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“Do you think we are not Nature, that we are different from nature…?” C.G. Jung

To Jung, the human psyche is situated within the world psyche, and the entire universe is soulful. Our split from nature and the numinous truncates our lives and wounds our souls. We hunger for meaning beyond materiality, patriarchy, and rationality in a dis-membered world. From numinous realms such as dreams, symbols, signs, and synchronicities to the innate wisdom of embodiment and the rhythms of the earth, lifeworld domains are like nested ecosystems, enhancing one another while engendering individuation.  Lifeworlds merge into a multiple-dimensional ecosystem, like a three-dimensional mandala. From an indigenous perspective, individuation is rooted in these realms and serves more than the individual. An authentic self serves unity in diversity. Eco-wisdom and Indigenous knowledge enhances and enlarges Jung’s concepts of individuation, archetypes, the numinous, and the collective unconscious. The Coast Salish matriarchal cultures offer ancient proven wisdom on restoring and tending a whole life with a whole self.

Dr. Joanne Halverson grew up in the Pacific Northwest.  In her early twenties, she and her small family moved to the woods of San Juan Island and lived off-grid for many years. Joanne earned a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University and her master’s degree in Existential Phenomenology from Seattle University. For over 30 years, she practiced as a therapist, supervisor, writer/researcher, and part-time faculty at Seattle University in the Psychology department.  Joanne has relished studying topics on envy, wisdom, aesthetics, and walking in two worlds. Several articles on these subjects appear in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology. Joanne treasures over twenty-five years of initiations, ceremonies, and in-depth training with traditional indigenous leaders.  Her intimacy with nature, indigenous teachings, and mystical experiences inform her work as an artist and craftswoman. Currently, she practices as a psycho-spiritual mentor and leads soul renewal wilderness retreats.