Psyche and Nature

03/22/2025

Dear Friends, I am pleased to announce the completion of my revised webpage. Please take a look and if you feel inclined, sign up for my occasional newsletter. Next step is updating the blog. A big thanks to Andrea Palframan (https://andreapalframan.com) for her artistic flare and patience. You can find me at https://betsyperluss.com

“The Privilege of a Lifetime is to Become Who You Really Are.” – C.G. Jung Jungian Analyst & Wilderness Guide Are you committed to a journey of self-discovery? I will guide you through Jungian psychotherapy, grounded in Earth-centered and embodied practices. Exploring individuation, dreamwork,...

07/16/2024

We still have spots in our Becoming Human Program for those interested in how this teaching can serve as a nature-based therapeutic model. No previous experience necessary.

04/13/2024

While I find this author’s conclusion rather reductive, this is still pretty cool science.

“Imagine a world where the soundtrack of your dreams could be downloaded and played back for all to hear. Well, for birds, it’s getting closer to reality.

Scientists have figured out how to turn the fluttering brain signals of slumbering birds into actual audible songs. This is an incredible breakthrough, offering an unprecedented glimpse into the secret dream world of birds."

https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-turn-bird-dreams-into-captivating-music/"

03/25/2024

Our Four Shields of Dreaming and Dreamwork program in Death Valley turned into a beautiful time of hosting the dream images within the threshold of solo time in nature. I was so amazed to witness the depth and insight that emerged from allowing the dream images to steep in story within the four shields. We will be hosting this again next year for sure!

02/16/2022

"Our power and the power of Earth are intrinsically bound in generosity and regeneration, not scarcity and sacrifice. Renewal, abundance, retreat and restoration are the seasons within us."

Our bodies and our planet are united – and it is time to listen to what both are saying to us

11/08/2021

More and more, we (colonizing folk) are realizing that humans are not the center of existence.

The author of "Braiding Sweetgrass" on how human people are only one manifestation of intelligence in the living world.

10/29/2021

I stumbled across this interview with James Hillman while researching for a paper. Reminds me of how much I was influenced by Hillman in my early years studying depth eco-psychology, and still. Here he speaks on our inseparability from nature, falling in love with the world, the cult of innocence, awakening vs fixing, the myth of hope, the seventh generation, the internationalization of fear, outrage and more. Worth a watch.

James Hillman was an American psychologist. He studied at, and then guided studies for, the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich. Hefounded a movement toward archet...

06/28/2021

Clayton Eshleman died January 29th, 2021. His book, Juniper Fuse is one of my favorite deep dives into the nature of psyche and psyche of nature. Here is a recorded lecture by Eshleman on Juniper Fuse: Upper Paleolithic Imagination and the Construction of the Underworld. This is an element of ecopsychology that best captures my attention (and I have to admit, I wonder what this lecture might look like if given by a woman or non -binary person. This does not lead me to dismiss Eshleman's work but rather it inspires further imagination and investigation).

Victor M. Bearg Science and Humanities Scholars Speaker SeriesClayton Eshleman, American poet, translator and editor, Professor Emeritus, Eastern Michigan Un...

04/21/2021

https://www.collectedworksbookstore.com/events-1/an-evening-honoring-n-scott-momaday

Terry Tempest Williams reading Scott Momaday's "Earth Keepers".

Terry Tempest Williams will read, in its entirety, N. Scott Momaday’s latest work Earth Keeper: Reflections on the American Land

03/06/2021

A poem that has always gone right to my heart since I first read it over twenty years ago. Try a listen. "Maps" by Linda Hogan.

Map - This is the world