Spotlight on Dreamwork
The following is a list of courses related to working with dreams which have been offered in the past at ITP. Courses are offered based upon the interests of the current student body and faculty availability. Please consult the academic course schedule for each program of interest for classes offered at this time.
Methods in Spiritual Guidance: Dreams
Organized religious and spiritual practice all over the planet reveals certain archetypal consistencies. Among these patterns of intuition and praxis we can find a thread of suggestion that evolved spiritual life most often reflects itself in an elevated and intensified quality of consciousness associated with the most mundane and "ordinary" tasks and experiences. The religious and spiritual traditions of the world also speak with one voice in their unanimous assertion that people are in more direct communion with "the Divine" (for lack of a better term) in our sleeping dreams than in any other ordinary state of consciousness.
The class is designed to provide a variety of experiential "re-framing" exercises to facilitate recognition of the potential spiritual value and significance of nightly dreams and their influence on waking life. All seemingly mundane daily and nightly human experience is a tissue of unconscious projection, which both distorts and illuminates our relationships to ourselves, to others, and to the Divine.
Dreams, Intuition, and ESP
Transpersonal processes such as dreamwork enhance personal growth and sometimes change attitudes. This course is designed to enhance understanding of dreams, ESP, and intuition in order to deepen understanding of self and others. As we become partners with our dreams we come to recognize dreaming and intuition as a methods of self-discovery and as a practical tool for guidance in everyday life. We will also examine the state of Extra Sensory Perception as a natural phenomenon and as a practical and personal tool, and include structured self-reflection processes in the work.
During the course, students will develop an ongoing dialogue with a variety of ways of working with dreams. Students will experiment with incubating dreams for specific purposes. Students will also learn to recognize and improve the effectiveness of the way intuition is used in everyday life. Students will examine current theories about the source and function of intuition, and compare these models to other non-rational modes of perception. In addition, students will gain understanding of ESP and how it has been explored and researched in the past. Students will participate in exercises designed to recognize and develop ESP skills. Discussions will focus on the relationship between parapsychology and dominant scientific paradigms, as well as reflect upon personal beliefs on ESP, as well as social biases regarding ESP.
