“Southern California Dreaming”
4th Southern California Regional Conference
Sponsored by the International Association for the Study of Dreams and the Southern California Dream Institute.
Sept. 13, 2014
Marymount California University, Palos Verdes, CA

The Southern California Regional group of IASD and the Southern California Dream Institute are offering another regional conference on Sept. 13, 2014.  We will meet at Marymount California University, the site of two of our previous regionals.

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Directional tools to get to the conference location:

http://www.marymountcalifornia.edu/visitors
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CONFERENCE DESCRIPTION

Dreaming is a universal human process and there are a variety of ways to treat and use our dreams.  This conference will explore several ways that dreams are and can be used.  We hope to inform and inspire dreamers, therapists, life coaches, pastors, anyone who might use dream in their work, as well as expand the Southern California network of dreamers.   There will be presentations on using dreams in addiction recovery, using dreams in PTSD work, dreams and hypnosis, dreams and the Tarot, using drawing in dream work, and several more workshops.  There will be opportunities for Continuing Education Units for counselors and therapists.  We will have an exhibit of dream-inspired art and a labyrinth set up throughout the day.

Our keynote speaker is Dr. Deirdre Barrett, who will be speaking on “Dreams and Creativity,” about which she says:

“Dreams have produced art, music, novels, films, mathematical proofs, designs for architecture, telescopes, and computers.  Dreaming is essentially our brains thinking in another biochemical state—and therefore it’s likely to solve some problems on which our waking minds have become stuck.”

Harvard psychologist Deirdre Barrett’s research has explored the role of dreaming in everyday problems and creative projects, the brain processes behind this, and how dream incubation can increase problem solving dreams. This talk will take inspiration from great historical dreams and modern lab research in presenting techniques to increase the likelihood that you will have breakthrough dreams—and recall and act on them.

Conference fee includes lunch and snacks throughout the day.

Local Committee members:  Rev. Geoff Nelson; Barbara Bishop; Walter Berry; Athena Kolinski; Rita Hildebrandt; Bobbie Ascarate.

REGISTRATION PRICING

Program Schedule At A Glance can be found by clicking here (in .pdf format) 

PRESENTER BIOS and ABSTRACTS

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Deirdre Barrett, Keynote speaker
See Dr. Barrett’s IASD member page here.

Abstract Keynote Address:

Dreams and Creativity – Through History and in Everyday Life
Dreams have produced art, music, novels, films, mathematical proofs, designs for architecture, telescopes, and computers. Dreaming is essentially our brain thinking in another biochemical state—and therefore it’s likely to solve some problems on which our waking minds have become stuck. Harvard psychologist Deirdre Barrett’s research has explored the role of dreaming in everyday problems and creative projects, the brain processes behind this, and how dream incubation can increase problem-solving dreams. This talk will take inspiration from great historical dreams and modern lab research in presenting techniques to increase the likelihood that you will have breakthrough dreams—and recall and act on them.

Applicable for CE credit
Participants who attend this presentation will be able to:
1. Identify three major works of art that have originated in a dream.
2. Identify two situations in which dreams are especially likely to help solve a problem on which the waking mind is stuck.
3. Describe two laboratory findings that support the role of REM sleep in insight or complex learning.

Using Hypnosis to Work with Your Dreams

Abstract
There are a variety of ways of combining hypnosis and dreamwork for the mutual enhancement of each. One can use hypnotic suggestions that a person will experience a dream in the trance state–either as an open ended suggestion or with the suggestion that they dream about a certain topic– and these “hypnotic dreams” have been found to be similar enough to nocturnal dreams (Barrett, 1979) to be worked with using many of the same techniques usually applied to nocturnal dreams. One can also work with previous nocturnal dreams during a hypnotic trance in ways parallel to Jung’s “active imagination” techniques to continue, elaborate on, or explore the meaning of the dream.
Research by Charles Tart (1964) has found that hypnotic suggestions can be used to influence future nocturnal dream content, and Joe Dane (1985) demonstrated that hypnotic suggestions can increase the frequency of laboratory verified lucid dreams. Many people have also utilized hypnotic and self-hypnotic suggestions for increased dream recall.

The workshop will cover all of these techniques and include experiential exercises with several of them. It would be appropriate for both individuals interested in working with their own dreams and for professional therapists interested in acquiring more techniques for helping clients to explore their dreams.

Applicable for CE credit
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
1) Identify ways in which hypnosis and dreams can interact.
2) Understand how to give suggestions to influence nighttime dreams.
3) To know which applications of hypnosis to dreamwork are verified by empirical research.

Education
B.A. Emory University, 1974, Major: Psychology.
Ph.D. Psychology Department, University of Tennessee, 1979, Graduate Program: Clinical Psychology.
Clinical, Academic and Administrative Positions
8/88 to present: Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School ‘88-’95, Clinical Assistant Professor 95-present.
1998 to present: Editor In Chief of Dreaming: Journal of the Assoc. for the Study of Dreams
Selected Publications
Barrett, D. L. (Ed.) Trauma and Dreams. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996.
Barrett, D. L. The Committee of Sleep. NY: Random House, 2001
Barrett, D. L. The Hypnotic Dream: Its Content in Comparison to Nocturnal Dreams and Waking Fantasy. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1979, Vol. 88, p. 584591.
Barrett, D.L. The ‘Committee of Sleep’: A Study of Dream Incubation for Problem Solving. Dreaming: J. of the Assoc. for the Study of Dreams, 1993, 3, p. 115123.
Barrett, D. L., Dreams in Dissociative Disorders. Dreaming: J. of the Assoc. for the Study of Dreams, 1994, Vol 4, No. 3, p. 165177.
Barrett, D. L., The Dream Character as a Prototype for the Multiple Personality “Alter”. Dissociation, Vol. 8, March 1995, p. 6168.
Barrett, D. L., Using Hypnosis to work with dreams. Self and Society: A Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 23, p. 25-28, 1996.
Barrett, D. L., The “Royal Road” Becomes a Shrewd Shortcut: The Use of Dreams in Focused Treatment,” Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, Vol. 16, No 1, 2002.
Barrett, D, & Behbehani, J., “Posttraumatic Nightmares in Kuwait Following the Iraqi Invasion,” Chapt. in S. Krippner, Ed. Psychological Effects of War on Civilian Populations, Baywood, 2003.
Barrett, D. L., Answers in Your Dreams in Scientific American Mind, Nov/Dec 2011.
Deirdre Barrett, Zach Sogolow, Angela Oh, Jasmine Panton, Malcolm Grayson, & Melanie Justiniano (2013) Content of Dreams from WWII POWs. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, Vol 33, p. 293-204.

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Walter Berry
See Walter Berry’s IASD member page here.

Drawn Into the Dream: A Visual Approach to Dreamwork

Abstract
Words, language, dialogue, thoughts batted back and forth as we talk about or unpack dreams, all of this is what we do here at the conference, and it is marvelous stuff that dreams are made of… but wait… what about the visual? What if, just like the shamans of ages past, and the people who drew on the cave walls of Lascaux, and Carl Jung in the Red Book, we could connect, like they did, with a dream in a visual sense? Dreams start often as visual elements that tell a story, so why not reconnect to that essential nonverbal depth?

In this experiential workshop we will chose dreams from the group and we will all do a simple quick rough sketch of the dream as we see it. The dreamer then will place his/her drawing in front of us, and we will sit there looking at this series of stick figures and crude lines, just like, I imagine, the members of some ancient tribe sat looking at the cave paintings. Then we will open these dreams up, using a few modalities, including Archetypal Projective Dreamwork, Gestalt and Dream Theatre to give ourselves up to these incredible missives from the deep as we use the drawings as a map that keeps the dream centered in a way not possible in word-centric dreamwork.

Often, synchronicities and unconscious things that our hands have drawn on the paper will surprise us. Color, spacing, size, and placement of elements on the page will, at times, reveal things to the dreamer (and to us) not thought of before. The projections of the group based on what all of us have drawn will amaze you.

My experience in conducting this lively workshop is that there is a large amount of humor and a large amount of deep emotion that accompanies this amazing work. Join me. We will spend about 10 minutes in lecture and set up, and the rest of the time will be used for the work.

Please, don’t let that little gremlin inside you that says “I can’t draw.” stop you from coming to this workshop because we can all feel that way, but this is much, much deeper than that.

Walter Berry, M.A. is a dream worker specializing in archetypal projective dreamwork. He leads a weekly dream group in the Los Angeles area that has been featured in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. He also conducts private consultations on dreams. He teaches workshops on dreams regionally and internationally. He is often a guest speaker at venues like “The Sex and Culture Series” and “Conversations at Leon’s”, and various other locations. He is a member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams and part of the Executive Committee of the Southern California Regional Dream Conferences of the IASD. He is also a visual artist and uses his dreams extensively in the creation of his art.

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Barbara Bishop
See Barbara Bishop’s IASD member page here.

Making Use of Dreams in Addiction Recovery

Abstract
Typical treatment for substance abuse does not include examining a client’s dreams. This presentation will explore the advantages for a drug counselor or therapist in including dream work as part of the therapeutic work for newly sober addicts. Dreams of addicts provide important information, which addicts, who do not always tell the truth, may or may not provide. Some using dreams suggest that the client is secretly planning to relapse. Others suggest that the client is committed to sobriety. Knowing the key differences between dreams that signal relapse and those that do not can make a therapist or drug counselor a more effective agent for helping the addict client. Dreams of addicts also show a client-addict’s talents, passions, and abilities—often forgotten or overlooked in the final months or years of extensive drug use. Other dreams show the roadblocks–emotional trauma, or character traits—which may make it more difficult for the client to stay sober. This presentation will offer some tips for getting the most information about a client’s waking life, from his or her dream images, characters and narratives. With a broader picture of the client, via dream work, the therapist can effectively integrate the information into the treatment plan.

Applicable for CE credit
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the differences between using dreams that announce relapse, and using dreams that signal commitment to sobriety.
2. Learn to track an individual addict’s “addiction” images, which may be similar to someone else’s but may not be.
3. Be able to assess active addiction behaviors, from dream images, characters and plots.

Barbara Bishop, MFT, is the Clinical Director at House of Hope, a residential treatment facility for women addicted to controlled substances. She has studied addicts’ dreams for several years and has published on that subject as well. She teaches a dream class each week to the clients at House of Hope.

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Robert Hoss
See Bob Hoss’s IASD member page here.

Transcendent Dreamwork

Abstract
Carl Jung observed that dreams contain a “transcendent function” which enriches the connection between our inner and outer self, so as to bring about a transition from our existing state to a new mental and spiritual state characterized by new insights and a new attitude. Many researchers and psychotherapists support the theory that dreams change us, helping us to adapt to waking life. Ernest Hartmann in particular stated that dreams weave new material into established memory, guided by emotion, making new connections that can provide a new perspective – helping us to make important decisions as well as establishing our unique sense of self. Recent neurological research has revealed areas of the brain, active in the REM state, which might provide dreams with this capability for problem resolution, emotional and adaptive learning and creative insight.
In this workshop you will learn how to adapt these theories and research findings, in combination with traditional dream-working therapies, to a three-part protocol that begins with inner exploration and discovery and ends with methods for closure. The workshop begins with a twenty-minute orientation to some of the key theoretical work (Carl Jung, Fritz Perls and Ernest Hartmann) and the complementary support of neuroscience. An example, along with a worksheet, is provided to show how all this is woven in to a dream-working protocol. The experiential work then proceeds with guiding the group through the key elements of the protocol using one of their own dreams.

There protocol begins with a brief exploration of dream-to-life associations in the narrative but then goes deeper into what both Ernest Hartmann and Fritz Perls pointed out are the underlying emotions pictured by the dream imagery. These potential emotional barriers to transcendence will be explored using a scripted Gestalt role-play technique. We then apply the observations of Jung, and findings from various neurological studies, to recognize cues in the dreams that might reveal how the dream process was attempting to bring about resolution and transcendence. By following the dream’s natural and creative approach to resolution, we might discover valuable cues that can guide the dreamer in the waking state. A spontaneous mental imaging approach (a derivation of Imagery Rehearsal Treatment) will also be demonstrated for using the dream to aid with closure.
The protocol is designed to empower the dreamer to self-reveal, understand and become the ultimate authority on the meaning of their dream. This workshop is for all audiences; the aim is increasing knowledge about dream research and theories as well as using dreams in both clinical practice and/or personal growth.

Applicable for CE credit
Learning objectives:
1. Explain how the theories of psychotherapists such as Jung, Perls and Hartmann, and recent research findings, can augment each other in a dreamworking protocol.
2. Demonstrate how Gestalt role-play can reveal emotions and potential emotional barriers, contained within a dream image.
3. Describe four cues that can be observed in dreams that might reveal how the dream processes was attempting to bring about resolution or transcendence.

Robert Hoss, MS, is a Director and Past President of IASD, Director of the DreamScience Foundation for research grants and a faculty member of the Haden Institute. He is author of Dream Language and Dream to Freedom and his work is published in 12 other books and 3 professional Journals.

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Athena Kolinski

Open the Gateway to your Inner Wisdom: A Tarot Dream Interpretation Workshop

The Tarot can be utilized as an additional method of dream analysis thus opening a gateway between one’s inner wisdom and waking self. The Tarot, especially the Major Arcana, is a pictorial mythology that represents humanity’s journey. It allows for the subconscious to continue communication with the dreamer during an awakened state through imagery, symbolism, synchronicity and the significance of the cards. The images of both dreams and the Major Arcana are archetypal in nature and connect one to the thread of Consciousness. The didactic portion of the workshop will begin by sharing the “Mythology of the Major Arcana of the Tarot”. It will provide the audience information on symbols and meanings of the cards that will aid them in interpreting dreams. The interactive workshop will then be divided into two portions. The first part of the workshop will focus on the dream interpretation of one participant with an interactive group discussion, thereby showing the attendees an example of using the Tarotpy method. After the live example, the attendees will divide into groups of 2 and use the method with each other, selecting 2 to 3 cards each to help analyze a dream (30% didactic / 70% workshop).

Lauren Schneider’s Tarotpy© method will be used with the Tarot to analyze the participant’s dreams. Tarotpy is vastly different from traditional tarot readings as it puts the process in to the hands of dreamers. The dreamer chooses the deck/s to use. They choose what the layout will look like and what the placements will mean. They touch the cards to intuit which ones will give them the information requested. This hands-on approach can lead to synchronicities in choices and gives the dreamer a tool to directly communicate with the Conscious thread of infinite knowledge. The Tarotpy© method requires the dreamer to intuit the number of cards they need to answer a question related to the dream, create a layout of the cards, and then assign questions or names to each placement. [Note: This process will be done with the dream participants prior to the workshop, allowing time for the PowerPoint slides to be prepared for the audience. The participant WILL NOT see the face of the chosen cards until the day of the workshop.] The dream participant will begin by sharing their dream, and then will explain their choices as I walk the audience through the process. When the dreamer’s cards are revealed, they will be the first to analyze the overall theme and initial feelings of what it means in relation to the dream question and placement names. The audience will then be invited to share suggestions on how the cards can pertain to the dream using Ullman’s idiolect. The “ultimate authority” on the meaning of the dream will be the participating dreamer. As the presenter I will guide and moderate this portion ensuring that the dreamer has a safe environment, as well as offering an additional perspective on the meanings associated with the Tarot.

Athena is a Religious Studies professor at University of Philosophical Research, where her second master’s degree was obtained in Consciousness Studies. Certified in Tarotpy and as a New DreamWork Coach, Athena is an active member of SoCal IASD and the owner of Star Card Consulting (www.starcarddreaming.com).

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Geoff Nelson
See Geoff Nelson’s IASD member page here.

Dreaming in Church

Abstract
This workshop will be in two parts, with a presentation on the topic of using dreams in church settings, followed by an actual dream group demonstrating the topics covered in the presentation. Four elements of using dreams in one’s spiritual life will be explored briefly, showing particular benefits that can come to one’s spiritual life as well as some benefits for the non-religious person as well. These elements are the emotional honesty of dreams, the way dreams help prioritize our lives, the connection between dream work and the practice of prayer, and the way dream work can help people understand the Bible better and be more comfortable with its symbols and images. Emotional honesty can be difficult for us, depending upon the culture we were raised in or the cultural constraints we live in currently. Dreams are not always “polite.” Dreams can help us decide what is most important for us to be concentrating upon, whether it is in our family, at our jobs or school, or in other areas of our social life. As a result, we can prioritize the use of our time and energy. The experience of paying attention to one’s dreams can lead to some helpful, even remarkable, experiences of the sense of guidance or presence of the divine in our lives. Similar experiences are found among those who pray but may not pay attention to their dreams. The common experiences here can provide a bridge between dream work and prayer. The language that both dreams and some parts of the Bible use is that of symbol and image. Some modern Christians struggle with some of the images and symbols of the Bible. Familiarity with one’s dreams can help the Christian be more comfortable with a wider range of the Biblical material. Dreams can help the Christian Church in its need for spiritual renewal. This workshop will demonstrate how dreams can aid that renewal. Christianity has a rich heritage from the Bible and in parts of our Christian history that have valued dreams. For much of the past several centuries, dreams have not often had a valued place in the faith practices of many Christians. This workshop will address the potential value of dreams, in the spiritual lives of individuals, as well as congregations and the Christian Church as a whole in the opening presentation. Then we will demonstrate this value in the dream work that will follow.

Applicable for CE credit
Learning objectives:
Participants who attend this presentation will be able to learn the following:
1. Dreams are valuable tools in the spiritual life of the Christian.
2. How dream groups work in churches.
3. Possible future uses of dreams in churches.

Rev. Geoff Nelson is a retired Presbyterian pastor in Whittier, California, USA. With over 35 years experience with own dreams, he has a D. Min. degree on “Dream Groups in the Church” and is a trained spiritual director.

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Richard Paseman

Whirlwinds of the Soul: Dreams in a Desert Place

Abstract

The high desert of Southern California is a place of whirling dust devils and freakish winds that howl in the night. Wisdom traditions of the Native Americans understood the spinning vortex to be more than a phenomenon of hot air rising up from the desert floor through pockets of cooler low-pressure air. Those who live in harmony with the natural world have understood there is a spiritual dimension embodied in the whirlwind and our encounter of it.

The whirlwind is an archetypal symbol of autonomous power. Jesus said, “The wind blows where it will; you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell from where it comes or where it goes.” So, it is for all those who choose to live with an awareness of the spiritual dimension.

Whenever we find ourselves in barren landscapes – a desert of the soul – our dreams may bring us images of the whirlwind. The whirlwind is an ambivalent symbol capable of representing change and transformation. It may foretell a warning from the unconscious of malevolent forces.  It may also signify a visitation of the divine – a theophany – in which the presence of God is revealed.

This presentation is for everyone interested in dreams. The insights of depth psychology will be particularly helpful for understanding the personal and collective meaning of the whirlwind. Exploration of Native American wisdom traditions, the Job saga and other sacred writings will explore the power of whirlwind as a dream image to transform the desert places in our soul.

Richard F. Paseman, Ed.D. is a spiritual director specializing in contemplative retreats, desert wisdom traditions, and spirituality for the second half of life. He is a licensed marriage and family therapist. Rich utilizes the tools of art, cinema, journal keeping, music, and interfaith traditions to promote inner wholeness.

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Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos

Extraordinary Healing Dreams That Diagnose Cancer

Abstract
Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos will discuss her personal experiences of lucid, precognitive dreams and nightmares that diagnosed her breast cancer the medical community and the tests on which they relied missed three times. This interactive workshop offers a rare real life experience with medically validated precognitive diagnostic dreams by a participant in the Dream and Cancer Study Program by Dr. Larry Burke.

The personal experience that changed her thinking about the importance of precognitive dreams that diagnose illness began in 1999 and continued for ten years. Kathleen’s three physical exams, blood tests and mammograms over a three month period were found negative for cancer by conventional doctors and the tests on which they relied, but her recurrent prophetic dreams told her she had cancer. After being told she was healthy and to go home for the third time, Kathleen had a prophetic dream she titled: The White Feather. In her dream, a spirit guide told her that she had breast cancer, handed her a feather and told her to immediately return to the doctor and ask for exploratory surgery. If she used the feather from her dream as a sword to fence with against his arguments, she would win and live. The next day Kathleen convinced her doctor to do surgery. A lump was found and validated by pathology as aggressive breast cancer that was also discovered in one lymph node.

Five years later, while under the watchful eye of oncologists at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, a 9 x 11 centimeter tumor was missed using conventional medical tests. History repeated itself in the form of a recurring lucid precognitive nightmare.

Clowns dressed like doctors ordered her to return to her specialists and request an MRI. Her dream was again validated by a pathology report. Kathleen requested a double mastectomy but doctors refused to remove what they felt was a healthy breast. Again, Kathleen’s dreams told her cancer was in both breasts. She had the double mastectomy performed at New York University Medical Hospital and cancer was found for the third time. Kathleen kept a dream journal and her medical reports during treatments.
This workshop will be 20 % didactic lecture introducing a patient centered approach offered to mental health and health professionals, dream workers and educators. Topics include distinguishing different types of dreams with emphasis on precognitive, lucid, and nightmares as inner-guidance for diagnosis, treatment and survival. The workshop provides guidelines for understanding information available in different types of dreams, and in the practice of dream work for integrative healthcare. Participants will experience ways to remember dreams, distinguish between different types of dreams, learn how to connect with Intention, Inner Guidance, and integrate healing imagery from dreams shared by individuals in the group. Attendees will be encouraged to participate in recounting, acting out, and discussing dreams. Target: all audience levels. Aim: to increase personal self-awareness and emotional growth of attendees, increase attendees’ knowledge about dream research and theories, and increase spiritual or psychic awareness through dreams or application in integrative healthcare.

Kathleen O’Keefe Kanavos is an International bestselling author of “Surviving Cancerland: Intuitive Aspects of Healing,” and 3x Breast Cancer Survivor whose dreams diagnosed cancer. Kat’s a radio host, Intuitive Dream Life Coach and “go-to authority” on Health, Wealth and Relationships. She presents at IASD events, blogs on DreamCloud, and is a columnist for magazines. http://survivingcancerland.com/

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Beginner’s Dreamwork Panel
Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos, Suzanne Strisower, and Kelly Sullivan Walden.

Abstract for the Panel
Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos (panel moderator) will spend five minutes introducing panelists Kelly Sullivan Walden, Suzanne Strisower and herself. Each panelist will share their preferred dreamwork processes or resources that include how they got started working with their dreams using real life examples. The last ten minutes of the beginning dreamer panel will be opened to questions from the audience.

Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos.
During Kathleen’s fifteen minute panel presentation she will provide guidance and options for “beginning dreamers” seeking methods for exploring, studying and working with their dreams, plus resources and support to get them started. These resources can be in groups, books, courses, therapists, etc. Suggested resources for beginning dreamers such as journaling will also be part of the discussion. Kathleen will use pictures on a power point presentation format for visual support. Kathleen’s discussion will also include introduction to the Seven Basic Dream Types, and how to identify them using real dream samples from her live radio show and her cancer and dream column in Cape Women Online magazine.

Kelly Sullivan Walden.
When we develop a respect for our nighttime dreams, coupled with a basic level of fluency—or at least a way to work with and decode the “bizarre” language of our dreams, we are able to find the diamond in the rough, and reap the rewards therein.
The good news…there is more than one way to interpret a dream. The bad news…there is more than one-way to interpret a dream. Dreams are like diamonds—in addition to being extremely valuable each dream contains innumerable facets and incalculable ways to interpret and work with them. In this presentation, bestselling author and founder of Dream-Life Coach Training, Kelly Sullivan Walden will share a few of her favorite and most basic (and effective) ways of working, decoding, and mining the dream diamonds from the rough.
In this presentation participants will learn:
*A basic D.R.E.A.M. decoding formula
*Suggestions for how to work dreams in a group
*Dream Sharing etiquette
*The #1 way to harness your intuition to discover helpful dream messages

Suzanne Strisower.
Suzanne Strisower will focus on how your dreams evolve and how to determine what a dream means from many different perspectives. She will present her unique Dreamwork format to the participants to help beginning dreamers have some other tools to use when working with their dreams. Participants will get some hands-on practice using their dream experiences or fragments to work with them consciously and how to give them back to their subconscious minds for the next steps. She will also focus on how dreams are helping to open us up to our multidimensional selves. Suzanne will share some experiences of how you can use Dreamwork to enhance your daily lives, creativity and healing through some fascinating examples of work with her clients. She will have a prepared powerpoint presentation for her 15 minute presentation which people can visually use to understand her unique perspective on Dreamwork.

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Barbara Schiffman

The Akashic Records: Accessing Higher Consciousness Dimensions for Creativity Enhancement, Dream Exploration & Personal Evolution

Quantum physics and metaphysics finally agree that a unified energy field exists which contains a vibrational record of humanity’s evolution, collectively and individually. Called “the Book of Life” by most religions and “the Collective Consciousness” (sometimes the collective unconscious) by Carl Jung, the Akashic Records have long been accessed by mystics and “soul seekers”. Best known among them is “sleeping prophet” Edgar Cayce who popularized this “dimension of consciousness” as the realm from which he received his medical intuitive, past-life and current-life guidance readings for his clients in the early 20th century (1901-1945).

More recently, past-life regression therapists including Michael Newton, as well as quantum physicists and scientific philosophers like Ervin Laszlo and evolutionary visionaries like Barbara Marx Hubbard have written about the Akashic Records. They have even been depicted in Hollywood movies like Albert Brooks’ “Defending Your Life” and the Matt Damon/Emily Blunt futuristic-romance “The Adjustment Bureau”.

As the ever-evolving vibrational archive of each human soul in its journey through all lifetimes, the Akashic Records also provide a fertile environment through which to gain soul-level insights about dreams (or dream Fragments) as well as current and /or past life patterns and relationships.  Fortunately, the Records can now be accessed by much faster and easier methods than ever before due to humanity’s 21st century “spiritual maturity” which continues to evolve through our dreams as well as our actions and aspirations.

In this workshop designed for all audiences, dreamwork professionals and newcomers alike can learn how and why the Akashic Records are similar to but distinctively different from the dream dimension, as well as from psychic or intuitive experiences.  They will also hear about ways the Records can be reliably and consistently accessed and utilized as an environment for increasing personal self-awareness and emotional growth, amplifying spiritual or psychic awareness, as well as expanding creativity and conscious evolution.

They will learn about some currently acknowledged methods for accessing the Records— which include meditation, dreamwork, shamanic rituals and remote viewing—and especially sacred “vibrational” prayers like Linda Howe’s Pathway Prayer Process (the method utilized since 2009 by presenter Barbara Schiffman).

Attendees will also get an opportunity to experience the compassionate, loving and empowering qualities of the Records for themselves through an energizing ten-minute guided meditation attuned to the light-frequency of this soul-level dimension.  Time permitting, they can also experience a ten-minute group Akashic Reading by Barbara who will demonstrate the Pathway Prayer Process to “consciously channel” whatever wisdom, perspectives or messages are made available by the Records for the entire group (not for individuals within it) which relate to dreamwork or other timely issues of this particular day.

Barbara Schiffman, C.Ht., ARCT (USA) is a Certified Hypnotherapist, Soul Keys Hypnosis Facilitator, and Akashic Records Certified Advanced Teacher (affiliated with Linda Howe’s Center for Akashic Studies). She teaches about the Akashic Records in Southern California and nationally. Barbara is also an author, editor, creativity coach and Life & Soul Balance Coach.

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Suzanne Strisower

Facets of Dreamwork Beyond Dreaming                  

Abstract

In working with clients over the years and helping them develop their intuitive capacities, their dreamwork became more that just nighttime dreaming. They could induce their own conscious dream states or trances through many different channels including hypnosis; shamanic journeywork, spontaneous regressions and body based sensing to access deeper aspects of themselves and their expanded consciousness. Each of these states can be accessed by individuals trained in the ability to be open and relaxed in altered states of consciousness when searching for the deeper meaning or understanding of some aspect of their lives.

This workshop demonstrates how hypnosis can be used to return to dreams to get a more comprehensive understanding of what was coming through from the subconscious. Hypnosis can also be used to plant seeds into the subconscious and dream realms to continue the healing process or resolution of trauma from many different sources. Hypnosis can be used as a resource to access strength for people needing to find resiliency within themselves as sub-personalities, past life parts of themselves or their own higher self through regressions.

Another resource for bringing the subconscious meanderings and process into a conscious understanding is through the use of shamanic journeying where a person can enter a “dreamlike” state and explore other realms of consciousness – which include the lower, middle and upper worlds. Journey dreamwork allows the client to delve into symbolism through a specific process that adds spirit animals, power animals, earth bound energies and the angelic realms into one’s conscious awareness. This type of dreamwork is about the expansion of resources and energy that take people beyond themselves and into other realms of consciousness. These energetic states can provide insight and direction into a person’s personality structure and resources for healing at the deepest levels.

Body-based experiences or symbolism can be understood from its placement in the body and the particular energetic expression that each person has for them. People can use the sensations and feelings within the chakras to invoke dreamlike images that help them understand what is going on within their psyches and consciousness. Opening up these pathways for communication can resolve blockages and help people get a more expanded sense of purpose for themselves.

Tools used in this workshop will be based on trance techniques to access dream-like states that will be demonstrated and practiced by the workshop participants, which will be followed by partner sharing and group discussions. 20% of the planned workshop will be didactic with the rest being highly experiential.

This interactive workshop will focus on alternative dreamwork techniques that people can readily use to bring their subconscious minds and their inner workings into the light of their conscious awareness for healing and personal growth. The target audience for this presentation is all people interested in an alternative perspective on dreams and dreamwork. This presentation’s aim is to increase the personal self-awareness using spiritual and psychic tools.

Suzanne Strisower has used “dreamwork” with her clients for the past 25 years as an intuitive and Professional Certified Coach. She has a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology specializing in Depth Psychology and Dreamwork from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She is the author of three books including an award winning life purpose workbook.

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Kelly Sullivan Walden

Dream Theater

Abstract

The Iroquois Indians, dating back to 1100 A.D., regarded dreams as “the secret wishes of the soul” and that it was the duty of a caring community to gather around a dreamer, help him or her recognize the soul’s wishes, and take action to honor them.

The Iroquois acted out their dreams and went beyond the usual disciplined and moral social boundaries. This practice was seen as the basis of social as well as individual healing and well-being.  Allowing the expression of unconscious desires was the Iroquois way of conquering sickness of body and mind, and thus living in an enlightened community.

In this modern day Dream Theatre experience (for all audiences), dreams are brought to life.  By seeing dreams enacted you will:

• Access the deeper potential of these gifts of the night
• Learn to decode dreams in a way that is truly empowering
• Experience the transformational power of community dream sharing & enactment
• Enliven the soul via this embodied version of dreamwork

Dream Theatre is an expressive, participatory event (no bystanders allowed) part Psychodrama, Gestalt Therapy, dream sharing, that leads to the individual’s ability to decode the message of their dreams more palpably.

There will be brief instruction (20-30 minutes) and the rest will be role-playing with dreams.

Direct Your Dreams…Direct Your Life!

“The moment you step foot in a dream theatre reenactment, you are in a different world…you have the freedom to fully express yourself in ways that your politically correct ego would never allow you to.  You don’t adopt a mask…you actually let go of your mask. Your only job is to be a channel, a conduit, a vessel…to let go, to be naked, to connect with the energy funneling through you and to express the shade, texture, and tenor of humanity that the scene dictates, with all your heart and soul, to the best of your ability.”  Kelly Sullivan Walden

Bring:

• A Dream;
• An adventurous spirit;
• A willingness to participate, learn, and grow.

Kelly Sullivan Walden is a certified clinical hypnotherapist, founder of Dream-Life Coach Training, and author of seven books, including the bestselling, “I Had the Strangest Dream,” “It’s All In Your Dreams,” and “Dreaming Heaven.” Kelly has appeared on Dr. Oz, facilitates dream workshops, and hosts “The D-Spot” radio show.

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Judith L. White, PhD

From Reliving to Relieving: Using Embodied Imagination to Help Veterans Move Forward

Presentation summary

Soldiers returning from combat do not have to meet the formal criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder to be impaired by nightmares and intrusive memories, Judy will present a case history of a high-ranking veteran whose work with Embodied Imagination helped him move forward in his personal and professional life.

Presentation Abstract

The emotional scars of combat are more widely recognized than in the past; more information is available about post-traumatic stress disorder than ever before—partly because more of today’s veterans have been exposed to multiple deployments and have survived more life-threatening experiences than any previous group of veterans. Still, for many returning veterans, the negative effects of war go undetected and untreated. This is especially true for individuals who appear to be highly functional and do not meet the formal criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. (Paulson & Krippner, 2010). They may have a smoother transition back to civilian life, becoming responsible students, workers and family members; but they may also suffer nightmares and flashback memories in silence. These symptoms may reflect and reinforce a failure to realize one’s fullest personal and professional potential.

Such was the case with a high-ranking Marine who initially sought treatment because of relatively minor issues with his family. With his permission, Judy will present her work with him, focusing on the therapeutic role of Embodied Imagination (EI) in helping him overcome the stressful, ruminative memories of war and the indecisiveness that marked his civilian life.

In EI, Bosnak’s method of working with dreams and memories, a dream or memory environment is re-experienced, with careful guidance and support, in a hypnagogic state as a composite of its many perspectives simultaneously.
While it has been used by mental health professionals to treat trauma survivors, there is scant documentation of its use with veterans.

Only in the last six months of his two-year treatment could this young man reveal the recurring intrusive memories and nightmares that left him with shame and self-questioning. Judy will describe how she used EI to explore a particular memory of a high-risk mission he had authorized as a commanding officer in Afghanistan. Key to this process was the embodiment of a safe or “neutral witness” perspective that contained the patient and allowed him to integrate the more difficult parts of the memory without retraumatization. During this period, he moved from his habitual guilt- and shame-filled ego perspective to a perspective that included greater self-understanding and compassion. In letting go of this aspect of his past, he was able to embrace his future by becoming more decisive. He overcame an obsession with a former girlfriend and finally left a job he’d been unhappy with for a more promising one in another state. This case history points to EI as a method that encourages post-traumatic growth (Krippner, Pitchford & Davies, 2012; Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2012).

Finally, Judy will compare EI to other techniques used for nightmares. While EI is in some ways similar to these methods (eg, imagery rehearsal therapy, Lancee, et al, 2010), its emphasis on the non-self perspective through the exploration of ego-alien images and on hewing as closely as possible to the original images appear to be unique.

This presentation is for participants of all levels. Its aim is to suggest a new
approach, subject to further study, for treating combat veterans.

Judith White, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and certified Embodied Imagination therapist in Los Angeles, maintains a wide-ranging private practice. Judith uses Embodied Imagination to help people carry the wisdom of the dream realm into waking life. As a volunteer for The Soldiers Project, she also works with veterans and their nightmares.

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