The human mind is the child of primate evolution and our complex fluid interactions with environment and one another… Close attention to mollusks and frigate birds and wolves makes us aware not only of our own human identity but also of how much more there is, an assertion of our imperfect hunger for mystery.”         - Ellen Meloy

Courses and Workshops

Currently, I teach Psyche in Nature and Ecopsychology II at Pacifica Graduate Institute.  For an example of course syllabi please click here.

                   The following workshops are offered through the School of Lost Borders.

For more information and enrollment procedures see the School of Lost Borders website at

www.schooloflostborders.org

Mirroring and the Four Shields of Human Nature

May 17th - May 22nd, 2010

Big Pine, CA

Betsy Perluss and Joseph Lazenka

The shields of human nature turn with the experiences of life, from the smallest cell to the great seamless whole of the biosphere called earth. It begins with the body (summer), turns into psyche (fall), becomes activated form (winter), which dissolves into spirit (spring) -- which is born again in the body (summer). The four seasonal directions of human nature, in their complex, yet simple, interaction, form the basis of an ecopsychology which redefines traditional psychologies based on human alone, apart from nature.

Telling one’s own story is an ancient art. Nowadays, we have forgotten how to listen and how to tell. Yet the very survival of our species depends on our ability to communicate with each other in such ways as to be mutually enriched by the telling and the listening. If we cannot tell with expression, our life is mute. If we cannot listen like a mirror, we cannot reflect back the wholeness of the four shields -- the body, soul, mind and spirit of the teller. The best stories are about human nature -- that is, the human of us which is, after all, nature in her basic manifestations as physical, psychical, rational, and spiritual. One of the best ways to create a four shields story, if not the best, is to put people in contact with nature in the raw.

What comes forth in the story is the stuff of self-transformation. Even as we “myth” ourselves into experience, so we express ourselves into existence. Our stories about our natural selves, and our means of expressing them, lead us to courage, determination, commitment, hope, wisdom, and the will to survive, to transcend the difficulty, to go beyond ourselves. Those of us who work with people must know how to listen and respond to the stories our people tell, so that we can help them create a life that is deeper, richer, and of greater benefit to our community and the earth.

We will meet together in outdoor settings. Mornings will be taken up with meetings, afternoons with solitary excursions into the surrounding wilderness that evoke the four personas. Trainees will forgo companionship, food, and shelter during these times. In the evenings, we will tell and listen to stories that empower. The objectives of the seminar are to experience human-nature deeply; to elicit personal “mythos” through the expression of the story; to acquire knowledge of how to listen and respond to the four personas of human nature (to “mirror”), and to utilize a powerful incorporation tool of self and group empowerment -- the “elder’s council.”
 

When Raccoon, the eco-therapist, reaches down into his or her bag of medicine, is the vision fast there? The therapeutic power of a four day and night fast (or a one day and night fast), should be at the fingertips of every teacher, professional, or guide who has personally experienced the therapeutic power inherent in the wilderness passage. The two-week vision fast training is an introduction to a classic modern rite of transition. Usually, the training involves the personal experience of a four-day and night fast in a wilderness place. Throughout the preparation, threshold, and incorporation phases of the training, the trainee must wear two hats: apprentice to the initiatory process and the one who is being initiated. Warning: It is not always easy to be subject and subjectee.

Though the training itself does not constitute credentials to immediately become a vision fast guide, it does give the student an understanding of how the principles of the vision fast can be applied to a profession, community, or client. Trainees are encouraged to learn the form, the process, and then to give it their own unique expression within life and work.

The first five days are given over to preparation (severance). Morning and afternoon meetings are the norm. Instruction includes: the mirroring dynamics of story councils; screening and preparation of candidates in four areas: physical, psychological, mental, and spiritual; the four shields of human-nature; the sacred and the profane; the dynamics of fasting; self-generated ceremony; the power of taboos, death lodge;purpose circle; the mirror of nature; and the shaping and confirmation of intent.

On the sixth day, Trainees go out looking for a place to fast and set up communication stone piles with their buddies. On the six, seventh, eighth, and ninth days, the trainee lives alone and fasts in a wilderness place (Threshold). Sometimes, trainees will choose to remain in basecamp as support persons during the fast.

On the morning of the eleventh day, the fasters return to basecamp (Incorporation). That evening the group will go out for a celebratory feast in Santa Fe. On the twelfth and thirteenth days, each story is told in the council of elders. The elders witness, mirror meaning, and empower intent. On the fourteenth day, we look at the process that has just unfolded from a training perspective.

Prerequisite: at least one vision fast. Preparing ahead of time: Every trainee must ask:What am I going out to mark, celebrate, or confirm? What is my intent? Who will benefit from my training (Who are my people)?

Time & Location: We will hold camp among the Pinyon and
Juniper strewn landscape near Cochiti Lake, NM. We encourage people to arrive on Saturday, Aug 28th, the night before we officially start. The group will then come together for its first meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday the 29th. We will complete our ceremony on the afternoon of
Saturday Sept 11.

Practical preparation: The School makes no provisions for meals or equipment. We ask everyone to come prepared to live self-sufficiently. You will need to bring shelter and clothing suitable for a full range of inclement weather. We request all participants to purchase the vision fast handbook, “The Trail to the Sacred Mountain� available from Lost Borders Press (www.lostborderspress.com). Consult this resource for a detailed equipment list to help with preparation.