Dreams Gave Me the First Hint of My Inner Author.

Recently, author and blogger, Tzivia Gover, invited me to join her and other authors in a blog tour that highlights authors who write about intuitive understanding.

I remember meeting Tzivia when she arrived in South Carolina to begin a two-year program in my Dream Certification Program at the Institute for Dream Studies. Tzivia was already well versed in dreams and the workings of the psyche, and I was surprised that she committed to studying in my program. It was an honor to work with Tzivia and she often taught me as much (or more) than I taught her. She was the ideal student, always exceeding my expectations in each assignment. It has been a pleasure to watch as she embraced the world of dreams in her waking life, teaching, and soon branching out to work with clients and leading her own workshops. Thanks, Tzivia, for reaching out to me for this blog tour.

Tzivia Gover is a certified dream therapist, author, and educator. To learn more visit www.tziviagover.com.

For this blog tour, I was asked to answer four questions about my writing. Here are my responses:

What am I working on now?

Two years ago, I decided to take a break from leading students in my dream certification program at the Institute for Dream Studies to work on a new book. I knew that I had more to do to Wake Up! the world to the importance of their nighttime dreams. Although I was training dreamworkers and leading workshops to help spread the wisdom of the dream, I couldn’t reach all of the people I yearned to reach. With much reflection and support, I embarked on my journey into a new book. It’s been a pleasurable process creating the book, but the process of publishing has been a waking nightmare.

Wake Up! Use Your Nighttime Dreams to Make Your Daytime Dreams Come True is ready for publication. It should be all set to hold in my hands by the first of August (2014, hopefully!). Sometimes with books, the year is not a realistic expectation. I am excited about the book and hope that readers enjoy the stories I share and the DreamSynergy™ process as much I have had sharing it.

So… Wake Up!


How does my writing process work?

I never saw myself as a writer. I was a good student, but literature and creative writing were not in my area of comfort. I will never forget in the 1990’s when after sharing a dream, a member of one of my dream groups asked me if I wanted to write a book. What? Me?! Write a book? It had never entered my mind — there had never been a (conscious) desire to be an author. An artist and creator, YES! But not a writer. I shrugged off the comment, but something stuck with me because the dream seemed to show a yearning for being an author. I could see why she asked the question, but it baffled me since I was NOT a writer. I never even understood why anyone would want to be an author. It seemed like too much isolation for me.

Then after my workshop presentation at the International Association for the Study of Dreams in the late ’90s, a participant asked the title of my book. My book! What book? I told her that I didn’t have a book and she said: “Oh yes, you do.” You just presented it. I told her that I was not a writer and she said that I was. She suggested that I write down my spoken presentation. Hmmm. This intrigued me. I was pretty comfortable speaking. Someone then suggested that I tape record what I wanted to say and then transpose it… so thus began my life as an author. On trips, I would set up my tape recorder in my lap talking to no one in particular and later I would sit at my computer transposing it — trying to decipher what I said on the very static-filled recording. I knew I could talk. I don’t know who told me I couldn’t write, but they had convinced me well.

I began the actual process by writing on large pieces of poster paper (like William Falkner wrote on his walls) with colorful markers. That seemed to connect me more to my creative process… it made my inner artist happy. I began to enjoy the process of writing and still find it satisfying and rewarding. This all led to the publication of Honoring the Dream: A Handbook for Dream Group Leaders. Then I created a dream journal to guide others through the process of remembering and recording their dreams. In My Dream… a creative dream journal.

How does my work differ from others in my genre?

My writing crosses many areas of self-development, transformation, dreams, psychology, emotions, belief systems, and memoirs. It has taken me a long time to feel comfortable sharing my own story… it is still hard for me. I feel the old pangs of being punished for sharing my truth. Yet I know that if I am going to encourage others to be honest, then I need to share what really affected me in the past and continues to affect me.

I believe, and adamant in my dream certification program, that participants must do their own inner work before they attempt to guide others in their individuation process. I believe this is the only effective way to mentor. I am devoted to my personal growth and continue to do whatever I would encourage another to do… my personal dreamwork, my journaling, learning new approaches, etc. It is a journey that I will continue as long as I continue to lead others into the phenomenal world of dreams and transformation.

Why do I write what I do?

I write about using the wisdom of dreams in personal growth because dreams were such an important tool for me in reclaiming my authentic nature and joy in life. For years, I had done much work in traditional counseling in order to be more at peace with myself. I read many self-help books and attended numerous workshops. I gained much knowledge, but not much changed in how I truly felt about myself.

Things began to change quickly for me once I joined a dream group and by learning to remember my dreams and work with them, I found that I had the wisdom within to embrace my life and myself―to believe that I had the innate wisdom to live my life without always looking to others for the answers. I began to understand my life’s experiences in new ways and share my personal truth with others, even when discounted by some family and friends. It felt right and good, and I reclaimed the person that was born into this world. It has been a delightful (I didn’t say “easy”) journey and I want to help as many people as possible to understand that dreams are their best friends and guides and that by waking up to them, they will live a more authentic, joyful life.

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts. I hope you will join me on my website www.DreamSynergy.com for videos and more information about my books and the DreamSynergy™ process. Please join me on Twitter and Facebook, as well.

I’m delighted to introduce Robert Waggoner, who will continue the blog tour next week with posts about his own fascinating work. If you don’t already know him, you’ll want to check him out. Your life will be enriched by getting to know him and his work.

Robert Waggoner is author of the acclaimed book, Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self. Robert co-edits the magazine, Lucid Dreaming Experience, and speaks at workshops, university campuses and conferences worldwide on this exciting topic. Robert served as a past President of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. A lucid dreamer since 1975, Robert has logged more than one thousand lucid dreams. Visit his book website at www.lucidadvice.com.

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