Tag: Dreaming + Consciousness

Two therapists talk about dreams

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.

Be well, and sweet dreams! ✨ 🦋

For starting a dream group…some guidelines

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! ✨ 🪷

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Interrupting the dreamer while they’re sharing their dream should be avoided.
  9. We will strive to meet every other week for 2 hours, enough time for roughly two people to share their dreams and have discussion.
  10. When/if every other week becomes challenging (likely once we are further along in the semester), then we will move to once a month.

Dreaming resources

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…

Two sites I came across, for further reading:

https://universityofyourself.com/articles/#dreams

https://wakeuptoyourdreams.com/

“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”. ✨

Ryan Hurd

Project: Dreaming with Purpose

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

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Dream engineering, 1.0