Incubate a Dream for Global Healing the night of Friday, October 23, 2009

Dreamer Tzivia Gover posted a reminder on Facebook about incubating a dream for global healing:

WHEN IS OUR NEXT GROUP DREAM?

On the night of Friday night, October 23, we will dream together for global healing. This will be the final group dream for 350 Dreamers ... so let’s all intend together to dream for global healing.

WHY OCTOBER 23?

Because we’re dreaming to support 350.org’s global day of actions (United Nations Day, Oct. 24) to get world leader’s attention and show them that we, the people of this planet, want to work together to stop global climate change. Visit 350.org to find out more about this powerful initiative.

HOW DO I PARTICIPATE?

Simply set your intention to dream for global healing. Put your intention in writing before you go to sleep and keep a pen and paper near your bed so you can write down any dreams, dream fragments or impressions upon waking. Then post your dreams to our blog: http://www.350dreamers.wordpress.com/. For more instructions read our FaceBook Page and visit the blog http://www.350dreamers.wordpress.com/

WHAT IF I DON’T REMEMBER ANY DREAMS?

That’s okay. You dream whether you remember your dreams or not. You can still share any reflections or thoughts about the process, or just tell us you tried! Your participation at any level helps build the group experience.

WHAT IF MY DREAM HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH GLOBAL HEALING?

Any dream received on the night of Oct. 23 ‘counts’ if you set your intention to dream for global healing. Sometimes an isolated dream seems unrelated to the topic, but when viewed together with other group members’ collective dream experience, connections might emerge! So, when in doubt, post your dream and share your experience.

WHO ELSE IS DREAMING:

Some 390 people from around the world--Iran, Israel, Denmark, Japan, Wales, Canada, USA, Panama, Puerto Rico, Argentina, and more--are participating!

ARE WE DOING ANYTHING SPECIAL TO HONOR THIS FINAL GROUP DREAM?

Yes! In addition to posting your dream to http://www.350dreamers.wordpress.com/, please also consider creating a visual or poetic representation of your 350 Dreamers dream experience and posting to our Face Book Page (For inspiration see Bobbie’s beautiful Dream Mandala posted on our Face Book Page!)

BUT WAIT ... I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS!

No problem, just visit the website 350 dreamers and email Tzivia.

Read an article about Dreams for Global Healing in the Examiner.

Vivid Dream: Feedback Welcome

Here's a vivid dream a follower wants some feedback on:

I dreamt I was in my closet, folding clothes and straightening it up when I suddenly started to tear my clothes up --- the items were shirts that I wore over the summer, so not old stuff. I remember feeling sad that I was doing it, but did it anyway. I was actually relieved when I woke up and remembered that I had still had them.

My first thought about this dream is that there is something tied to your identity from over the summer--maybe a job or a relationship?--that you've had to let go of and you feel sad about it. There's also the feeling of trying to get organized in life or reviewing something.

Anybody else have thoughts about this dream?

Recurring Dreams

Are you curious about recurring dreams? Feel free to post your recurring dream... or email it to me and I'll post it anonymously.

Depressed and Suicidal Adolescents

I am attending a two-day training conference in Philadelphia on Attachment Based Family Therapy, which is an empirically informed psychotherapy model designed to help families with depressed or suicidal adolescents. What I like about this model is that it isn't a "blame the family" approach. Instead, it is a trust-based, emotion-focused model aimed at repairing the interpersonal ruptures in the family. It also rebuilds an emotionally protective, secure parent-child relationship.

Therapy includes an exploration of what prohibits the adolescent from going to his or her parents(s) when he or she is feeling depressed or suicidal. In some families, conflict or trauma has strained the bond and damaged trust. In other families, the adolescent has become depressed, withdrawn, and isolated, which is often frustrating for the parent(s) and tries their patience. Regardless of how the interpersonal ruptures occurred, this therapy helps family members to identify and discuss these breaks more directly. In the context of these sessions and conversations, adolescents learn more about emotion regulation and interpersonal problem solving, while parents learn more developmentally appropriate parenting skills.

Family strengths are important and new levels of mutual respect and understanding are reached. Adolescents can begin to turn to their parents for protection when they are feeling depressed. The therapist restores a normal, healthy family functioning to serve as a buffer against stressors that can lead to adolescent depression or suicide.

Dreamwork for Healing Childhood Wounds

I just finished reading an interesting and moving story written by Edward Bonapartian, an avid dreamer.

In The Stories of Our Lives, Ed writes with a strong and clear voice about his journey in dealing with the effect of his mother's alcoholism, beginning after her death. He shows us how his dreams were an integral, brutal, and beautiful way for him to move forward in life. As he explored his dreams in groups and workshops, he began to trust the intuitive emotions that accompany dreams to help him understand his dreams as well as the dreams of others. This story shows us how dreamwork--and responding to our dreams--creates balance in waking life.

This book is not only about the writer's dreams, it is a life story. In many ways, it is the story of our lives as well. Without awareness, we all spend the present reacting to the past. He shows us that our dreams can help us understand that and move forward. His is a journey of grief and anger, and a powerful message of hope for us all.

Order Edward Bonapartian's book HERE.