February 5, 2025 • 23 mins
Unlocking the Wisdom of Dreams: A Somatic Approach
In this episode of 'Healed, Now What?', Lisa Dawn explores the nature of dreams and their potential for personal growth and healing. She discusses her own journey with dream journaling and lucid dreaming, sharing anecdotes from her vivid, recurring dreams.
Lisa delves into Robert Moss's Active Dreaming principles and Peter Levine's somatic experiencing techniques to emphasize how dreams can help process trauma and integrate our deepest subconscious thoughts.
The episode provides practical steps for understanding and working with dreams through storytelling, body awareness, and emotional tracking, encouraging listeners to harness their dream experiences for a more fulfilling life.
00:00 Introduction to Healed, Now What?
01:21 Exploring the Fascination with Dreams
02:17 Personal Dream Experiences
06:07 Understanding Dream Interpretation
06:58 Robert Moss's Dreaming the Soul Back Home
10:57 Somatic Experiencing and Dreams
13:50 Practical Steps for Dream Processing
21:39 Conclusion and Final Thought
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lisa (00:01):
Greetings, my friends, and welcome to another episode of
Healed, Now What?, a podcastwhere we discuss life,
relationships, connection, andtrauma through the lens of
somatic and attachmentpsychology, nervous system
health, relationships, and selfdiscovery.
I'm Lisa Dawn, and I'm on amission to teach people how to
(00:23):
transform their deepest woundsinto their greatest strengths by
first transforming therelationship they have with
themselves.
So whether you've had trauma,years of failed partnerships, or
just want a better relationshipwith your body, I've got you
covered.
I am a Somatic ExperiencingPractitioner, Educator,
(00:44):
Relationship Mentor, and TraumaSurvivor.
With a lifetime of experiencehelping not only myself, but
countless others transform theirlives by learning how to become
the fullest versions ofthemselves.
We do this through selfawareness, connecting with their
bodies and changing the way theyperceive themselves and others.
(01:06):
I have coached in numerouspeople how to heal their wounds
and create lasting change sothey can live a more joyous,
passionate and fulfilling life.
Thank you so much for tuning inand enjoy the show.
(01:33):
Hey guys, Lisa Dawn here.
Welcome back to the podcast.
Today we're diving intosomething that has fascinated me
for as long as I can remember,dreams.
Specifically, what are they?
How can we better understandthem and what are a few
processes, including a somaticone that can foster deeper
(01:57):
understanding of what isunderneath those wild dream
states.
I myself used to have manyreoccurring dreams and I
thought, why not share a few ofthem with you today?
I mean, you're here, so I'mguessing you're willing to
listen.
Let's just pretend you nodded.
Okay, great.
(02:17):
How many of us have had thosescary, reoccurring, or just
plain weird dreams that kind ofstick with us?
I spent a few years diving deepinto this topic.
I had a dream journal.
I was waking up in the middle ofthe night with my Pilot Pen,
which is basically just a penwith a light on it.
(02:39):
And you can get ones that havered filtered lenses on them.
And for a year straight, I wasrecording my dreams, and through
that process, I discovered somany things about myself, my
life, my fears, my hopes, and mytrauma.
My husband and I even took acourse on lucid dreaming through
(03:00):
Mindvalley, and that was an eyeopening experience.
And as a child, I always hadvivid dreams.
I would sleepwalk.
And back then, dreams sometimesfelt more like reality to me
than my actual reality.
I was also dealing with somepretty heavy trauma, so that
makes a lot of sense now as Ilook back and reflect.
(03:23):
Anyway, fast forward to likepresent day now.
And I recently had a dream aboutsomatically processing a dream.
It was vivid and felt prophetic.
And I just knew I needed to takesome kind of action from this
knowing.
And so here we are today.
And from that space, I waschatting with a dear friend
(03:44):
about this and he said, wouldn'tit be amazing for parents with
kids who experienced nightterrors?
And honestly, yes, I couldn'tagree more.
This is also helpful for anyonewho has overwhelming dreams or
reoccurring dreams.
And I just wanted to share a fewof my dreams with you for some
context.
(04:05):
So, one of my dreams was thebear chase dream.
So, Yep, for years, I had dreamsof running away from bears.
Now the setting would changeeach time, sometimes a forest,
sometimes a city, sometimes avillage, but there was always.
(04:30):
some inconvenient obstaclepreventing me from fully
escaping?
Like one time I was on crutches,another time I think I had hurt
my toe.
Like why does Dream Me alwaysforget how to run properly?
And in this dream, it wouldbuild up to this moment where
(04:50):
I'd find shelter, a building, ahouse, or even like a weird
little shed.
But the door, oh no, it couldn'tjust be a normal door.
It had to have a handle like anold crystal knob or some flimsy
latch that takes three hands toclose.
And the bear, always gaining onme.
(05:12):
But here's the thing, nothingbad ever actually happened.
The bear never caught me.
It was like my subconscious wasstuck on the chase scene and
forgot to write the next part.
So then there was this otherreoccurring dream.
And this one was always set inmy grandparents old farmhouse.
(05:34):
And we spent a ton of time theregrowing up.
And as a kid, I was actuallyterrified of the basement.
I would not go into thebasement.
And so my dreams often focusedaround what was going on in the
basement.
And after working with some ofthe dream practices I'll share
(05:56):
with you today, both of thosedreams shifted and they gave me
powerful insights into why theyheld so much weight for me.
One thing I want to mention thatI found was a huge dream
interpretation myth is that But,you know, we often will look to
(06:17):
things like dream dictionariesor look online for different
meanings of, you know, what'sgoing on in our dream state.
And I found that kind of uselessbecause dreams are highly
personal and individual.
For example, if I dream of ablack cat and black cats remind
(06:39):
me of a cozy autumn day andmagical vibes, that's my
meaning.
But for someone else.
A black cat might symbolize badluck or an ex's evil pet.
It's all subjective.
Dreams are like decoding our ownsubconscious language.
So many years ago, I discoveredRobert Moss's work and
(07:04):
specifically one of his, hisbooks, Dreaming the Soul Back
Home, and this was a gamechanger.
In Dreaming the Soul Back Home,Robert explains that dreams
aren't just random thoughts fromour subconscious.
They're powerful tools forhealing and personal growth.
He believes dreams can connectus to deeper parts of ourselves,
(07:26):
to other realms, and even to thewisdom of our ancestors.
Through a practice he callsActive Dreaming, Moss shows how
dreams can help us recover lostpieces of our soul that may have
been left behind due to traumaor life's hardships.
In this way, dreams become aguide.
Helping us to feel whole,connected, and more aligned with
(07:49):
who we truly are.
And also, Moss describes intensedreams that spill over into our
waking life as big dreams, orsoul dreams.
He believes these aren't justpersonal experiences, but
messages from a deeper source,our soul, spirit, or even the
larger universe.
(08:10):
According to Moss, these dreamsare often carrying guidance,
warnings, or insights meant towake us up to something
important in our lives.
When a dream feels vivid,emotional, or starts to echo in
waking events like deja vu orsynchronicities, he sees it as a
sign that the dream is alive andasking for our attention.
(08:34):
So he encourages engaging withthese dreams through reflection,
journaling.
and active imagination, treatingthem as living stories that can
influence and shape our reality.
So I've gone through his processquite a few times and I felt it
was really, really helpful and Iwanted to share one of his
(08:55):
processes here with you so youcan try it out for yourself.
So here is the gist of Moss'slightning dreamwork process.
So you can do this in your owntime, just come back to this,
but I'll give you the steps.
So when you're recalling adream, the first step is to give
(09:17):
your dream a title.
So kind of like naming a movie.
This anchors the dream into yourmemory.
Step number two, tell the dreamlike a story.
So present tense, focus on thekey details without over
explaining or analyzing.
Just kind of tell it as ithappened.
(09:40):
Number three, ask questions.
How did I feel in the dream?
Or what's the first thing thatcomes to mind when I think of
all the dream symbols thatshowed up?
AKA that weird door handlething.
What meaning does that imagehold for me?
And there might be multipleimages in the dream, each with
(10:02):
their own meaning.
Number four, even better if youhave someone to share the dream
with and see if they will offerfeedback.
So for example, the person mightsay, well, if it were my dream,
I'd wonder about this.
And this is so helpful forsomeone else to share insights
that may not have been availableto us.
(10:24):
And also in many traditions,dreams were shared in a round
circle of community.
How beautiful is that?
And then number five is todecide on an action.
So that could be anything.
Draw it, write about it, createa ritual, or hell, even do a
(10:46):
podcast episode.
So that is the, the lightningdream work process in a
nutshell.
So now enter somaticexperiencing.
Years later, I discovered thatyou could process dreams through
somatic experiencing and wow,mind blown.
(11:11):
I remember watching a demo ofPeter Levine work with someone's
intense reoccurring nightmareand it was like watching magic.
This woman processed andintegrated a nightmare that had
haunted her for years and youcould literally see the shift in
her body.
So, Peter Levine, my homeboy,the creator of Somatic
(11:33):
Experiencing, views dreams as animportant part of the body's
natural process for integratingand resolving trauma.
He believes that dreams,especially those with strong
emotional or sensory content,can help release stored survival
energy and complete unfinishedstress responses.
(11:55):
Peter emphasizes that dreamsoften carry somatic cues like
physical sensations, movements,or feelings that reflect the
body's attempt to process pastexperiences.
So, you know, those times whereyou're trying to let out a
scream, but you can't, or you'retrying to run away, but you're
frozen in time, things likethis.
(12:16):
So rather than analyzing dreamspurely for symbolic meaning,
Peter encourages noticing howthe body feels when recalling a
dream.
So he suggests trackingsensations, emotions, and
impulses that arise, as thesecan reveal where trauma energy
is held and how it might beginto release.
(12:38):
So in this way, dreams becomenot just mental events, but
embodied experiences thatsupport healing when approached
with curiosity, presence, andsomatic awareness.
So after watching this demo andseeing this woman and her
process, I figured it was timeto work with the farmhouse dream
(13:01):
because this one, it carried alot of weight.
It felt heavy and ancestral andbig in a different kind of wear.
in a different kind of way thanthe bear dream.
And in psychology, dreaming ofhouses often symbolizes your
sense of self, personalsecurity, and your inner world,
reflecting your currentemotional state and potentially
(13:23):
highlighting areas of your lifethat need attention, such as,
you know, family dynamics,personal growth, self care.
And so the specific details ofthe house in the dream can
further reveal.
the meaning.
So I decided to work through TheFarmhouse Dream and a few others
with a somatic practitioner, andit was actually incredible.
(13:48):
Life changing, actually.
And so here today, I'd like tooffer a simplified version of
this process so you can practiceit on your own and with caution
if it, if even the thought of itfeels overwhelming, consider
reaching out for somaticsupport.
(14:08):
But if you're game and it feelsgood to try this on your own,
here is the process.
So step one, recall the dream.
that you want to work with.
So just kind of have it in theback of your mind.
And then create a container,like a safe, grounded space
(14:33):
where you feel present.
So you can establish this byjust taking a few breaths, maybe
feeling your connection to theground or chair beneath you,
noticing your environment toanchor yourself into the present
(14:54):
moment.
Step two is recalling the dreamgently.
So just letting the dream cometo mind without forcing every
detail.
And just focus on the parts thatstand out the most.
(15:15):
This could be images, emotions,or sensations.
And it's okay if some parts areblurry.
Just work with what's there.
Work with what feels most vivid.
Just give yourself some timethere to see what comes up.
(15:35):
And sometimes it's only oneimage or one emotion that we can
remember from the dream.
And that's fine.
That's enough information towork with, with any dream.
So step three is to begin totrack your body's reaction or
sensations to the recalling ofthe dream.
(16:00):
So shifting your attention fromthe story of the dream to what's
happening in your body as yourecall it.
Do you feel tightness, warmth,tingling, heaviness, or
lightness anywhere?
Just take a moment to check in.
(16:23):
Are there shifts in yourbreathing?
Heart rate or posture, and justtaking a moment to notice that
as well.
(16:43):
And step four, perhaps therearen't as many bodily
sensations, but maybe there areemotional states that are coming
up.
So just gently observing anyemotions that surface.
Is there fear, sadness, relief,curiosity, or even numbness?
(17:10):
So just stay with the feelingwithout trying to analyze or fix
it.
Now we're just going to allow instep five your awareness to move
between any intense sensationsor emotions to more neutral or
(17:33):
pleasant ones.
So if the dream brings upsomething overwhelming, pause.
And focus on something soothing,like the feeling of your hands
resting on your lap.
Or perhaps it's the way thatyour feet are being held by the
(17:54):
floor.
Or maybe there's a picture or aplant you really enjoy looking
at.
And then you can touch back into the overwhelm briefly, and
see how that feels.
(18:16):
And then go back again to thesomething soothing.
And this back and forth helps toregulate the nervous system.
So just notice as you kind ofpendulate back and forth between
those two states, anything elsethat comes up.
(18:41):
And this leads into step numbersix.
Sometimes the body may have animpulse to move.
And just see, maybe there'ssomething like reaching,
pushing, using your voice orcurling up.
(19:01):
These are natural expressions ofthe body's attempt to complete
some kind of response that wasinterrupted.
So see if you can follow theimpulse slowly and mindfully and
just notice how it feels.
(19:24):
And just taking your time there,no need to rush.
Are there any impulses formovement or to use your voice?
And this leads into the nextstep, number seven.
(19:47):
So after that processing is,feels complete, just take a
moment to notice if you feelmore settled, more spacious, or
different in your body.
And if you feel called to,perhaps getting a pen and paper
(20:07):
and writing down somereflections, not just about the
dream story, but about how yourbody responded.
And the last step to this, stepnumber eight, is just to close
out with some settling back intothe present moment, some
(20:29):
grounding.
So ending the session by fullyorienting to the present moment.
You could do this by lookingaround the room.
Maybe even naming some objectsyou see, or even touching
something with texture to bringyourself back, rubbing your
fingertips together, taking afew breaths, just really feeling
(20:53):
your connection to the here andnow.
And this process honors dreamsas embodied experiences,
allowing the nervous system torelease trapped energy without
getting stuck in the mentalanalysis.
(21:15):
Now, more meaning may emergeover the following days, weeks,
and months from this simpleprocess.
So it might be helpful to justjournal a few more times or make
note of, of what's coming to theforefront.
(21:35):
Whoa, right, wild.
Dreams are mysterious and fullof wisdom if we know how to
listen.
So I wanted to leave you todaywith a couple of quotes from
Robert Moss.
Everything that enters our fieldof perception means something,
(21:59):
large or small.
Everything speaks to us.
If we will take off ourheadphones and hear a different
soundtrack, everythingcorresponds.
We travel better in the forestof symbols.
When we are open and availableto all the forms of meaning that
(22:19):
are watching and waiting for us.
And the next one.
Strings of coincidence canstrengthen us in the
determination to follow ourdeepest intuitions.
Even when they run counter toconventional wisdom and logic
(22:41):
and cannot be subjected torational explanation.
That's all for this week, folks.
Until next time, sweet dreams.
Stay curious and be well.
(23:01):
As always, thank you so much forlistening.
Life is busy.
So it means even more thatyou're carving out time in your
day to be here.
Listen, we've got so many greatepisodes coming up, so please
make sure you subscribe tofollow along on Apple podcasts
or Spotify.
And for those of you who like towatch your podcasts, we are now
(23:22):
uploading them to YouTube.
And if you appreciate theseepisodes, please do us a favor
and leave a rating or a reviewand share it with anyone you
think could benefit.
See you again next Wednesday.
outro music
Greetings, my friends, and welcome to another episode of
Healed, Now What?, a podcastwhere we discuss life,
relationships, connection, andtrauma through the lens of
somatic and attachmentpsychology, nervous system
health, relationships, and selfdiscovery.
I'm Lisa Dawn, and I'm on amission to teach people how to
(00:23):
transform their deepest woundsinto their greatest strengths by
first transforming therelationship they have with
themselves.
So whether you've had trauma,years of failed partnerships, or
just want a better relationshipwith your body, I've got you
covered.
I am a Somatic ExperiencingPractitioner, Educator,
(00:44):
Relationship Mentor, and TraumaSurvivor.
With a lifetime of experiencehelping not only myself, but
countless others transform theirlives by learning how to become
the fullest versions ofthemselves.
We do this through selfawareness, connecting with their
bodies and changing the way theyperceive themselves and others.
(01:06):
I have coached in numerouspeople how to heal their wounds
and create lasting change sothey can live a more joyous,
passionate and fulfilling life.
Thank you so much for tuning inand enjoy the show.
(01:33):
Hey guys, Lisa Dawn here.
Welcome back to the podcast.
Today we're diving intosomething that has fascinated me
for as long as I can remember,dreams.
Specifically, what are they?
How can we better understandthem and what are a few
processes, including a somaticone that can foster deeper
(01:57):
understanding of what isunderneath those wild dream
states.
I myself used to have manyreoccurring dreams and I
thought, why not share a few ofthem with you today?
I mean, you're here, so I'mguessing you're willing to
listen.
Let's just pretend you nodded.
Okay, great.
(02:17):
How many of us have had thosescary, reoccurring, or just
plain weird dreams that kind ofstick with us?
I spent a few years diving deepinto this topic.
I had a dream journal.
I was waking up in the middle ofthe night with my Pilot Pen,
which is basically just a penwith a light on it.
(02:39):
And you can get ones that havered filtered lenses on them.
And for a year straight, I wasrecording my dreams, and through
that process, I discovered somany things about myself, my
life, my fears, my hopes, and mytrauma.
My husband and I even took acourse on lucid dreaming through
(03:00):
Mindvalley, and that was an eyeopening experience.
And as a child, I always hadvivid dreams.
I would sleepwalk.
And back then, dreams sometimesfelt more like reality to me
than my actual reality.
I was also dealing with somepretty heavy trauma, so that
makes a lot of sense now as Ilook back and reflect.
(03:23):
Anyway, fast forward to likepresent day now.
And I recently had a dream aboutsomatically processing a dream.
It was vivid and felt prophetic.
And I just knew I needed to takesome kind of action from this
knowing.
And so here we are today.
And from that space, I waschatting with a dear friend
(03:44):
about this and he said, wouldn'tit be amazing for parents with
kids who experienced nightterrors?
And honestly, yes, I couldn'tagree more.
This is also helpful for anyonewho has overwhelming dreams or
reoccurring dreams.
And I just wanted to share a fewof my dreams with you for some
context.
(04:05):
So, one of my dreams was thebear chase dream.
So, Yep, for years, I had dreamsof running away from bears.
Now the setting would changeeach time, sometimes a forest,
sometimes a city, sometimes avillage, but there was always.
(04:30):
some inconvenient obstaclepreventing me from fully
escaping?
Like one time I was on crutches,another time I think I had hurt
my toe.
Like why does Dream Me alwaysforget how to run properly?
And in this dream, it wouldbuild up to this moment where
(04:50):
I'd find shelter, a building, ahouse, or even like a weird
little shed.
But the door, oh no, it couldn'tjust be a normal door.
It had to have a handle like anold crystal knob or some flimsy
latch that takes three hands toclose.
And the bear, always gaining onme.
(05:12):
But here's the thing, nothingbad ever actually happened.
The bear never caught me.
It was like my subconscious wasstuck on the chase scene and
forgot to write the next part.
So then there was this otherreoccurring dream.
And this one was always set inmy grandparents old farmhouse.
(05:34):
And we spent a ton of time theregrowing up.
And as a kid, I was actuallyterrified of the basement.
I would not go into thebasement.
And so my dreams often focusedaround what was going on in the
basement.
And after working with some ofthe dream practices I'll share
(05:56):
with you today, both of thosedreams shifted and they gave me
powerful insights into why theyheld so much weight for me.
One thing I want to mention thatI found was a huge dream
interpretation myth is that But,you know, we often will look to
(06:17):
things like dream dictionariesor look online for different
meanings of, you know, what'sgoing on in our dream state.
And I found that kind of uselessbecause dreams are highly
personal and individual.
For example, if I dream of ablack cat and black cats remind
(06:39):
me of a cozy autumn day andmagical vibes, that's my
meaning.
But for someone else.
A black cat might symbolize badluck or an ex's evil pet.
It's all subjective.
Dreams are like decoding our ownsubconscious language.
So many years ago, I discoveredRobert Moss's work and
(07:04):
specifically one of his, hisbooks, Dreaming the Soul Back
Home, and this was a gamechanger.
In Dreaming the Soul Back Home,Robert explains that dreams
aren't just random thoughts fromour subconscious.
They're powerful tools forhealing and personal growth.
He believes dreams can connectus to deeper parts of ourselves,
(07:26):
to other realms, and even to thewisdom of our ancestors.
Through a practice he callsActive Dreaming, Moss shows how
dreams can help us recover lostpieces of our soul that may have
been left behind due to traumaor life's hardships.
In this way, dreams become aguide.
Helping us to feel whole,connected, and more aligned with
(07:49):
who we truly are.
And also, Moss describes intensedreams that spill over into our
waking life as big dreams, orsoul dreams.
He believes these aren't justpersonal experiences, but
messages from a deeper source,our soul, spirit, or even the
larger universe.
(08:10):
According to Moss, these dreamsare often carrying guidance,
warnings, or insights meant towake us up to something
important in our lives.
When a dream feels vivid,emotional, or starts to echo in
waking events like deja vu orsynchronicities, he sees it as a
sign that the dream is alive andasking for our attention.
(08:34):
So he encourages engaging withthese dreams through reflection,
journaling.
and active imagination, treatingthem as living stories that can
influence and shape our reality.
So I've gone through his processquite a few times and I felt it
was really, really helpful and Iwanted to share one of his
(08:55):
processes here with you so youcan try it out for yourself.
So here is the gist of Moss'slightning dreamwork process.
So you can do this in your owntime, just come back to this,
but I'll give you the steps.
So when you're recalling adream, the first step is to give
(09:17):
your dream a title.
So kind of like naming a movie.
This anchors the dream into yourmemory.
Step number two, tell the dreamlike a story.
So present tense, focus on thekey details without over
explaining or analyzing.
Just kind of tell it as ithappened.
(09:40):
Number three, ask questions.
How did I feel in the dream?
Or what's the first thing thatcomes to mind when I think of
all the dream symbols thatshowed up?
AKA that weird door handlething.
What meaning does that imagehold for me?
And there might be multipleimages in the dream, each with
(10:02):
their own meaning.
Number four, even better if youhave someone to share the dream
with and see if they will offerfeedback.
So for example, the person mightsay, well, if it were my dream,
I'd wonder about this.
And this is so helpful forsomeone else to share insights
that may not have been availableto us.
(10:24):
And also in many traditions,dreams were shared in a round
circle of community.
How beautiful is that?
And then number five is todecide on an action.
So that could be anything.
Draw it, write about it, createa ritual, or hell, even do a
(10:46):
podcast episode.
So that is the, the lightningdream work process in a
nutshell.
So now enter somaticexperiencing.
Years later, I discovered thatyou could process dreams through
somatic experiencing and wow,mind blown.
(11:11):
I remember watching a demo ofPeter Levine work with someone's
intense reoccurring nightmareand it was like watching magic.
This woman processed andintegrated a nightmare that had
haunted her for years and youcould literally see the shift in
her body.
So, Peter Levine, my homeboy,the creator of Somatic
(11:33):
Experiencing, views dreams as animportant part of the body's
natural process for integratingand resolving trauma.
He believes that dreams,especially those with strong
emotional or sensory content,can help release stored survival
energy and complete unfinishedstress responses.
(11:55):
Peter emphasizes that dreamsoften carry somatic cues like
physical sensations, movements,or feelings that reflect the
body's attempt to process pastexperiences.
So, you know, those times whereyou're trying to let out a
scream, but you can't, or you'retrying to run away, but you're
frozen in time, things likethis.
(12:16):
So rather than analyzing dreamspurely for symbolic meaning,
Peter encourages noticing howthe body feels when recalling a
dream.
So he suggests trackingsensations, emotions, and
impulses that arise, as thesecan reveal where trauma energy
is held and how it might beginto release.
(12:38):
So in this way, dreams becomenot just mental events, but
embodied experiences thatsupport healing when approached
with curiosity, presence, andsomatic awareness.
So after watching this demo andseeing this woman and her
process, I figured it was timeto work with the farmhouse dream
(13:01):
because this one, it carried alot of weight.
It felt heavy and ancestral andbig in a different kind of wear.
in a different kind of way thanthe bear dream.
And in psychology, dreaming ofhouses often symbolizes your
sense of self, personalsecurity, and your inner world,
reflecting your currentemotional state and potentially
(13:23):
highlighting areas of your lifethat need attention, such as,
you know, family dynamics,personal growth, self care.
And so the specific details ofthe house in the dream can
further reveal.
the meaning.
So I decided to work through TheFarmhouse Dream and a few others
with a somatic practitioner, andit was actually incredible.
(13:48):
Life changing, actually.
And so here today, I'd like tooffer a simplified version of
this process so you can practiceit on your own and with caution
if it, if even the thought of itfeels overwhelming, consider
reaching out for somaticsupport.
(14:08):
But if you're game and it feelsgood to try this on your own,
here is the process.
So step one, recall the dream.
that you want to work with.
So just kind of have it in theback of your mind.
And then create a container,like a safe, grounded space
(14:33):
where you feel present.
So you can establish this byjust taking a few breaths, maybe
feeling your connection to theground or chair beneath you,
noticing your environment toanchor yourself into the present
(14:54):
moment.
Step two is recalling the dreamgently.
So just letting the dream cometo mind without forcing every
detail.
And just focus on the parts thatstand out the most.
(15:15):
This could be images, emotions,or sensations.
And it's okay if some parts areblurry.
Just work with what's there.
Work with what feels most vivid.
Just give yourself some timethere to see what comes up.
(15:35):
And sometimes it's only oneimage or one emotion that we can
remember from the dream.
And that's fine.
That's enough information towork with, with any dream.
So step three is to begin totrack your body's reaction or
sensations to the recalling ofthe dream.
(16:00):
So shifting your attention fromthe story of the dream to what's
happening in your body as yourecall it.
Do you feel tightness, warmth,tingling, heaviness, or
lightness anywhere?
Just take a moment to check in.
(16:23):
Are there shifts in yourbreathing?
Heart rate or posture, and justtaking a moment to notice that
as well.
(16:43):
And step four, perhaps therearen't as many bodily
sensations, but maybe there areemotional states that are coming
up.
So just gently observing anyemotions that surface.
Is there fear, sadness, relief,curiosity, or even numbness?
(17:10):
So just stay with the feelingwithout trying to analyze or fix
it.
Now we're just going to allow instep five your awareness to move
between any intense sensationsor emotions to more neutral or
(17:33):
pleasant ones.
So if the dream brings upsomething overwhelming, pause.
And focus on something soothing,like the feeling of your hands
resting on your lap.
Or perhaps it's the way thatyour feet are being held by the
(17:54):
floor.
Or maybe there's a picture or aplant you really enjoy looking
at.
And then you can touch back into the overwhelm briefly, and
see how that feels.
(18:16):
And then go back again to thesomething soothing.
And this back and forth helps toregulate the nervous system.
So just notice as you kind ofpendulate back and forth between
those two states, anything elsethat comes up.
(18:41):
And this leads into step numbersix.
Sometimes the body may have animpulse to move.
And just see, maybe there'ssomething like reaching,
pushing, using your voice orcurling up.
(19:01):
These are natural expressions ofthe body's attempt to complete
some kind of response that wasinterrupted.
So see if you can follow theimpulse slowly and mindfully and
just notice how it feels.
(19:24):
And just taking your time there,no need to rush.
Are there any impulses formovement or to use your voice?
And this leads into the nextstep, number seven.
(19:47):
So after that processing is,feels complete, just take a
moment to notice if you feelmore settled, more spacious, or
different in your body.
And if you feel called to,perhaps getting a pen and paper
(20:07):
and writing down somereflections, not just about the
dream story, but about how yourbody responded.
And the last step to this, stepnumber eight, is just to close
out with some settling back intothe present moment, some
(20:29):
grounding.
So ending the session by fullyorienting to the present moment.
You could do this by lookingaround the room.
Maybe even naming some objectsyou see, or even touching
something with texture to bringyourself back, rubbing your
fingertips together, taking afew breaths, just really feeling
(20:53):
your connection to the here andnow.
And this process honors dreamsas embodied experiences,
allowing the nervous system torelease trapped energy without
getting stuck in the mentalanalysis.
(21:15):
Now, more meaning may emergeover the following days, weeks,
and months from this simpleprocess.
So it might be helpful to justjournal a few more times or make
note of, of what's coming to theforefront.
(21:35):
Whoa, right, wild.
Dreams are mysterious and fullof wisdom if we know how to
listen.
So I wanted to leave you todaywith a couple of quotes from
Robert Moss.
Everything that enters our fieldof perception means something,
(21:59):
large or small.
Everything speaks to us.
If we will take off ourheadphones and hear a different
soundtrack, everythingcorresponds.
We travel better in the forestof symbols.
When we are open and availableto all the forms of meaning that
(22:19):
are watching and waiting for us.
And the next one.
Strings of coincidence canstrengthen us in the
determination to follow ourdeepest intuitions.
Even when they run counter toconventional wisdom and logic
(22:41):
and cannot be subjected torational explanation.
That's all for this week, folks.
Until next time, sweet dreams.
Stay curious and be well.
(23:01):
As always, thank you so much forlistening.
Life is busy.
So it means even more thatyou're carving out time in your
day to be here.
Listen, we've got so many greatepisodes coming up, so please
make sure you subscribe tofollow along on Apple podcasts
or Spotify.
And for those of you who like towatch your podcasts, we are now
(23:22):
uploading them to YouTube.
And if you appreciate theseepisodes, please do us a favor
and leave a rating or a reviewand share it with anyone you
think could benefit.
See you again next Wednesday.
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