.