May  2013
The Wisdom of Your Dreams
Logo   
Jeremy Taylor, D.Min.
Join Our Mailing List
 

30th ANNIVERSARY OF THE PUBLlICATION OF DREAM WORK (Paulist Press, 1983)

A big thank you to Paulist Press for keeping this in print for 30 years.  Available at amazon.com
 

Quick Links
WEBSITE

JEREMY'S AMAZON PAGE

PSYCH.TODAY BLOG

INTERNATIONAL ASSOC. FOR THE STUDY OF DREAMS

 

Marin Institute for Projective Dream Work (MIPD)
MIPD LOgo
For more information about our non-residential Certificate program 
(click on MIPD)
 

For a Listing of all of Jeremy's Workshops

Article: 
 
The Symbolic Significance of "Wood" in Dreams

In my experience, whenever a dream goes to the trouble of making it clear that something is "made of wood," it's a very reliable indicator that whatever the wooden dream object is, it is a symbolic depiction of some significant "structure of yet-un-manifested desire" in the dreamer's life and psyche. In English, there is the clue offered by punning homonym of "wood = would;" the wooden object is almost always a metaphoric reflection of something I would like to have in my life, or some way I would prefer my life to be.

 

It is particularly interesting to me that in my work with dreamers overseas who do not speak English, (work undertaken in more or less simultaneous spoken translation), the same archetypal resonance between the appearance of "wood" in the dreams and some as-yet-unfulfilled desire in the dreamer's life also regularly turns out to be true. For this reason, it seems to me that the pun in English can't possibly be the primary association between "wood" and "objects symbolic of deep desire" in the dream world.

 

The universality of this symbolic connection, beyond differences in gender, language, culture, etc. is exactly what Carl Jung is talking about when he speaks about "archetypes of the collective unconscious." Archetypal symbolism is, at very least, the consequence of fundamentally similar human experiences accumulating generation after generation over the millennia. In order for "wood" to have the archetypal resonances in the dream world that it does, it seems to me that we humans must have been satisfying and giving concrete shape to our practical ideas, longings, and desires by working and shaping wood for much longer that we have been working in stone. We must have been doing it long enough for the symbolic image of "wood" to have taken up residence in the collective unconscious human psyche as a primal universal example of desire made manifest.

 

 For this reason, my strong suspicion is that what we call "the Stone Age" is a late development in the human psyche and collective experience in comparison with the amount of time that we have spent fashioning the tools and  the other religious and expressive objects we use in our lives out of wood. The first "tool" may well have been the pointed stick, rather than the stone knife.  The evidence of the universal dispersal of "wood" as a metaphor of manifesting desire in physical form in the dream world makes me think that stone arrow and stone spear points were a new technology at the time of their fabrication - a technological revolution that transformed the older, more conservative "Wood Age," but did not alter the deep impression left in the collective psyche of human beings that wood is still the symbolic material from which we shape and project our interior ideas and desires "outward" into concrete external expressive form.

 


Upcoming Events and Workshops 
 
Starryheavens
 
May 26-31 
  Hendersonville, NC
Haden Institute Summer
Dream and Spirituality Conference
  •  Or call them at 828/693.9292
Jeremy will be offering several workshops and lectures.  Other leaders are Normandie Ellis, Murray Stein, Chelsea Wakefield, Diana McKendree, Joyce Hudson, Tallulah Lyons, Pittman McGee, and more....

The Summer Dream Conference has been going on since 2003.  The conference is for clergy, counselors, therapists. lay dream group leaders, dream group members, and anyone who wants to integrate dream work into his or her life in a religious context.

-------------------------------------------------------
May 31-June 2
Lanoka Harbor, NJ
(Co-sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Ocean County Congregation Murray Grove Retreat and Renewal Center) 
The Dreaming Mind
and Our Collective Journey
Toward Wholeness

  • Cost: Day rates -  Friday $40, Saturday $60, Sunday $40 (does not include meals or lodging)
  • Cost: Staying at the retreat center - $500 (single occupancy $125 extra) This includes approximately 13 hours of dream workshop, 2 nights' lodging, 5 meals, snacks; full access to 20 acres of grounds, labyrinth, nature trail, game room, Lodge, fire circle and more. 
  • Time: Friday, 7-10pm, Saturday, 9-6pm, Sunday, 9:30-1:30pm
  • Where: Murray Grove Retreat and Renewal Center, Lanoka, Harbor, NJ
  • Questions: call 609/693.5558
Murray Grove logo  

-------------------------------------------------------

June 14-16
Danville, CA
San Damiano Retreat Center
The Search for Beauty in the 
Dream World - Another Aspect 
of the Divine Manifested in Sleep
   
Jeremy has been doing an annual workshop at San Damiano Retreat Center for ten years. Depending on the number attending, Jeremy will meet with the group as a whole to orient and introduce dream work, then the group will break up into small groups facilitated by Teaching Associates who have been trained by Jeremy. Jeremy will also meet with each group. 

There will be a combination of lecture and experiential dream work.  All are welcome - no prior experience necessary. You may stay at the Retreat Center or "commute" daily.
  • Schedule: Friday, 8-10pm; Saturday, 9-6pm, and Sunday, 9-12noon  
------------------------------------------------------- 
June 21-25
Virginia Beach, VA
International Association for the Study of Dreams (ASD) Annual Conference
"Dream Castles in the Sand"

Jeremy will not be attending this year but there will be many extraordinary presenters. Great chance to connect with other dreamers, and to hear the latest research, as well as learn different ways of approaching dreams.  There is a Dream Ball on the last day of the conference where you'll be able to dress up as a character from one of your dreams. 

The conference will be held at the Virginia Beach Resort and Conference Center, 2800 Shore Dr, Virginia Beach, VA
---------------------------------------------------------------- 

 All contents copyright Jeremy Taylor 2013