Community Dreamwork Gatherings on Zoom

FAQ about our dreamwork gatherings

Dear reader,

Did you know that we regularly gather to share dreams together on Zoom?

We do not have a set schedule, as the two of us (Stephanie and Minna) travel frequently, but we do have a rhythm (which is the flow between our schedules, and currently is aligning with full moons!), and we gather about once a month to share dreams together on Zoom.

You are invited. Yes, you!

In today’s post, I thought I would share a little more about what this looks like, especially for the dreamwork-curious folks who might be interested in joining a gathering but aren’t sure what to expect.

Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

Who is this for?

Minna and I host (as long as my internet is cooperating - I missed two sessions during the last Mercury retrograde when my internet went out for the entire cycle!). These sessions are open to anyone, and “beginners” are most welcome. I don’t think any of us are truly beginners - we all dream, whether we remember them or not, or whether we have shared them or not. But we might be new to sharing dreams in community. All of this to say: all are welcome, truly.

We have been hosting these Zoom gatherings since October, so we have some regular and repeat members, as well as new folks who join. Some have previous experience with dreamwork, and some do not. If you would like to get on the list for dreamwork gathering updates, please send us a message or reply to this email.

What is this about? What do you do?

We begin our sessions with a short grounding to arrive and become present to ourselves, our bodies, the land, our dreams, and each other. We usually do a short check-in to see what we are arriving with and how we are all doing. Then we gently touch upon our community dreamwork gathering guide (we go into more or less detail depending on if folks have joined before or not). Then, we open the space for sharing.

Someone shares a dream, and they can decide if they want feedback or not. If they do, we open it up for questions. Some of our favorite generative questions and prompts for dreamwork are:

• How did the dream feel? To be in it? When you woke up?

• How did it feel to tell the dream?

• Why do you think you had this dream? 

• I wonder if…

• If it were my dream, it would mean to me/it would relate to…

• This makes me think about…

We continue turning the dream over together until we collectively feel complete with it. We give thanks to the dreamer and the dream and each other, take a brief pause, and await for the next dream to be shared.

We close with a brief check-out and closing breaths together, and gratitude for our dreams and all that was shared in the collective space.

Why dreamwork? Why in community?

We go into this in much greater detail in our article, our guide, as well as all of our writing on this Substack. But in short, we see dreamwork as an ancestral, decolonial, healing practice reciprocity between the seen and unseen realms. It is a way of remembering ways of knowing beyond the linear and rational, and opening ourselves to other forms of wisdom that come in imaginal and unseen forms. It is particularly potent and transformative when done in community, and serves as a practice of intercultural connection and community weaving. We see things from different perspectives when we share them in community, and we truly need each other to do this work.

What if you don’t remember your dreams?

You are most welcome! You don’t need to remember your own dreams in order to engage in community dreamwork. We find that most people often remember more than they think they do. Even one image or the feeling you have when you wake up are enough to work with.

One of the magical elements of community dreamwork is that when a dream is shared and offered collectively, it becomes ours, together. All you need to arrive with is the openness and willingness to engage with the imaginal, attention and presence to listen, and a willingness to unlearn some of the things modernity has taught us (see our article for more about this).

To be honest, words fall short of the experience, and the best way to know more about it is to come experience it!

Do you have any questions about community dreamwork? Share them in the comments below or send us a message!

Wishing you potent and healing dreams,

Stephanie

Stephanie Knox Steiner, PhD is an enchantress, mother-scholar, dreamworker, community weaver, and peace educator who currently lives and teaches at the University for Peace in Costa Rica. She has been writing down her dreams since she was a teenager, and studied community dreamwork as part of her doctoral studies in the Community, Liberation, Indigenous, and Ecopsychologies specialization at Pacifica Graduate Institute. She writes prolifically about enchantment, interbeing, and re-imagining education at her other Substack, Enchantable.