The Soul’s Journey: Reflections on Bill Plotkin’s Work

A dandelion releases its seeds into the air, capturing the essence of life's perpetual cycle as it transforms and flourishes even in its final moments.

I’ve always been someone who wants to keep learning, not just for myself but for my clients. When I was a practicum student at Shambhala School in Halifax, Nova Scotia, my counselling supervisor introduced me to Bill Plotkin’s book Nature and the Human Soul. At the time, I tucked it away as one of those “someday” reads, but it kept nudging at me. Now, as a Registered Counselling Therapist Candidate, I find myself returning to it with fresh eyes and a lot more lived experience under my belt.

Plotkin offers a way of seeing human development that goes beyond the usual stages we hear about in psychology. Instead of focusing only on the individual, he maps our growth in relationship to nature, community, and soul. It’s both poetic and practical. In other words, it’s not just “Who am I?” but “What am I here to give?”

And I think we all have those questions, particularly as we move past our twenties and into our 30s and 40s; I certainly have a wide-range of clients who are standing here, with many questions.

The Soul Apprentice: A Stage of Deep Discovery

So, let's dive into the Soul Apprentice, which Plotkin places in early adulthood, roughly the 30s through late 40s. It’s the period after the identity searching and boundary-pushing of our earlier years. In this stage, the work is about apprenticing ourselves to the truth of who we are. It’s no longer enough to simply perform the roles society has handed us. There’s a push to dig underneath and find the voice, the calling, that feels soul-deep.

Carl Jung would describe this same process as individuation: the journey of becoming whole by integrating the conscious and unconscious, the light and the shadow, the persona and the authentic self. In both Plotkin’s and Jung’s language, this is the time when we stop living only for outer approval and start answering to the inner compass. It can be messy, humbling, and sometimes uncomfortable—but it’s also where life begins to feel most alive.

Soul Apprenticeship and Jung’s individuation are really two names for the same thing: learning to live from your whole self instead of just your social mask.

As a therapist, I see how this resonates with clients in their 30s and 40s. They often say something along the lines of, “I’ve done everything I thought I was supposed to—career, relationships, checking the boxes—but something still feels unsettled.” Plotkin and Jung would both suggest this isn’t a sign of failure. It’s actually a healthy signal that you’re ready to step into the deeper apprenticeship with soul.

Life's complexity captured in Scrabble: "Nobody said it was easy."

What It Looks Like

For some, Soul Apprenticeship (or individuation) means exploring creativity they’ve set aside since childhood. For others, it’s a vocational shift, a sense that the work they do has to line up with deeper values. For many, it involves shadow work—meeting the parts of themselves they’ve avoided and weaving those pieces back in so they can live more fully.

I’ve felt this pull myself. As I grow as a therapist, I notice the difference between simply building skills (important, yes) and apprenticing myself to something larger, something that feels like my own soul’s work. Plotkin’s language gives shape to that difference in a way that feels grounding and expansive. Jung’s perspective helps me remember that wholeness doesn’t come from polishing the persona but from daring to include all of who we are.

“Given that the human soul is the very core of our human nature, we might note that, when we are guided by soul, we are guided by nature. Both soul and greater nature do guide us in our individual development, whether or not we ask for this guidance.”― Bill Plotkin, Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World

Looking Ahead

As I hit a milestone birthday next year, I feel myself at the doorway of what Plotkin calls the next stage—the Artisan in the Wild Orchard. If Soul Apprenticeship is about discovering your gift, the Artisan stage is about living it out loud. That feels exciting, a little daunting, and also like exactly the right time.

I don’t see it as leaving Soul Apprenticeship behind so much as carrying its lessons forward into a new way of being. And honestly, there’s comfort in knowing we don’t have to have it all figured out at 25. Growth doesn’t stop with age, thank goodness. It deepens, and each stage has its own work and wisdom.

Bill Plotkin's Eco-Soulcentric Development Wheel illustrates the eight stages of life, each with unique tasks, gifts, and centers of gravity, guiding individuals through a journey of soul initiation and personal growth.

Practices for the Soul Apprentice

If you’re in your 30s or 40s and recognize yourself in this stage, here are a few ways to explore it with curiosity:

• Journal prompt: “What parts of me have been waiting quietly in the wings, and what do they want me to notice now?”

• Body check-in: Once a day, pause and ask, “Where do I feel most alive in my body right now?” Follow that sensation with breath.

• Values inventory: Write down your top five values. For each one, jot a small action you could take this week that honours it.

• Shadow to gold: When an uncomfortable feeling or behaviour arises, ask, “What gift might be hiding underneath this if I paid attention?”

• Creative play: Try something that feels low-stakes but expressive—drawing, movement, singing, writing. Often the soul speaks through play first.

  
  

None of these are about perfection or big life overhauls. They’re about listening, gently, to the parts of you that are ready to step forward.

Drop me a line if you'd like to schedule a session to explore your age and stage!

Love and support to you on your journey.