ANIMAS VALLEY INSTITUTE

Located in southwest Colorado, in the valley of the Río de las Animas Perdidas (River of Lost Souls), and run by Bill Plotkin, “psychologist and wilderness guide” since 1980, the Animas Valley Institute describes itself as “one ofNorthAmerica’s longest-standing organizations offering contemporary wilderness rites,” includingvision quests. It offers “nature-based programs supporting the recovery and embodiment of the life of thesoul, the unique truth, passion, and gifts we each were born with.” Like otherneo-shamaniccenters, the institute refers to the psychology ofCarl Jung, especially “individuation,” to validate its focus on “the mysterious energies within our psyches that guide us on the inwardjourneyto soul.”