Meant to read this yesterday, but just getting to it today after a dream about needing to pee in my parents basement while a black rooster (later turned into a man) attacked me.
Have you studied with Robert Moss? Read his books? I have and greatly admire him and his practices. Like you, many of my dreams seem mundane or over and over, me trying to do something in a classroom or my parents old house. Not that I don't have good dreams, but more difficult for me to set-up space/time travel to exotic locations in which I am elated.
I entirely agree with this concept of multiplicity of parts. Have you heard of Internal Family Systems counseling? The entire model is based on "parts work."
And, yes, I do think the California peeps would hear more negative voices due to the "independent is power" mentality of the great 'ole U.S. (see how it spells us, but divided by period boundaries?)
Oh, you studied with Robert Moss? How cool. Was it good? I'd love to. I've read one of his books and read his blog.
I have heard of internal family systems counselling (we seem to like a lot of the same things :) and I've practised it upon myself. It's really powerful and healing stuff.
That's a super interesting dream you had there! Rich in unpackingness!
Yes, I've been to a handful of his workshops and completed the level one dream teacher's training. I would have liked to have gone to the level two one being held north of Seattle this coming week, but have my son's wedding to attend it a couple of weeks and all that travel and money wasn't doable right now.
He is an amazing man and the dreamers who attend never disappoint. If nothing else, it's a great meet-up of like-minded individuals fully embracing their creativity and weirdness. Robert says weird comes from the word wyrd and means spiritual, so when someone prefaces something they're going to say with, "This is going to sound really weird, but..." prepare yourself for a spiritual account.
I visited an IFS therapist for a number of years and also attended a group for five years, all of us talking "parts," and have found it to be the most helpful form of therapy--especially, when partnered with psycho-drama. There is something so revealing and healing, watching others act out your individual parts in a drama. I have been able to make peace with many shadowy beliefs that create automatic and unconscious behaviors. At the same time, I suppose it's a lifetime of work unraveling all that lies within our psyche's and it seems the more work one does, the more difficult it becomes to willingly and happily submerge ourselves in regular, societal ways of being.
Yes, the dream was powerful. I've been working through a shadow dream book and paying even more attention to my dreams in answer to those shadows. My freewrite post today was very synchronistically related and the photo too. Probably more than I'll write here, but miraculous in what can happen when we truly honor the dreams.
All was happening within my childhood homes' garage. I imagined Robert would have said, "Open the door and walk out." He has such a way of reframing via the lightning dream process in a positive and powerful way.
Anyway, he also has writing/dream workshops that last a week. I've never been, but would probably be very good.
I did run a dream group here in Astoria for a time along with an ecstatic dance class, but go many more takers for the dance class. I think the dream work can be scary for people. This past week I ran into a woman who'd come to one and said she had had such a powerful experience with her dreams and nightmares after that she'd decided not to come back and wondered if I was still holding space, as she was now ready to come back.
Perhaps, this fall when wedding and potential move are more ironed out I'll step back into something similar.
So, here I am writing you a novel ;) Does feel like we have much in common and I definitely admire your writing ability and thought processes!
Kimberly
That IFS group therapy must have been intense! Even the thought of it is a little unnerving. I would totally do it, though. It must feel quite special being on the other side of that. I've done a very limited amount of parts work with others. But what I've done, with an art therapist who also used techniques of dreamwork and talking to your parts, was powerful. Just having a witness there to oversee proceedings and to also speak herself to that part was very cool.
Congrats on your son's wedding!
Thank you ! Very exciting to be mother of the groom :) Yes, I'm wearing a pink dress ;)