This is a powerful, interesting discussion. At 31:00 they get into the topic of reoccurring themes and discovering the often shrouded messages of our psyche. And I love what they have to say about when in a disturbing or scary dream, that we can ask ourself to keep dreaming it, and then upon waking, we can talk about it, just like out loud, and keep talking it through and allow ourself to finish the dream, which moves it along so we can securely process the dream and find resolution. And you can do this with children, too, when they wake up from a nightmare. This kind of reminds me of how in narrative therapy, we can rewrite the story through a lens of strength. I’m also reminded of Robert Moss’ Active Dreaming technique, a kind of shamanic lucid dream process of engaging with the dream in various ways including in waking life.
I welcome feedback and am happy to amend in order to meet the needs of each member of the group. If you happen upon this page, please feel free to use these guidelines in your own dream share group. Let me know what you think! ✨ 🪷
Dreams are personal and universal. By sharing them in a group we are bringing the gifts of the dreamworld into this world, creating opportunity for deeper insight and growth.
Safety, privacy, and respect are paramount. What happens in the group, stays in the group. We agree to anonymity outside of the group within our own personal circles, and no sharing of another’s dream material on Canvas discussion boards or at school gatherings.
We agree to non-judgement and unconditional positive regard. Sharing our dreams can feel vulnerable, especially since their contents may highlight our shadow aspects. We are always in control of how much we share and when. As we grow and share together, so will the trust within the group.
The group is here to listen, to offer insight, and to provide a safe container for communal sharing. The group is not meant to be a therapy session.
The dreamer decides what level of interaction they want from the group. They state their preference before sharing their dream, and they are also free to change their mind at any point while it is still their turn.
Telling your dream in the present tense is encouraged. It puts you the dreamer–and the listeners–squarely back inside the dream, in the thick of the action.
When writing down your dream, consider giving it a title! I have found that in many instances, a title can synthesize the essence of the dream’s message.
Interrupting the dreamer while they’re sharing their dream should be avoided.
We will strive to meet every other week for 2 hours, enough time for roughly two people to share their dreams and have discussion.
When/if every other week becomes challenging (likely once we are further along in the semester), then we will move to once a month.
While conducting research for my case study, Dreaming with Purpose, I came across a lot of literature, books, and articles. My study highlighted why having a dreaming practice is important. Now that some of my EXA cohorts and I are hoping to begin a dream share group, I am revisiting my bookmarks and resources with a fresh eye towards the group sharing process. Here’s what I’ve got so far…
A super helpful list of pointers for starting your own dream group from dream educator, Ryan Hurd, who advocates for using the phrase ‘If it were my dream’ when responding with your thoughts. This works to “…help the dreamer and the speaker remember that the comment is not a fact, but a projection”.
The Art of Dreaming by Jill Mellick, EXA Jungian therapist, has a chapter on group dream work. Good foundational book for all dreamers, expressive arts based or not.
“The most important thing is that you collect a small group of people who trust each other, and feel safe enough to tell their dream and listen to feedback about what others think”. ✨
Lately I’ve been thinking about questions. How asking the right ones can open our minds up, sparking curiosity, and offering new perspectives. When someone asks a thought-provoking question, it sets our neurons a-firing. We get interested, we lean in, or we might lean back in reflection. Good questions are like that: juicy, the meat of rich conversation. A good question can change us, reverberating into the soil of our internal landscape. This week, these three podcasts asked exactly these sorts of questions.
In this episode of This Jungian Life (Lee et al., 2022), Machiel Klerk discusses dream incubation, and reminds us that the dream want to help us. By asking a good question, we can tap into the highly personal wisdom that our dreams offer us. He discusses what kinds of questions are good ones and how a vague question—or a biased one—is going to yield a confusing answer.
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, marine biologist and all-around cool human, in a recent interview with Krista Tippett (2022), asks one of those reverberating questions: ‘What if we get it right?’. The entire episode is so good, including Johnson’s recitation of Ayisha Siddiqa’s poem, called “On Another Panel About Climate, They Ask Me to Sell the Future and All I’ve Got Is a Love Poem” (which you can find at 34:56). Johnson talks about how being motivated by love is a wonderful way to approach our work. The times we are in are uncomfortable, everything is shifting, breaking, collapsing, and yet there is also great possibility for transformation.…and, what if we get this right?
Krista Tippett talks with Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen (2005). This is not a recent episode, but it is timeless. Remen is a repository of wisdom and insight, and I enjoyed her voice; familiar, raspy, wise, and kind. In sharing about tikkun olam, Remen says, “We heal the world one heart at a time” (6:20). Regarding the Mystery that is Life, she shares this gem: “I have no answers, but I have a lot of questions, and those questions have helped me to live better than any answers I might find” (38:17).
The senior project is a big deal. It is a capstone to the three semesters of hard work, and a requirement for the successful completion of the undergraduate program at CIIS. Because I chose the Bachelor of Science in Psychology, the senior project assignment is to conduct a study, as in research. In the 2nd semester there is an entire class, Research Methods, which prepares us for carrying out the senior project in the 3rd semester.
So yeah, this was a massive undertaking, and somehow, remarkably, I really enjoyed it. Had I not chosen a topic that I am truly passionate about, it could have been miserable (I learned that lesson in the first semester- another story). There were multiple components to this project, including a 30 plus page research paper, a research poster, and a video, where I address the main data points that I gleaned from my research. For the poster and video, scroll down this page. To read the research paper, click here: https://librakaplan.com/my-senior-research-project/ , password: staylucid
For full screen, click at the bottom right. For best resolution go HERE. To download, click the arrow at top right, select download in the popup.
"An important principle for inducing creative dreams is that the would-be creative dreamers occupy themselves with the subject they wish to dream about, often up until the last few seconds before they fall asleep" – Patricia Garfield, "Creative Dreaming" 1974 pic.twitter.com/EVAhd5wdEe
— Kelly Bulkeley Ph.D. (@KellyBulkeley) July 23, 2021
Anyone that knows me, knows I am a big time dreamer. I keep a daily journal, and find great insight and guidance from my nightly adventures. Many times I’ve found myself writing a dream down and the words, time traveler, a straddler of worlds, shapeshifting come tumbling out of my pencil and onto the page.
When I discovered the author and dream teacher, Robert Moss a few months ago, I found a kindred spirit. He spoke the same dream language that I do, and his books have opened me up to a new way of working with my dreams.
Moss has written many books and it can be hard to know where to start. Dreaming the Soul Back Home is where I began; now I’m into his newest, Growing Big Dreams on Audible, which is wonderful! On his blog, Moss says that the linear answer to the where to begin question is go for Conscious Dreaming, his first and still foundational, book; then move onto The Three “Only” Things.
Go here to read more about how Moss’ recommendations. But the short answer is, read the descriptions, see what speaks to your soul, and dive in.
Libra Kaplan | where's your heart at? 