I relived how I found out my father died; walking up my street w/my two best friends. There were lots of cars in my driveway. The three of us sensed something was not right. They went to the left and to the right I walked towards my house alone.
My aunt came out, started to say "Your father..." and nothing else. I knew.
All of my father's friends were in the living room, most sobbing. I ran up to my room slammed the door shut and didn't want to come out.
SWITCH (in the dream)
I'm living my life doing whatever (this activity changed during those 5 years). My father visited me. It was great. I didn't mind him being dead because we still had these visits. I would bring up something that was troubling me and ask him for advice. He'd say something like, "Oh, that's no problem..Here's what you do.." And I'd wake up, feeling haunted, let down.
My aunt came out, started to say "Your father..." and nothing else. I knew.
All of my father's friends were in the living room, most sobbing. I ran up to my room slammed the door shut and didn't want to come out.
SWITCH (in the dream)
I'm living my life doing whatever (this activity changed during those 5 years). My father visited me. It was great. I didn't mind him being dead because we still had these visits. I would bring up something that was troubling me and ask him for advice. He'd say something like, "Oh, that's no problem..Here's what you do.." And I'd wake up, feeling haunted, let down.
I studied gestalt psychology 40 years ago at Goddard College. Gestalt is a technique that has you playing or feeling the different parts in your dreams. My intention was go into that field. However I was derailed by my passion for art. I went on to painting public and private trompe l’oeil murals, making ceramic sculptures and, for the last 15 years along with my wife, designing and building custom homes that look 200 years old but are energy efficient and self sustaining using geo thermal and solar.
Even though my life was very good—great marriage, enjoyed my job for the most part, made enough money, etc. I felt a hunger for something more.
Peggy, my wife, had been doing Archetypal Dream work with Marc Bregman for 20 years and raved about it. I tried it a couple times and it didn’t quite click, though I could see the value.
I eventually went to my first retreat, which is 3-5 day gathering where we share our dreams in an intimate setting and “gestalt” our dreams, stringing them together and having the fellow dreamers in our group act out the parts. Sometimes the dream switches to play different aspects. The leaders also often splice different dreams so you can feel a part of one dream in another dream.
At this first retreat I only had a couple dreams to work. One was a recurring dream I had after my father died when I was 13. I had this dream 3-4 times a week for 5 years. Then it stopped.
The dream:
Even though my life was very good—great marriage, enjoyed my job for the most part, made enough money, etc. I felt a hunger for something more.
Peggy, my wife, had been doing Archetypal Dream work with Marc Bregman for 20 years and raved about it. I tried it a couple times and it didn’t quite click, though I could see the value.
I eventually went to my first retreat, which is 3-5 day gathering where we share our dreams in an intimate setting and “gestalt” our dreams, stringing them together and having the fellow dreamers in our group act out the parts. Sometimes the dream switches to play different aspects. The leaders also often splice different dreams so you can feel a part of one dream in another dream.
At this first retreat I only had a couple dreams to work. One was a recurring dream I had after my father died when I was 13. I had this dream 3-4 times a week for 5 years. Then it stopped.
The dream:
NEW about me page
Over the past several years I have been working with my dreams and training with archetypal, Jungian based teachers who have studied this work for over 20 years. This particular form of dream work was started by Marc Bregman. Beginning with his own clients, he began teaching classes, leading workshops and retreats. Over the years a community of fellow dreamwork teachers and practitioners has formed throughout the country and Canada.
My wife Peggy had been doing Archetypal Dream work for many years and found it had great value. I tried it a couple times and it didn’t quite click, though I could see there was some value to it.
Even though my life was very good—great marriage, enjoyed my job for the most part, made enough money, etc., I felt a hunger for something more. I felt something was missing; old wounds never quite healed, a missing connection to something I could not name.
As the pull for "something more" became stronger, I looked deeper.
I tried conventional therapy for a couple years and then tried dreamwork again. I soon realized that dream work is light years ahead of conventional therapy; primarily because working directly with the dream and the unconscious doesn't allow the stories we create to divert the work away from what matters.
I have come to embrace this work and feel the connection and missing piece I was searching for.
I had studied psychology 45 years ago at Goddard College. I was particularly intrigued by classes in Gestalt Therapy, a technique that incorporates role-playing different parts of the psyche. My intention was go into that field. However, my internships in mental illness treatment centers left me disillusioned by the world of psychology, where I witnessed a profound amount of ineptitude and lack of empathy for the patients being treated. These internships created a negative impression of what my future might hold for me if I continued on a path towards psychotherapy as a career. Instead, I pursued my passion for art and architecture.
For twenty-five years I painted public and private trompe l’oeil murals. I enjoyed that career which eventually morphed into designing and building new homes that look 200 years old though use state of the art techniques such as above average insulation, geo thermal HVAC and solar.
My own journey began with a repetitive dream that began at the age of 13 when I lost my father until I was 18. In the dream, I closed myself off in my room not wanting to come out. In the process of delving into that dream I discovered that this action of shutting myself off from my pain has been my default position for dealing with crises, trauma and even minor incidents.
I have always felt my father’s presence in my life though he didn’t visit me during my sleep again until shortly after I started archetypal dream work. In that dream he took me to his apartment. He said he had always been with me and showed me pictures on walls of every important occasion in my life.
During a dream session, we spliced the repetitive dream with the recent one. It was mind blowing to put it mildly. I began to recognize my fear of feeling my pain; even projected hurts that didn’t even exist except in my anxiety.
Periodically throughout my life I’ve experienced anxiety and panic attacks. In one dream I was filled with terror and another one I was accompanied by an archetypal character in a strange setting. In the latter dream, even though I was in a weird environment, I didn’t feel scared with him with me. I then spliced the dreams together and brought the archetypal person w/me in the terror dream. I was absolutely surprised how the terror was immediately abated feeling the support of him by my side. Like the dreams with my father there was a huge shift when I felt supported and not alone.
The unexpected death of my father also created a feeling of dread when change occurred in my life. In several other dreams I had the opportunity to feel into what change and fear of the unknown was like for me.
Now, when feelings of anxiety or unexpected change arise, I give myself the space to feel my fear, observe what is coming up for me and then feel the support. I don’t avoid feeling uncomfortable. I now welcome change
I have playing piano most of life and never considered writing music. After working the dreams about my father I wrote my first song and have since several more.??
In some ways it feels like a homecoming to where I started at Goddard 40 years ago. While I enjoyed doing the murals and house building, neither career felt like a calling like this does. There was a yearning to do something else, more meaningful that would combine creativity, simplicity and be to true to myself.
I appreciate not relying on sub-contractors, wood, paint, concrete and so many extraneous materials.
I only need my heart, curiosity and openness to collaborate with clients to discover what the mystery of their dreams can reveal.
Over the course working my dreams Bill St. Cyr and taking classes with him and Susan Scavo and other teacher trainings I eventually realized that I was back where I started 40 years ago with my intention of studying Gestalt and wanting to do this kind of work.
I began study to become a Dreamwork practitioner in 20?? And soon came to know that this is my calling. My previous careers as a muralist and house designer/builder were creative and fulfilling, but they never seemed to satisfy my deepest passions. I especially appreciate that I don’t need sub-contractors, concrete, wood or any other materials.
One of the things I came away from this working these dreams is how my default position when things get difficult or painful has often been to metaphorically lock myself away in my room. It felt safer there. No one will find me there. But then, what if no one ever finds me? That was part of the dilemma. On the other hand, when I felt the support of my father I could carry on. I was not alone.
My wife Peggy had been doing Archetypal Dream work for many years and found it had great value. I tried it a couple times and it didn’t quite click, though I could see there was some value to it.
Even though my life was very good—great marriage, enjoyed my job for the most part, made enough money, etc., I felt a hunger for something more. I felt something was missing; old wounds never quite healed, a missing connection to something I could not name.
As the pull for "something more" became stronger, I looked deeper.
I tried conventional therapy for a couple years and then tried dreamwork again. I soon realized that dream work is light years ahead of conventional therapy; primarily because working directly with the dream and the unconscious doesn't allow the stories we create to divert the work away from what matters.
I have come to embrace this work and feel the connection and missing piece I was searching for.
I had studied psychology 45 years ago at Goddard College. I was particularly intrigued by classes in Gestalt Therapy, a technique that incorporates role-playing different parts of the psyche. My intention was go into that field. However, my internships in mental illness treatment centers left me disillusioned by the world of psychology, where I witnessed a profound amount of ineptitude and lack of empathy for the patients being treated. These internships created a negative impression of what my future might hold for me if I continued on a path towards psychotherapy as a career. Instead, I pursued my passion for art and architecture.
For twenty-five years I painted public and private trompe l’oeil murals. I enjoyed that career which eventually morphed into designing and building new homes that look 200 years old though use state of the art techniques such as above average insulation, geo thermal HVAC and solar.
My own journey began with a repetitive dream that began at the age of 13 when I lost my father until I was 18. In the dream, I closed myself off in my room not wanting to come out. In the process of delving into that dream I discovered that this action of shutting myself off from my pain has been my default position for dealing with crises, trauma and even minor incidents.
I have always felt my father’s presence in my life though he didn’t visit me during my sleep again until shortly after I started archetypal dream work. In that dream he took me to his apartment. He said he had always been with me and showed me pictures on walls of every important occasion in my life.
During a dream session, we spliced the repetitive dream with the recent one. It was mind blowing to put it mildly. I began to recognize my fear of feeling my pain; even projected hurts that didn’t even exist except in my anxiety.
Periodically throughout my life I’ve experienced anxiety and panic attacks. In one dream I was filled with terror and another one I was accompanied by an archetypal character in a strange setting. In the latter dream, even though I was in a weird environment, I didn’t feel scared with him with me. I then spliced the dreams together and brought the archetypal person w/me in the terror dream. I was absolutely surprised how the terror was immediately abated feeling the support of him by my side. Like the dreams with my father there was a huge shift when I felt supported and not alone.
The unexpected death of my father also created a feeling of dread when change occurred in my life. In several other dreams I had the opportunity to feel into what change and fear of the unknown was like for me.
Now, when feelings of anxiety or unexpected change arise, I give myself the space to feel my fear, observe what is coming up for me and then feel the support. I don’t avoid feeling uncomfortable. I now welcome change
I have playing piano most of life and never considered writing music. After working the dreams about my father I wrote my first song and have since several more.??
In some ways it feels like a homecoming to where I started at Goddard 40 years ago. While I enjoyed doing the murals and house building, neither career felt like a calling like this does. There was a yearning to do something else, more meaningful that would combine creativity, simplicity and be to true to myself.
I appreciate not relying on sub-contractors, wood, paint, concrete and so many extraneous materials.
I only need my heart, curiosity and openness to collaborate with clients to discover what the mystery of their dreams can reveal.
Over the course working my dreams Bill St. Cyr and taking classes with him and Susan Scavo and other teacher trainings I eventually realized that I was back where I started 40 years ago with my intention of studying Gestalt and wanting to do this kind of work.
I began study to become a Dreamwork practitioner in 20?? And soon came to know that this is my calling. My previous careers as a muralist and house designer/builder were creative and fulfilling, but they never seemed to satisfy my deepest passions. I especially appreciate that I don’t need sub-contractors, concrete, wood or any other materials.
One of the things I came away from this working these dreams is how my default position when things get difficult or painful has often been to metaphorically lock myself away in my room. It felt safer there. No one will find me there. But then, what if no one ever finds me? That was part of the dilemma. On the other hand, when I felt the support of my father I could carry on. I was not alone.
New Dreams and the Soul Page
Being in touch with my soul is being my truest self whether it’s standing in joy, pain, fear or total vulnerability—knowing I’m protected and not alone. (maybe put this at the end)
Somehow, many of us become derailed from feeling our souls and rely on other means to deal with our neuroses, pain and trauma. We create stories. We become our jobs. We rationalize. Rather than admit we’re scared, angry and hurt we pretend that everything is o.k., create armaments or we get stuck in stubborn positions with feelings of shame or arrogance—two sides of the same predicament.
Dreams come to us in a unique and personal way—unfettered by the mind’s logic—that lead us into our deepest, most honest place in our selves. They are unfiltered windows to our unconscious.
There are often two aspects in a dream:
-Pathology, which drives how we get stuck. It is ego’s way of protecting us from pain inherent in our soul. It is like a scab on a wound, creating a barrier that keeps us safe from our personal painful pasts as well as pain held in our collective consciousness such as the holocaust or even further back.
-Archetypes, represented in both ancient and contemporary myths, are beings that help us more aware of our souls. They show us very specifically how we have used our ego in the world to manage our pain, fear and loss.
This protection mechanism also keeps us from feeling the love that is bound up with the loss. It is in our capacity to be vulnerable, feel our fears, and pain that free us. ???
Dreams reveal our blind spots and mirror our souls. Embedded in our dreams are signposts that illustrate how to come out from our protected positions.
They remind us we are not alone and stand in our joy and love as well.
We can’t really experience
Pathology is the ego’s way to protect us from the pain and love inherent in our soul. It is like a scab on a wound, creating a barrier that keeps us safe from our painful pasts, both remembered and long-forgotten, yet it also keeps us from feeling the love that is bound up with the loss.
The Archetypes, represented in both ancient and contemporary myths, are beings that come to us in our dreams to help us find our way back to our souls. They show us, very specifically and personally, how we have used our ego in the world to manage our pain, fear, loss, and ultimately our love.
Issues of control, the manic drive for success and recognition, nihilism or depression are some of the ways in which our ego does its job in managing the pain our of experience. Dreams give us a way back to our souls. Embedded in our dreams are the messages…the signposts, for that journey back into the center of the earth…the center of ourselves that connects with the Divine.
Somehow, many of us become derailed from feeling our souls and rely on other means to deal with our neuroses, pain and trauma. We create stories. We become our jobs. We rationalize. Rather than admit we’re scared, angry and hurt we pretend that everything is o.k., create armaments or we get stuck in stubborn positions with feelings of shame or arrogance—two sides of the same predicament.
Dreams come to us in a unique and personal way—unfettered by the mind’s logic—that lead us into our deepest, most honest place in our selves. They are unfiltered windows to our unconscious.
There are often two aspects in a dream:
-Pathology, which drives how we get stuck. It is ego’s way of protecting us from pain inherent in our soul. It is like a scab on a wound, creating a barrier that keeps us safe from our personal painful pasts as well as pain held in our collective consciousness such as the holocaust or even further back.
-Archetypes, represented in both ancient and contemporary myths, are beings that help us more aware of our souls. They show us very specifically how we have used our ego in the world to manage our pain, fear and loss.
This protection mechanism also keeps us from feeling the love that is bound up with the loss. It is in our capacity to be vulnerable, feel our fears, and pain that free us. ???
Dreams reveal our blind spots and mirror our souls. Embedded in our dreams are signposts that illustrate how to come out from our protected positions.
They remind us we are not alone and stand in our joy and love as well.
We can’t really experience
Pathology is the ego’s way to protect us from the pain and love inherent in our soul. It is like a scab on a wound, creating a barrier that keeps us safe from our painful pasts, both remembered and long-forgotten, yet it also keeps us from feeling the love that is bound up with the loss.
The Archetypes, represented in both ancient and contemporary myths, are beings that come to us in our dreams to help us find our way back to our souls. They show us, very specifically and personally, how we have used our ego in the world to manage our pain, fear, loss, and ultimately our love.
Issues of control, the manic drive for success and recognition, nihilism or depression are some of the ways in which our ego does its job in managing the pain our of experience. Dreams give us a way back to our souls. Embedded in our dreams are the messages…the signposts, for that journey back into the center of the earth…the center of ourselves that connects with the Divine.
Dreams and the Soul
Somehow, most of us become derailed from feeling our souls and rely on other means to deal with our neuroses, pain and trauma. We create stories. We become our jobs. We rationalize. Rather than admitting we’re scared, angry and hurt we pretend that everything is o.k., create armaments or we get stuck in our positions with feelings shame or arrogance—two sides of the same predicament.
Through my experience in archetypal dream work I came to understand that our dreams are unfiltered windows to our unconscious. There are often two aspects in a dream: our pathology, which drives how we get stuck and archetypes, who are characters who show us the way to be in touch with our soul. Dreams come to us in a unique and personal way—unfettered by the mind’s logic—that lead us into our deepest, most honest place in our selves.
I studied psychology 40 years ago at Goddard College. I was particularly intrigued by my classes in Gestalt Therapy, a technique that explores dreams through role play. My intention was go into that field. However, my internships in a mental illness treatment center left me disillusioned by the field of psychology, where I witnessed a profound lack of empathy and progress for the patients being treated. The internships created a false belief of what my future might hold for me if I pursued psychotherapy as a career. Instead, I pursued my passion for art and architecture.
Even though my life was very good—great marriage, enjoyed my job for the most part, made enough money, etc., I felt a hunger for something more. I felt something was missing; old wounds never quite healed, a connection to something I could not name; I felt unconnected.???
My wife Peggy had been doing Archetypal Dream work with Marc Bregman for 20 years and raved about it. I tried it a couple times and it didn’t quite click, though I could see there was some value to it. As the pull for "something more" became stronger, I looked deeper.
I had also tried therapy a couple times throughout my life. It worked to some degree though I soon realized the dream work was light years ahead of conventional therapy. I think primarily because it works directly with the dream and the unconscious and doesn't allow the stories we create to divert the work away from what matters. It was through dream work that I found that missing link. It was a therapy that cut to the chase and with more heart than anything I could have imagined.
I attended a 5 day retreat, where participants shared our dreams in an intimate setting and “gestalt” our them, stringing them together and having the fellow dreamers in our group act out the parts. *Read more about this retreat and my dreams below.
After that retreat, I started seeing someone to help me work my dreams. The retreat was only the beginning. I soon was feeling into my biggest fears, anxieties and seeing how they ruled how I operate.
In this practice, there’s no "I’m cured"—end game. I continue to grow, see my blind spots and evolve. I continued to go to retreats, take classes with my dream therapists and teachers and eventually realized I was back where I started 40 years ago with my intention of studying Gestalt and wanting to do this work.
I began working with teachers to study to become a dreamwork practicioner. I soon came to know this is my calling. My previous careers of being a muralist and house designer/builder were creative and fulfilling though they never seemed to sate me. There was a yearning to do something else that was more meaningful and that would combine creativity, simplicity, my desire to live my truth (??). I especially appreciate that I don’t need sub-contractors, concrete, wood or any other materials.
I only need my heart, curiosity and openness to collaborate with clients to discover what the mystery of their dreams can reveal.
Through my experience in archetypal dream work I came to understand that our dreams are unfiltered windows to our unconscious. There are often two aspects in a dream: our pathology, which drives how we get stuck and archetypes, who are characters who show us the way to be in touch with our soul. Dreams come to us in a unique and personal way—unfettered by the mind’s logic—that lead us into our deepest, most honest place in our selves.
I studied psychology 40 years ago at Goddard College. I was particularly intrigued by my classes in Gestalt Therapy, a technique that explores dreams through role play. My intention was go into that field. However, my internships in a mental illness treatment center left me disillusioned by the field of psychology, where I witnessed a profound lack of empathy and progress for the patients being treated. The internships created a false belief of what my future might hold for me if I pursued psychotherapy as a career. Instead, I pursued my passion for art and architecture.
Even though my life was very good—great marriage, enjoyed my job for the most part, made enough money, etc., I felt a hunger for something more. I felt something was missing; old wounds never quite healed, a connection to something I could not name; I felt unconnected.???
My wife Peggy had been doing Archetypal Dream work with Marc Bregman for 20 years and raved about it. I tried it a couple times and it didn’t quite click, though I could see there was some value to it. As the pull for "something more" became stronger, I looked deeper.
I had also tried therapy a couple times throughout my life. It worked to some degree though I soon realized the dream work was light years ahead of conventional therapy. I think primarily because it works directly with the dream and the unconscious and doesn't allow the stories we create to divert the work away from what matters. It was through dream work that I found that missing link. It was a therapy that cut to the chase and with more heart than anything I could have imagined.
I attended a 5 day retreat, where participants shared our dreams in an intimate setting and “gestalt” our them, stringing them together and having the fellow dreamers in our group act out the parts. *Read more about this retreat and my dreams below.
After that retreat, I started seeing someone to help me work my dreams. The retreat was only the beginning. I soon was feeling into my biggest fears, anxieties and seeing how they ruled how I operate.
In this practice, there’s no "I’m cured"—end game. I continue to grow, see my blind spots and evolve. I continued to go to retreats, take classes with my dream therapists and teachers and eventually realized I was back where I started 40 years ago with my intention of studying Gestalt and wanting to do this work.
I began working with teachers to study to become a dreamwork practicioner. I soon came to know this is my calling. My previous careers of being a muralist and house designer/builder were creative and fulfilling though they never seemed to sate me. There was a yearning to do something else that was more meaningful and that would combine creativity, simplicity, my desire to live my truth (??). I especially appreciate that I don’t need sub-contractors, concrete, wood or any other materials.
I only need my heart, curiosity and openness to collaborate with clients to discover what the mystery of their dreams can reveal.