Great Places To Start
The Animas offerings listed on this page, while some of our most profound experiential immersions, are also the most popular “entry points” for those with no prior experience with Soulcraft™ practices or the work of Animas Valley Institute.
Great Places To Start offerings include:
- Soulcraft Intensive
- Wild Mind Intensive
- The Way of Council & the Art of Mirroring
- Nature and the Human Soul
- Animas Quest
Soulcraft Intensive – February, 2025, Australia
February 4 - 8, 2025
Chakola Wildlife Refuge, Kangaroo Valley, Southern NSW
With Doug Van Houten and Rebecca Wildbear, M.S.
This is our popular five-day experiential plunge into the wild depths of Soulcraft TM — a synergistic set of nature-based practices designed to evoke the life-shifting experience of soul encounter.
Online Introduction to Soulcraft – March, 2025
March 28 - 30, 2025
Online
With Rebecca Wildbear, M.S. and Kent Dobson
Join our nature-based guides in an online experiential exploration of our human psyches as unique expressions of the universal forces and patterns of nature.
Soulcraft Intensive – March, 2025
March 30 - April 3, 2025
Joshua Tree National Park, California
With Brian Stafford, MD, MPH and Gene Dilworth, M.A.
This is our popular five-day experiential plunge into the wild depths of Soulcraft TM — a synergistic set of nature-based practices designed to evoke the life-shifting experience of soul encounter.
A Wild Passage – April 2025, South Africa
April 23 - 30, 2025
Plettenburg Bay, South Africa
With Brian Stafford, MD, MPH
Our Brand New Program! This is both foundational and adventurous. Remember, life is a wild adventure, and this program is a great starter to rewild one’s life.
Wild Mind Intensive – April, 2025
April 30 - May 4, 2025
Dharma Treasure Retreat Center, Tucson, Arizona
With Jules Howatt and Sara McFarland
Join our nature-based guides in an experiential exploration of our human psyches as unique expressions of the universal forces and patterns of nature.
Soulcraft Intensive – May 2025, South Africa
May 1 - 5, 2025
Bodhi Khaya Nature Retreat, Western Cape, South Africa
With Brian Stafford, MD, MPH
This is our popular five-day experiential plunge into the wild depths of Soulcraft TM — a synergistic set of nature-based practices designed to evoke the life-shifting experience of soul encounter.
Nature and the Human Soul: A Special Online Program for Parents & Educators – May, 2025
May 22 - June 27, 2025
Online
With John Lynch, Art.D. and Palika Wilding
Anchored in traditional four-directions wisdom, the Soulcentric Developmental Wheel (SDW) is a new ecopsychology of human development and cultural transformation.
Soulcraft Intensive, May 2025
May 24 - 28, 2025
Spirit Hollow, Vermont
With Doug Van Houten and Kent Dobson
This is our popular five-day experiential plunge into the wild depths of Soulcraft TM — a synergistic set of nature-based practices designed to evoke the life-shifting experience of soul encounter.
Soulcraft Intensive – June, 2025
June 25 - 29, 2025
Uncompahgre National Forest, Colorado
With Rebecca Wildbear, M.S. and Kent Dobson
This is our popular five-day experiential plunge into the wild depths of Soulcraft TM — a synergistic set of nature-based practices designed to evoke the life-shifting experience of soul encounter.
Wild Mind Intensive – June, 2025
June 30 - July 4, 2025
River's Bend Retreat Center, Philo, CA
With Palika Wilding and Doug Van Houten
Join our nature-based guides in an experiential exploration of our human psyches as unique expressions of the universal forces and patterns of nature.
Wild Mind Intensive – July 2025, Latvia
July 25 - 29, 2025
Stacija, Latvia
With Sage Magdalene
Join our nature-based guides in an experiential exploration of our human psyches as unique expressions of the universal forces and patterns of nature.
Foundations of Wild Mind, Online – August, 2025
August 1 - 22, 2025
Online
With Doug Van Houten and Dan Dolquist, M.Div, Th.M, D.Min, Wild Mind Guide
Weaving the Map of the Psyche into our inner world, our daily life, and our relationship with the other than human community.
Wild Mind Intensive, September 2025
September 19 - 23, 2025
Spirit Hollow, Vermont
With Rebecca Wildbear, M.S. and Sara McFarland
Join our nature-based guides in an experiential exploration of our human psyches as unique expressions of the universal forces and patterns of nature.
Soulcraft Intensive – October 2025
September 30 - October 4, 2025
Harrod's Creek Sanctuary, Kentucky
With Doug Van Houten and Rebecca Wildbear, M.S.
This is our popular five-day experiential plunge into the wild depths of Soulcraft TM — a synergistic set of nature-based practices designed to evoke the life-shifting experience of soul encounter.