Turning Season: Conversations with Changemakers in Our Adventure Toward a Life-Sustaining Society

Have you dreamt of a loved one, after they passed away? Has that dream stuck with you ever since? Dr. Joshua Black has had that kind of dream -- and heard thousands of those dreams from others. He's devoted his academic research to these "grief dreams" and to continuing bonds after many types of loss (including prenatal loss and pet loss).

I thought it might be heavy or tearful, talking for an hour about dreams of deceased loved ones, but instead I found this conversation to be full of life. I appreciate Joshua's combination of the methodical, discerning mind of a researcher with compassionate curiosity and willingness to sit in the mysterious space of dreams.

Click Play to hear me and Joshua talk about:

• How dreams began to matter to him because of one powerful dream, after a childhood of rejecting dreams
• His own grief dream of his father, which brought the color back into his life after a period of depression
• One of the most common questions he hears: why am I NOT dreaming of my deceased loved one?
• Across cultures and belief systems, what does and doesn't vary about grief dreams
• How common these dreams are; and how common it is for them to involve the presence of love and continuing bonds
• "Negative dreams" where the deceased is dying or ill, or chasing or wanting to harm the dreamer
• How important it is to understand the culture and viewpoint of the person who’s had the dream in order to provide a safe space
• Why it's best to be very cautious about labeling dreams as "visitations," or naming criteria for a dream to be considered a visitation

And more! Listen now and leave a comment on the show notes: thedreamersden.org/30

Music by East Forest.

If you've ever heard me or another dreamworker say, "Pretend I'm an alien," and then ask you to define the object you dreamt about, that's because we want to know about your "personal symbology." Laura Suzanne and I have very different relationships with cats. If you were to ask each of us to explain what a cat is, you'd get totally different answers. So, the insights a cat dream carries in my dream could be vastly different from those in hers. Click "Play" to hear us explore that, and

• the personal symbology of roses and motorcycles
• important questions to ask about any dream, including, was I participating or observing? Was a relieved or disappointed when I realized it was a dream?
• sharing dreams in online forums vs. in person or on Zoom
• and how to relate to dreams that might be warnings

As usual, I had my own "aha moments" in this conversation and it's already enriched my dreamwork. Listen in and then come tell me what you thought, by leaving a comment on the show notes at thedreamersden.org/29

The pizza dreams. The grocery store dreams. The Thanksgiving dinners and wilting vegetable gardens. The empty fridge. Of all the “food” dreams I’ve heard, the steak dream I share in this episode is one of my favorites. When the dreamer and I explored this dream, plenty happened, not all of it related to food.

But the ah-ha moment that reached her right where she needed it most -- that had to do directly with the steak. We wouldn’t have gotten there without listening to her unique answer to the question, “Who eats steak?”

Before I share that dream story, you’ll hear some of my favorite questions to ask about foods in dreams, and some insights from Classical Chinese Medicine’s understanding of food and flavors.

I’ll also talk about:

• how dreams ask us about being not only physically but also emotionally and spiritually fed, nourished, and ful-“filled”
• the natures and colors of individual foods
• the effects that different flavors have on our bodies (how do we respond differently to a sour pickle vs. a sweet cookie?)
• themes of trying to find food
• and cooking puns (dreams love puns!)

Click "Play" now to hear how significant food in dreams can be, and to hear a deep dive on a dream about greasy steak and a thawing lake.

Show notes: thedreamersden.org/28

My fellow acupuncturist, dreamworker, and NUNM grad Joseph Fiala joins me to talk about dreamwork in his clinical practice, in his personal life, and in nurturing the thoughts we choose to grow in the gardens of our minds. I loved hearing his enthusiasm and wise insights, and I'm guessing you will too.

Click Play to listen now.

I met Joseph when we were both students at the National University of Natural Medicine. I remember his wife Emaline Gray telling me about a dream she'd had of an ear over Frankfort, Kentucky, and the name "The Light Clinic." More than 10 years later ("the algorithm" doing what it does best), Instagram suggested to me that I follow an account called "The Light Clinic." I recognized the name from Emaline's dream and, sure enough, the account was for the integrative health clinic in Frankfort that she and Joseph had founded just after graduating. Even better, I discovered that dreamwork has become a significant part of their practices, too.

In this episode, Joseph and I talk about exploring dreams with our patients. Both of us engage in dreamwork during acupuncture appointments, often while doing "hands-on" work like CranioSacral Therapy. You'll also hear us talk about:

- a big dream that connected Joseph's dreamwork training program, his Chinese Medicine practice, and his shift into more groundedness and embodiment

- dreamwork as a transformational tool that complements what we practice with acupuncture and herbal medicine

- "following" a dream in the physical body

- using a Qigong practice of shaking to move the emotions that arise in dreams, and to help unwind long-held patterns

- how I've seen Classical Chinese Medicine symbols of herbal formulas and the Five Elements in dreams

- the importance of "ritual," or bringing the dream into the physical, external world by acting on it somehow (with an example dream from a friend, who acted on her dream by riding in an elevator...)

- and the potency of pairing dreamwork with one more of Joseph's passions: thought training to intentionally cultivate the thoughts that support the way we want to feel

Click Play to listen -- and then I'd love to hear from you.

Any dreams come to mind? Have you ever felt a dream move through your body? What do you think about the idea that dreams help us recognize our complexes, and then we can take other actions to shift them? Comment on the show notes: thedreamersden.org/27

Do you track the details in your dreams? Bambi Corso-Steinmeyer talks with me about why to track the recurring details in our dreams. Those themes are like footprints left behind by the qualities moving through our dreamscape - and we’re well-served by following their trails.

Bambi and I cover a lot of dreamscape ground in this episode. I realized after we spoke that I talked more than I usually do, caught up in shared enthusiasm with a kindred spirit.

Click Play to hear us explore:

• what it means to track our dreams and get to know them, rather than try to interpret or define them
• “sneaky snippets” of dreams (working with dream fragments, not only with big, epic dreams)
• listening to the calls for “dream-inspired advocacy” for the earth
• tips for keeping a dream journal
• example dream tracks: those stiletto heels, a baby, owl feathers, and having trouble taking photos
• and turning to dreams for affirmations to shift our thought patterns and beliefs.

Bambi is the author of the newly-published book DreamTracking: Track Your Dreams and Transform Your Life. She’s written this after more than 40 years of passionately exploring dreamwork, in which time she has journaled over 8,000 of her own dreams. Bambi works with clients as a DreamTracking coach, and a Law of Attraction certified coach. She serves on the Southern California Regional Committee of the International Association for the Study of Dreams (the IASD), and served nine years as a review editor and contributor to the Dream Network Journal.

I hope you enjoy our conversation. After you listen, we’d love to hear from you! Have you noticed any tracks in your own dreams? Any ah-ha moments? Did a dream surface in your memory while listening?

Comment on the show notes at thedreamersden.org/26

Kelly Lydick first caught my attention with her work on “dream incubation,” which is the practice of setting an intention or asking a question before going to sleep at night. I love dream incubation and turn to it frequently in my ongoing conversation with my own dreams. When Kelly and I planned this interview, though, we were drawn to talk about two other subjects dear to us both: colors in dreams, and how dreams relate to our creativity.

Kelly holds an M.A. in Writing and Consciousness and professional certifications in Meditation, Optimal Healing Environments, and Music Therapy and Sound Healing. She’s a certified Gateway Dreaming™ Coach, a Life Coach, and a Reiki Master. She is the author of many articles and of two books, including Dream Incubation for Greater Self-Awareness. She teaches creative writing and personal growth workshops, and works with clients in private sessions.

Click “Play” to hear us explore:

• how the dreamlike writing of Ray Bradbury led her to pay more attention to her dreams
• dreams as a “gateway” to the healing process and to other dimensions
• whether the Earth / the ecosystem are communicating through our dreams - and whether we’re listening
• insights about colors in dreams through the lens of the chakra system (resonant with, but not identical to, how I talk about colors in terms of the Five Elements of Classical Chinese Medicine)
• a recent power-struggle dream involving the color red, from one of Kelly’s clients
• a dream of mine including red, orange, and green (which you’ll hear me talk about with Kelly, and then reflect on further at the end of the episode)
• and Kelly’s view of creativity as an entire process that includes all aspects of us (not only the expansive experience of producing something)

After you listen, I’d love to hear from you. Did any of your own dreams come to mind as you were listening? Comment & find links in the show notes: thedreamersden.org/25

This one touched me extra deeply. Mary Jo Heyen, practitioner of Natural Dreamwork and author of Dreaming into the Mystery: Explorations into Being with the Dreams and Visions of the Dying, companions dreamers and their families in hospice care. Each one of her stories touched me, as did her way of speaking, and her way of listening. Click Play to hear about:

• Her childhood relationship to dreams, including a dream of her own at age 4 that touched something profound, and her father’s PTSD dreams
• Why she practices “Natural Dreamwork,” as taught by Roger Kamenetz
• The story of a man who dreamt, just before he died, of figures he’d been missing all his life
• The differences Mary Jo has noticed between the dreams of the dying and the dreams at any other time of life
• Her reflections on companioning people when there’s nothing to “fix”
• Advice for people who aren’t trained in dreamwork and are caring for someone at end of life
• The power of patience and quiet
• Our conversation about engaging with dreams in groups as compared to with a one-on-one practitioner
• Learning from dreams to hold our own pain with compassion, so that we can sit with someone else, soul seeing soul, and “not touch their pain with our fear”
• The dream of the wife of a man in hospice care, and what she suddenly understood through the dream
• and so much more. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Show Notes: thedreamersden.org/24

The Dreamers' Den Membership Community is open to new members March 13-28. Click here to learn more: thedreamersden.org

I’ve packed this Full Moon episode full of gems that I hope will bring you a few “ah-ha moments” about your own dreams. Listen in to hear highlights from three of the Members’ Episodes from the past 6 months.

Each month, The Dreamers’ Den Membership Community gets a bonus podcast episode. These are generally a little more casual, and also a little more focused, diving in deep on one particular theme. If you’d like to hear more like this and join our forum and live dream group calls, consider joining the Membership Community when doors open again on the New Moon, March 13. Click here for more info.

This episode includes some of my thoughts on color in dreams; most of a conversation I had with Billie Ortiz about numbers and tarot in dreams; and an episode about tracking the characters in your dreams. You’ll hear about:

• Associations for the colors blue, green, red and yellow from the Chinese Five Elements system, and in relationship to the chakras
• An example dream with yellow shoes (think yellow traffic lights, and the integrity of Earth)
• Billie’s take on the number 12 in connection with the Hanged Man and sacrifice, and 13 with Death
• The symbol of a donut (as Billie says, with dreams, “you never know what you’re going to get!”)
• How 5 and 6 relate to our 5 familiar senses and our 6th sense of intuition
• The numbers 3 and 4 in Jung’s thinking and in tarot
• This important question when something is missing in a dream: “What did the dream take away from me?”
• Getting the big picture of what types of characters tend to show up in your dreams (and a recurring character in mine)
• “Embodying” interesting characters through imagination, for a change of perspective that I can trust matters in my life

I hope you enjoy these highlights, and that one or a few of them strike a chord for you. If you want to hear the rest of the last six month’s episodes (including one about dream incubation, and more depth from former podcast guests Teresa Vazquez and Kezia Vida), plus keep up with all the new ones, I hope you’ll consider joining the Membership Community. Click here to learn more about it.

Ready to hear about dreaming with a "pack," the language of wild nature, initiation into manhood, and why dreams are a trustworthy source of navigation and wisdom? Yes? That's what I said, too. Click Play now to listen to my conversation with Matt Cochran, a dreamworker and a dear friend of mine. He has been engaging with dreams for decades and currently offers dreamwork, one-on-one and in groups, focusing on working with men. Matt has an MA in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate School and has spent time as a wandering poet, a surveyor and mapper, and a wilderness guide. He's fluent in the language of dreams and of the wilderness (leaving plenty of room for both to stay mysterious, too). You'll hear us talk about how dreaming is connected to place - to the locations we're in - and what has come to him (and to me) through dreams about the land we call home. We talk about why Matt thinks men have been drawn to dreamwork circles less frequently than women, and why his men's dream groups are meeting an important need now. All that, and so much more. Click Play to dive in. Show notes: thedreamersden.org/22

When you meet a menacing dream character, do you shudder, and skip writing that dream in your journal? Or do you get excited and dive in, because there's such dreamwork juiciness there? Either way, have you ever looked closely at the moment right BEFORE the threatening figure appears?

My guest Alyssa Polizzi loves that practice. It even brings out an "ah-ha moment" for her in our conversation. Listen in to hear my "ah-ha moment," too, when Alyssa reflects on the purifying force of fire in one of my dreams. She brings her tenderness, fascination, and depth of perspective to everything we explore. We discuss:

• her grandmother’s guidance to practice prayer when waking from anxiety-provoking dreams
• the importance of the moment just before the feeling of a dream changes (for example, right before the threatening figure arrives)
• one of Alyssa's own dream series, with recurring wolves, huskies, and bears
• the dreams I had the two nights before our conversation, one anticipating fire and the other involving it
• and how we view dreams as both glimpses into the deeper story of our lives, AND a source of practical guidance

Alyssa is an educator, coach and dreamworker who guides others on the path to develop their innate potential. She co-runs The Golden Shadow, a podcast and community focused on shadow work, psychology, philosophy and collective self-help. I think you'll enjoy hearing her perspective on the psyche. Click Play to listen now.

Show notes: thedreamersden.org/21.

Music by East Forest.