Archetypal Dream Retreat, 2/20– 2/23

06 Feb Archetypal Dream Retreat, 2/20– 2/23

Marc Bregman & Christa Lancaster of North of Eden

Event includes workshop on dreams & writing and a retreat. Opens with free public presentation Thursday evening, February 20, 6 – 8 p.m., Ah Haa School for the Arts

“All I Have to Do Is Dream,” The Everly Brothers:

People do it.

Animals too.

Dreaming is universal.

But what sort of experience is a dream?

“In Western culture we recognize dreaming as self-related, but we do not accord this experience the same status as waking reality and thus we do not fully integrate dream experiences with our other memories,” said Barbara Tedlock in the introduction to “Dreaming: Anthropological and Psychological Interpretations.”

Tedlock goes on to say North America tends to be dream averse or at least indifferent.

“Individuals in American society who experience vivid dreams may allow them a certain reality during sleep, but upon awakening dispel or try to forget them. However, although most Americans publicly profess the cultural belief or stereotype that dreams are meaningless fantasies or confused mental imaginings with no true or lasting reality dimensions, a dream occasionally carries such a strong emotional impact that it is remembered and returns later to consciousness. When this happens, cultural belief wavers slightly, causing the dreamer to wonder if dreams, or at least this one dream, might mean something after all.”

Wonder what your recurring dream or dreams in general might mean? Curious about what the language of the unconscious mind or symbolism is trying to communicate through your dreams?

Others may share elements of our backgrounds, but our experiences are never exactly the same. No one else feels precisely as we feel or reacts as we react. Our dreams are connected to our unique reality and have the power to unite body, mind, and spirit. But do my chase dreams mean the same thing as yours.? What about falling dreams? Flying dreams? Naked dreams? Dreams about murder and mayhem?

Like backcountry trails, these constellations of archetypal images trying to speak through us are best explored with a guide.

5th Annual North of Eden Workshop:

Friday, February 21 – Sunday, February 23, North of Eden presents a four-day experiential workshop with Marc Bregman and Christa Lancaster and master analysts and teachers Bill St.Cyr, Susan Marie Scavo, and Robin Chase. (Check later for specific venues.)

The in-depth exploration affords participants an opportunity to step into the sacred landscape of their dreams through String Work, a powerful group dream enactment process. The work is not merely conceptual. It is an experience of the unconscious brought into the light of consciousness that fully engages the heart and the body. Following the dreams into the inner recesses of the mind where old pain, trauma, passion, and love may be buried offers the possibility of reuniting with the authentic Self which remembers the divine connection. It is from this place that deep knowing, creative expression, and feelings of love can flow.

The cost of the Archetypal Dreamwork $375 and does not include meals or accommodations.

Expressing your dreams through writing:

Amy Irvine McHarg, by Susie Grant

Prior to the dream retreat, local author Amy Irvine McHarg offers a one-day workshop at Ah Haa, Thursday, February 20, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.: “Verticality: Dropping into the Dream through Writing.”

The idea is to explore the creative process often released through working through dreams.

Participants are encouraged to use the imagery, feelings, and sensuality expressed in their dreams to open to feeling and ideas that want to be recorded in prose or poetry.

(No writing experience is necessary, but at least one Archetypal Dreamwork session must be completed before the workshop to provide material for the exploratory exercises.)

McHarg won the Orion Book Award and the Colorado Book of the Year Award for “Trespass: Living on the Edge of the Promised Land.” She is a faculty fellow in Southern New Hampshire University’s MFA fiction and nonfiction Program. She is also an Archetypal Dreamwork student analyst and member of North of Eden.

The cost of the writing workshop alone is $75.

Need-based scholarships are available.

For more information, contact Amy at junipergirl44@gmail.com

More about North of Eden:

Based in Montpelier, Vermont and founded in 1973 by Bregman and Lancaster, North of Eden,  is an organization of analysts and teachers devoted to Archetypal Dreamwork. The organization offers one-on-one analysis, dreamwork retreats (at a state-of-the-art retreat center north of Eden,Vermont), online classes through the Center for Archetypal Dreamwork, and publications from North of Eden Press.

Archetypal Dreamwork has grown from its Vermont roots to capture the attention of people across the USA and abroad. The work has been discussed by Oprah, on the New York Times website, and on National Public Radio.

Lancaster and Marc Bregman and other North of Eden teachers have presented the transformative power of Archetypal Dreamwork throughout the USA and in Canada, Bermuda, and Europe.

Interview with Bregman:

Click the “play” button to listen to an interview I conducted with the North of Eden co-founder in 2011 about his background, how the work relates to the work of Carl Jung, is there a blueprint for interpreting dreams, why do dream therapy and how to do the work, generally very personal, in the context of a group.