SCHOOL OF SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

As Laura’s first dreamwork mentor put it: “Prayer, contemplation, meditation – these are necessary.  Therapy is good. Self-care, creativity, learning, activism, gratitude ... they’re all really good; they help you grow.

But dreams?  Dreams come straight from the source. “

In keeping with the perennial wisdom of almost all spiritual paths including the Judeo-Christian mystical tradition, and with the groundbreaking teachings of psychologist Dr. Carl Jung, we hold that dreams are in fact deeply meaningful experiences, bringing to light wisdom from our divinely created unconscious. Dreams arise through our essential center. Whether we call that the Soul or Self or Essence, Imago Dei or Atman or chi or prana or tao, it is a living reality.  That mystery at the heart of life knows who we are, individually and collectively, and how we are aligned with the numinous or Holy.

As one dreamer put it: “dreams are God talking in my sleep.”

If dreams are indeed a source of wisdom from the sacred source within and beyond us, then we need to practice listening to those dreams and learning to understand how they work on us.

Dreamwork can be as simple and natural as sleeping: we receive dreams, whether we remember them or not.

As we recall and record our dreams, we can bring our conscious minds, hearts, and bodies into relationship with the dream through deeper understanding of how dreams “mean.”  Studying archetypes helps us recognize deep patterning in dreams that creates meaning across times and cultures.  Praying and playing with dreams helps us deepen our spirituality and creativity.  Embodying our dreams, we attune to new ways of knowing. Aligning with the deep sense of purpose and guidance in dreams helps us discern our way in life, with a perspective that encourages divine compassion, creativity, and courage.

This program is unique in that it's designed for certified or licensed professional listeners who wish to bring dreamwork into their vocation:

Spiritual Directors, clergy, and chaplains who invite depth, breadth, and spiritual imagination as they sit with individuals or groups in soul care

Therapists and counselors who tend deep transformation in their clients

Creatives and Teachers whose work evokes transformation and growth in their students

Healers of all kinds: medical professionals, body and energy workers, acupuncturists, healing touch and Reiki practitioners, naturopaths, and more

Mediators, facilitators, arbitrators, and activists who need to better understand the dynamics of the unconscious as they work for collective change

The program has a double focus:

First, you'll develop your own dreamwork practices for your personal and spiritual growth.

Second, you'll cultivate your skills as a dreamworker to meet the needs of the people you work with.   The third trimester of the class, you'll be matched with a mentor,  a professional in your field who brings dreamwork into their own work.    Learning with them and designing a Dreamwork Integration Project for your clients is part of our niche offering.

In addition, when you complete the certification, you'll have access to our graduate cohort for peer support and continued learning.  

One of the premises we teach is that “all dreams come in the service of healing and wholeness.”

Dreams show us new perspectives on our ordinary lives.  They reveal aspects of ourselves that are asking for awareness, transformation, and integration as we grow into our own wholeness.

For instance, dream images can help us establish conscious awareness of where we are unbalanced and where we are locked into stale, habitual attitudes and preconceived notions.  We discover how we force others to carry our shadows, and we learn where our inner gold lies hidden.  We are invited to see beyond our tiny God-concepts and risk the spaciousness of a larger view.  We see how we are part of creation, both at one and at odds with the other beings with whom we share the planet.

Dreams can also spotlight urgent issues in physical health and relationships.  And of course, dreams help in discernment.

As we work with our own dreams, we learn to trust the process of individuation – that is, the process of growing into the dream of our own wholeness, already realized in the deep Self and steadily becoming manifest in the waking conscious world.  Our process and our professional guidelines shape our work with others.  Our deep listening, respectful questions, and judicious use of projection and creative dreamwork tools give our clients the scope they need to discover their own “aha’s” and integrate them into their lives.

No, you don’t have to recall your own dreams in order to work with others’ dreams, but it certainly helps.  You can develop an appreciation for the working of dreams by tending your own emotional responses to situations, images, and synchronicities that carry surprising energy.  And you can engage with other archetypal materials – myths, symbols, scripture, rituals, fairy tales, art, poetry, film.   Similarly, the people you work with can do “dreamwork” without dreams.

You will be provided with sample dreams for each unit of study: these you can work with as your own.

We offer a one-year program in which we teach the art of listening to dream wisdom and integrating it into your waking life.   In the first two trimesters, the course blends basic Jungian-oriented theory with spirituality in the perennial Wisdom tradition.  We ask for extensive practice in working alone, 1:1, and in groups. You’ll do a lot of reading, writing, and responding to class discussions.  Developing skill as a dreamworker requires whole-self engagement, so bodywork, breathing, creative play, prayer, journaling, expressive writing, and dedicated time in nature all have a place in our exploration.  

In the third trimester of the course, you will focus on developing a program or practice appropriate to the people you serve, so that you can take your dreamwork skills directly into your work.

Plan to spend an average of 10+ hours a week on this course.

Plan to spend about 6 hours a week on this course, for a general total of 25 hours per month.

We trust that dreamwork is a kind of practical mysticism that links unconscious wisdom with the beautiful, difficult work of living your waking life in alignment with deep truth.

It is a humbling, transformative practice.   You will feel bewildered and led; challenged and changed, named and known.  You’ll get frustrated.  You will become acclimated to continual amazement.  A good dreamworker is not a guru: a good dreamworker is a sensitive, compassionate, self-aware listener with deep trust in the truth of the imagination.   We don’t use dreams: we put ourselves in service to the wisdom that comes through them, so that we are freer and more conscious in our healing, whole-making work.

Only as you integrate your own dreamwork into your life will you be able to offer it to others; therefore we put great emphasis on practice. 

You will work with your own dreams daily in varied modalities.  You’ll meet with your dream group twice a month.  You’ll have a dream partner for ongoing exploration.  And you’ll meet with your personal dreamworker monthly. 

In the third trimester, you’ll have a mentor from your chosen area who will help you integrate dreamwork into your professional practice.  

Your final Dream Integration Project is the opportunity to craft a class, program, or retreat for your clients.  This experience will teach you much of what you need to know to begin sharing dreamwork with others. 

Basics of Jungian dream theory

Gestalt principles for dreamwork

Basics of neuroscience regarding dreams

Dreams and individuation

Dreams and the sacred; dreamwork as spiritual practice

Dreams, creativity, and the arts

Dreams and embodiment practices

Discernment: practical dream wisdom

Nightmares

Shadow work

Synchronicity

Dreams in Judeo Christian tradition

Dreams and death

Dreams and social change

Principles of personal dreamwork

Elements of projective group dreamwork

Group dynamics

Elements of 1:1 dreamwork

Following dreams over time

Independent research and project with mentor

Laura Huff Hileman, Certified Dreamworker and Spiritual Director, M.A., M.S.

Rev. Heather Harriss, UMC Pastor, Certified Dreamworker and Spiritual Director

LeAnne Nesbit, Soul Collage Facilitator, Certified Dreamworker and Spiritual Director

Kirsten Backstrom, M.A. Certified Dreamworker and Chaplain. Pastoral Care in Threshold work including Death and Dying

Cythera Wilkerson, L.Ac  and Certified Dreamworker(acupuncture and energy work, also enneagram, tarot, and astrology)

• Application fee $35
• Tuition $1900 
• Books and materials – (estimated cost of required titles, plus art materials): about $100 for the basics.  Your  choices for the third trimester readings may run another $50, depending on your interests. 
• Your monthly meeting with your personal dreamworker - maximum estimated cost $70 x12 = $840  

• Dedication to your personal dreamwork and the transformative challenges it will present
• A designated group for which you will offer dreamwork for healing, personal development, or spiritual growth, and for which you will create a Dreamwork Integration Plan
• Ability to use Kajabi, the Wisdom Tree Collective's learning platform.  Through it you will access online lectures, participate in live meetings, and share conversation.
• Commitment to meeting twice a month for live group meetings
• Commitment to 10+ hours a week reading, writing, working with dreams
• Fluency in English