The Dream Journal

Metaphors: they’re not just for dreaming anymore! Evidence shows that we think in them too. Our guest Dr. Alwin Wagener explains his embodied cognition theory of dreaming which explains how dreaming helps us update our metaphors to reflect our changing ideas about what matters to us most. We also talk about why exploring dreams in therapy is helpful and why therapists are often reluctant to do so. He offers the acronym SAFE which reminds therapists to explore dreams by encouraging clients to Share a dream, Appreciate the details of the dream, Find its significance to the client, and Edit the dream however the client would like. We also talk about Culturally Responsive Dreamwork which involves the therapist starting by finding out how the client already relates to their dreams.

After the break, I share some intense dreams I have had since the presidential election involving a conversation on a city bus and a series of dreams about sliding down steep surfaces. Alwin guides me through an exploration of the images and feelings and draws out my associations. Ray from Santa Cruz calls in to offer his own dream of comfort.

BIO: Alwin E. Wagener, PhD, LPC, NCC, is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at Fairleigh Dickinson University. His research focuses on dreams, and he recently published The Embodied Cognition Theory of Dreaming and created Culturally Responsive Dreamwork, which centers clients’ cultural beliefs in dreamwork.

Find our guest at: DreaminginDepth.com

This show, episode number 2, was recorded during a live broadcast on November 13, 2024 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz.

Intro and outro music by Mood Science. Ambient music new every week by Rick Kleffel. Archived music can be found at Pandemiad.com. Many thanks to Rick Kleffel for also engineering the show and to Tony Russomano for the phones.

SHARE A DREAM FOR THE SHOW or a question by emailing Katherine Bell at [email protected]. Follow on FB and IG @ExperientialDreamwork #thedreamjournal. To learn more or to inquire about exploring your own dreams go to ExperientialDreamwork.com.

The Dream Journal aims to:

The Dream Journal is produced at and airs on KSQD Santa Cruz, 90.7 FM. Catch it streaming LIVE at KSQD.org 10-11am Pacific Time on Saturdays. Call or text with your dreams or questions at 831-900-5773 or email at [email protected]. Podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms released the Monday following the live show. The complete KSQD Dream Journal podcast page can be found at ksqd.org/the-dream-journal/.

Note that closed captioning is available on the YouTube version of this podcast and an automatically generated transcript is available at Apple Podcasts.

Thanks for being a Dream Journal listener! Available on all major podcast platforms. Rate it, review it, subscribe and tell your friends.

Dreamwork can be a useful tool to get to the root of subconscious limiting beliefs that negatively influence our experience of life. Our guest today is Jason Althaver, a life coach, and a dreamworker. Limiting beliefs, like self doubt, perfectionism, or imposter syndrome, can lead to anxiety and stress. Jason shares some of his dreams that demonstrate his limiting beliefs and have helped him break their hold over him. We talk about nervous system regulation, and Jason leads us through a breathwork technique which reduces anxiety.

After the break, Briana from North Carolina asks about using lucid dreaming to work with limiting beliefs and shares a dream about being in a house surrounded by wolves. Jason shares some suggestions around helpful bedtime routines and also around dream incubation including what he calls “prospective memory.” He recommends the lucid dreaming approach called MILD which is Mnemonic Induced Lucid Dreaming, originally developed by Steven La Berge. Max shares a dream about a scared child and a glimpse of a portal. Jason ends by sharing a recent dream which inspired him to start asking how to create empowering beliefs.

BIO: Jason Althaver is a yoga teacher, lifecoach, reikki practitioner, lucid dreamer, and a dream coach. He helps people rewire limiting beliefs using lucid dreaming and breathwork to transform their minds and lives.

Find our guest on IG: @jasonalthaver_dreamcoach and FB: @Jasonalthaver

This show, episode number 284, was recorded during a live broadcast on November 9, 2024 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz.

Intro and outro music by Mood Science. Ambient music new every week by Rick Kleffel. Archived music can be found at Pandemiad.com. Many thanks to Rick Kleffel for also engineering the show and to Tony Russomano for the phones.

SHARE A DREAM FOR THE SHOW or a question by emailing Katherine Bell at [email protected]. Follow on FB and IG @ExperientialDreamwork #thedreamjournal. To learn more or to inquire about exploring your own dreams go to ExperientialDreamwork.com.

The Dream Journal aims to:

The Dream Journal is produced at and airs on KSQD Santa Cruz, 90.7 FM. Catch it streaming LIVE at KSQD.org 10-11am Pacific Time on Saturdays. Call or text with your dreams or questions at 831-900-5773 or email at [email protected]. Podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms released the Monday following the live show. The complete KSQD Dream Journal podcast page can be found at ksqd.org/the-dream-journal/.

Note that closed captioning is available on the YouTube version of this podcast and an automatically generated transcript is available at Apple Podcasts.

Thanks for being a Dream Journal listener! Available on all major podcast platforms. Rate it, review it, subscribe and tell your friends.

Dreams from the Other Side: Visitations, Dreaming with the Dead, and Scary Creatures from Unseen Realms. In this Day of the Dead special, our guest this week is Marta Aarli, a psychotherapist and dream guide in Colorado.

This is the time of year when our ability to dream through the veil that separates this world from other realms increases. We may receive visits from loved ones who have crossed over or scary beings from unknown places, bringing terrifying messages or beautiful offerings, like a mystical version of trick or treat. How can we work with these in a way that opens up our consciousness while also protecting us from harm?

There are several ways to approach the things that scare us. Just as our nervous system’s first response to fear is generally fight, flight or freeze, our first emotional response to a scary dream may be to reject, deny or ignore it. The benefits from opening up scary dreams are often profound and healing gifts. We need courage to face them, as well as strong allies and protectors.

We take live questions from Ray and Max. You can find out about the Death Café movement which is mentioned on the show at DeathCafe.com

BIO: Marta Aarli, MA, LPC, is a psychotherapist and dream guide in Colorado. She draws from multiple styles of dreamwork in her eclectic approach to exploring the personal, collective and ancestral aspects of dreaming. She is currently writing a book on finding the healing messages in dreams.

Find our guest at: Marta-Aarli.com, FB and IG @Marta.Aarli

This show, episode number 283, was recorded during a live broadcast on November 2, 2024 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz.

You can watch “Ambient Pugs,” a video of Rick’s dogs being mellow while you hear him compose the music for today’s show here: https://youtu.be/ThUS3yYa1Ic?

Intro and outro music by Mood Science. Ambient music new every week by Rick Kleffel. Archived music can be found at Pandemiad.com. Many thanks to Rick Kleffel for also engineering the show and to Tony Russomano for the phones.

SHARE A DREAM FOR THE SHOW or a question by emailing Katherine Bell at [email protected]. Follow on FB and IG @ExperientialDreamwork #thedreamjournal. To learn more or to inquire about exploring your own dreams go to ExperientialDreamwork.com.

The Dream Journal aims to:

The Dream Journal is produced at and airs on KSQD Santa Cruz, 90.7 FM. Catch it streaming LIVE at KSQD.org 10-11am Pacific Time on Saturdays. Call or text with your dreams or questions at 831-900-5773 or email at [email protected]. Podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms released the Monday following the live show. The complete KSQD Dream Journal podcast page can be found at ksqd.org/the-dream-journal/.

Note that closed captioning is available on the YouTube version of this podcast and an automatically generated transcript is available at Apple Podcasts.

Thanks for being a Dream Journal listener! Available on all major podcast platforms. Rate it, review it, subscribe and tell your friends.

Our guest, Alaya Dannu, shares an important message for humanity which showed up in a dream she calls The Eternal Return in which the three ancient mothers (also called Ammas) made specific requests for how we can bring the world back into balance. Among their requests, they suggest that we can make our lives sacred starting by connecting with the body. 

After the break we take a call from Kimberly from Gilbert, Arizona about how to heal enough to get to the point of being able to access the sacred. Alaya recommends that we investigate our lineages and find supportive communities and also that we commit to movement practices and create sacred spaces in our homes.

BIO: Alaya A. Dannu, MA, M.Ed. (Ama Diya Dannu) is a doctoral candidate in the Education Leadership for Change program at Fielding Graduate University. Her dissertation project, an autoethnographic documentary, explores the requests of three ancient ancestral Mothers experienced through dreams and their potential value in addressing contemporary societal and environmental issues.

Find our guest at: houseofamma.org and at IG: @house.of.amma; @theamaroyal

This show, episode number 282, was recorded during a live broadcast on October 26, 2024 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz.

Intro and outro music by Mood Science. Ambient music new every week by Rick Kleffel. Archived music can be found at Pandemiad.com. Many thanks to Rick Kleffel for also engineering the show and to Tony Russomano for the phones.

SHARE A DREAM FOR THE SHOW or a question by emailing Katherine Bell at [email protected]. Follow on FB and IG @ExperientialDreamwork #thedreamjournal. To learn more or to inquire about exploring your own dreams go to ExperientialDreamwork.com.

The Dream Journal aims to:

The Dream Journal is produced at and airs on KSQD Santa Cruz, 90.7 FM. Catch it streaming LIVE at KSQD.org 10-11am Pacific Time on Saturdays. Call or text with your dreams or questions at 831-900-5773 or email at [email protected]. Podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms released the Monday following the live show. The complete KSQD Dream Journal podcast page can be found at ksqd.org/the-dream-journal/.

Note that closed captioning is available on the YouTube version of this podcast and an automatically generated transcript is available at Apple Podcasts.

Thanks for being a Dream Journal listener! Available on all major podcast platforms. Rate it, review it, subscribe and tell your friends.

Dreamwork will help you “become the shaman of your own transformational process.” Today’s guest, artist Victoria Rabinowe, talks about mining dreams as a source for creativity. Victoria offers specific suggestions for recording your dreams and for different kinds of poetry and art that can be done with them, and she shares thoughts about spirituality and what to do about angels in your dreams. She encourages listeners to consider joining the International Association for the Study of Dreams which can be found at ASDreams.org. After the break, we explore one of my pivotal dreams which is about being part of a zebra herd. Victoria ends by describing some of her workshop offerings which are part of her Dreaming Arts Studio.

BIO: Victoria Rabinowe is an international lecturer and workshop leader.  Author and illustrator of Conversations with Psyche: A Dreamer’s Guide to Soul-Stirring Creativity, Victoria offers innovative approaches to dream work compatible with the wild and willful nature of dreams and will help you tap into the creative potential of dreams.

Find our guest at: VictoriaDreams.com

This show, episode number 281, was recorded during a live broadcast on October 19, 2024 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz.

Intro and outro music by Mood Science. Ambient music new every week by Rick Kleffel. Archived music can be found at Pandemiad.com. Many thanks to Rick Kleffel for also engineering the show and to Tony Russomano for the phones.

SHARE A DREAM FOR THE SHOW or a question by emailing Katherine Bell at [email protected]. Follow on FB and IG @ExperientialDreamwork #thedreamjournal. To learn more or to inquire about exploring your own dreams go to ExperientialDreamwork.com.

The Dream Journal aims to:

The Dream Journal is produced at and airs on KSQD Santa Cruz, 90.7 FM. Catch it streaming LIVE at KSQD.org 10-11am Pacific Time on Saturdays. Call or text with your dreams or questions at 831-900-5773 or email at [email protected]. Podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms released the Monday following the live show. The complete KSQD Dream Journal podcast page can be found at ksqd.org/the-dream-journal/.

Note that closed captioning is available on the YouTube version of this podcast and an automatically generated transcript is available at Apple Podcasts.

Thanks for being a Dream Journal listener! Available on all major podcast platforms. Rate it, review it, subscribe and tell your friends.

The Vivid Dreaming method with artist Margot Wilson, which consists of breath inductions twice daily for three minutes each time. This process can create bursts of short, intense dream fragments that help us shift our holding patterns. These dream fragments provide windows into how we are stuck in life and compensating visualizations allow us to develop more healthy responses. We also talk about the kundalini and the vagal nervous system and how grounding meditations induce feelings of security, stability, and confidence.

BIO: Margot Wilson is an artist and independent researcher in meditation, dreaming and hypnagogic visualization and the creator of the Vivid Dreaming Method. An astrologer for approaching 40 years she has Bachelor’s and MPhil degrees in Philosophy and Master’s Degrees from the Royal College of Art in Writing and Contemporary Art Practice.

Find our guest at: CreativeForceCoaching.com

Here is a link to some of Margot’s grounding meditation practices: YouTube.com/user/margotfwilson

This show, episode number 280, was recorded during a live broadcast on October 12, 2024 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz.

Intro and outro music by Mood Science. Ambient music new every week by Rick Kleffel. Archived music can be found at Pandemiad.com. Many thanks to Rick Kleffel for also engineering the show and to Tony Russomano for the phones.

SHARE A DREAM FOR THE SHOW or a question by emailing Katherine Bell at [email protected]. Follow on FB and IG @ExperientialDreamwork #thedreamjournal. To learn more or to inquire about exploring your own dreams go to ExperientialDreamwork.com.

The Dream Journal aims to:

The Dream Journal is produced at and airs on KSQD Santa Cruz, 90.7 FM. Catch it streaming LIVE at KSQD.org 10-11am Pacific Time on Saturdays. Call or text with your dreams or questions at 831-900-5773 or email at [email protected]. Podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms released the Monday following the live show. The complete KSQD Dream Journal podcast page can be found at ksqd.org/the-dream-journal/.

Note that closed captioning is available on the YouTube version of this podcast and an automatically generated transcript is available at Apple Podcasts.

Thanks for being a Dream Journal listener! Available on all major podcast platforms. Rate it, review it, subscribe and tell your friends.

What is shadow work and how do dreams help? Our guest this week, Nicole K. Miller, PhD, explains about the art of Unstorying™, saying that noticing big reactions is key in identifying and releasing the stories we carry about our lives. She describes several ways to work with these stories.

After the break, we take a call from Sandra about how shadow shows up in dreams. She shares a recurring dream about forgetting to feed a small creature. Nicole talks about using lucid dreaming to rescript dreams and then shares a series of her own big dreams.

Dr. Miller is offering a three-month course for people to become certified practitioners of Unstorying™ which starts October 10.

BIO: Dr. Nicole K. Miller is the founder of a shadow work process called Unstorying™. With a PhD in Mythological Studies and Depth Psychology and over twenty years of teaching experience, she’s spent a lifetime exploring how to break through the veil of the mind’s stories to uncover the reality that lies hidden below.

Find our guest at: MindingtheStory.com

This show, episode number 279, was recorded during a live broadcast on October 5, 2024 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz.

Intro and outro music by Mood Science. Ambient music new every week by Rick Kleffel. Archived music can be found at Pandemiad.com. Many thanks to Rick Kleffel for also engineering the show and for answering the phones.

SHARE A DREAM FOR THE SHOW or a question by emailing Katherine Bell at [email protected]. Follow on FB and IG @ExperientialDreamwork #thedreamjournal. To learn more or to inquire about exploring your own dreams go to ExperientialDreamwork.com.

The Dream Journal aims to:

The Dream Journal is produced at and airs on KSQD Santa Cruz, 90.7 FM. Catch it streaming LIVE at KSQD.org 10-11am Pacific Time on Saturdays. Call or text with your dreams or questions at 831-900-5773 or email at [email protected]. Podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms released the Monday following the live show. The complete KSQD Dream Journal podcast page can be found at ksqd.org/the-dream-journal/.

Note that closed captioning is available on the YouTube version of this podcast and an automatically generated transcript is available at Apple Podcasts.

Thanks for being a Dream Journal listener! Available on all major podcast platforms. Rate it, review it, subscribe and tell your friends.

Katherine speaks about her ideas about approaching dreams as a kind of treasure hunt and what she calls the Dreamer’s Paradox. After the break we take a comment from engineer Rick Kleffel saying that his favorite author Alan Moore often gets inspiration from his dreams. We are then joined by Steven E. Popp, host of KSQD’s “In The Garden” show, who comes on the air and tells us about a dream in which a huge feline, a cross between a lion and tiger, wreaks great havoc.

BIO: Katherine Bell, PhD is from Santa Cruz. She has hosted the weekly interview podcast The Dream Journal since 2019. She has been facilitating dream groups and workshops for over 30 years, has been a coach for over 10. She is in the editing phase of her first book. Katherine is on the IASD Board of Directors and the Ethics Committee and is Conference Planning Co-Chair. 

Find our guest at: ExperientialDreamwork.com and on FB and IG at @ExperientialDreamwork #TheDreamJournal

This show, episode number 278, was recorded during a live broadcast on September 28, 2024 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz.

Intro and outro music by Mood Science. Ambient music new every week by Rick Kleffel. Archived music can be found at Pandemiad.com. Many thanks to Rick Kleffel for also engineering the show and to Erik Nelson for the phones.

SHARE A DREAM FOR THE SHOW or a question by emailing Katherine Bell at [email protected]. Follow on FB and IG @ExperientialDreamwork #thedreamjournal. To learn more or to inquire about exploring your own dreams go to ExperientialDreamwork.com.

The Dream Journal aims to:

The Dream Journal is produced at and airs on KSQD Santa Cruz, 90.7 FM. Catch it streaming LIVE at KSQD.org 10-11am Pacific Time on Saturdays. Call or text with your dreams or questions at 831-900-5773 or email at [email protected]. Podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms released the Monday following the live show. The complete KSQD Dream Journal podcast page can be found at ksqd.org/the-dream-journal/.

Note that closed captioning is available on the YouTube version of this podcast and an automatically generated transcript is available at Apple Podcasts.

Thanks for being a Dream Journal listener! Available on all major podcast platforms. Rate it, review it, subscribe and tell your friends.

Can dream interpretation be manipulative? You bet! Our guest Gerette Buglion, of Living Cult Free, shares her experiences with 18 years in a dream cult. Gerette is passionate about reclaiming her own life and helping others to reclaim theirs.

I start by reading a short passage from my book in progress about the vulnerability of dreamers when they ask for support around their dreams. Gerette tells two of her dreams and how they were interpreted by her ex-teacher in a way that belittled her tender nature. She goes on to tell a new dream in which someone negates her own vivid experience of seeing a white bear.

After the break, we talk about gaslighting and how it can be healthy for people in relationship to have different perceptions. We end with Gerette talking about the clarifying nature that writing about a lived experience brings and describing the ongoing and drop-in writing groups that she offers, plus the upcoming online panel with guests Sarah Edmonson, Daniel Shaw and others

Gerette is author of two books “An Everyday Cult” and “Writing to Reckon Journal.”

BIO: Gerette Buglion wants to live in a world where cult leaders, narcissistic abusers, and manipulative marketing techniques are spotted, called out, and silenced, creating more opportunities for nourishing relationships to flourish. Her work as educator centers on liberation from coercive control and supporting the integrative power of writing for survivors of cultic relationships through Writing to Reckon™ programs.

Find our guest at: GeretteBuglion.com and at LivingCultFree.com.

The following symposium is happening this coming weekend, September 28! (Times listed are ET.) Register at the following link: GeretteBuglion.com/writing-symposium

This show, episode number 277, was recorded during a live broadcast on September 21, 2024 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz.

Intro and outro music by Mood Science. Ambient music new every week by Rick Kleffel. Archived music can be found at Pandemiad.com. Many thanks to Rick Kleffel for also engineering the show and to Tony Russomano for the phones.

SHARE A DREAM FOR THE SHOW or a question by emailing Katherine Bell at [email protected]. Follow on FB and IG @ExperientialDreamwork #thedreamjournal. To learn more or to inquire about exploring your own dreams go to ExperientialDreamwork.com.

The Dream Journal aims to:

The Dream Journal is produced at and airs on KSQD Santa Cruz, 90.7 FM. Catch it streaming LIVE at KSQD.org 10-11am Pacific Time on Saturdays. Call or text with your dreams or questions at 831-900-5773 or email at [email protected]. Podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms released the Monday following the live show. The complete KSQD Dream Journal podcast page can be found at ksqd.org/the-dream-journal/.

Note that closed captioning is available on the YouTube version of this podcast and an automatically generated transcript is available at Apple Podcasts.

Thanks for being a Dream Journal listener! Available on all major podcast platforms. Rate it, review it, subscribe and tell your friends.

Our guest, Sahlah Dubel of Divine by Design, talks about BIPOC-centered dreamwork, authenticity, and trust-building. Sahlah shares a powerful dream about learning to breathe water which leads us into a conversation about trust and how spaces are made safe through action and time. She talks about historic trauma and how that means that BIPOC communities may have different needs than other communities.

After the break, we take a call from her brother and partner with Divine by Design, Andrusa Lawson. Andrusa continues the conversation about how to make spaces safe and says that he has come to find the the Dream Journal is a safe space for him. Sahlah says that we make safer spaces when we do our own work. Max makes a comment about how he is learning that he listens better when he is quiet. Sahlah ends by suggesting that we ask ourselves if we have been shying away from the difficult conversations that we know we need to have.

BIO: Sahlah Dubel embraces a holistic approach to dream exploration that acknowledges and respects the unique experiences and cultural backgrounds of BIPOC dreamers. Sahlah is the president of Divine by Design, a team of experienced dream practitioners who specialize in addressing the specific dream-related challenges faced by marginalized communities. She is also a mentor for students at the Institute for Dream Studies.

Find our guest at: DivinebyDesign.org

This show, episode number 276, was recorded during a live broadcast on September 14, 2024 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz.

Intro and outro music by Mood Science. Ambient music new every week by Rick Kleffel. Archived music can be found at Pandemiad.com. Many thanks to Rick Kleffel for also engineering the show and to Tony Russomano for the phones.

SHARE A DREAM FOR THE SHOW or a question by emailing Katherine Bell at [email protected]. Follow on FB and IG @ExperientialDreamwork #thedreamjournal. To learn more or to inquire about exploring your own dreams go to ExperientialDreamwork.com.

The Dream Journal aims to:

The Dream Journal is produced at and airs on KSQD Santa Cruz, 90.7 FM. Catch it streaming LIVE at KSQD.org 10-11am Pacific Time on Saturdays. Call or text with your dreams or questions at 831-900-5773 or email at [email protected]. Podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms released the Monday following the live show. The complete KSQD Dream Journal podcast page can be found at ksqd.org/the-dream-journal/.

Note that closed captioning is available on the YouTube version of this podcast and an automatically generated transcript is available at Apple Podcasts.

Thanks for being a Dream Journal listener! Available on all major podcast platforms. Rate it, review it, subscribe and tell your friends.