Series 1, Episode 9: Revisiting your dream - The Waking Dream Process with Dr Nigel Hamilton

Dave and Laura invite their old teacher Dr Nigel Hamilton back on board to talk about his Waking Dream Process, a therapeutic method for re-imagining a dream and revisiting it as a visualisation. It is used to expand, deepen and embody the experience of the dream and get to its essence.  Nigel is a highly experienced therapist, teacher, researcher and one of the world's leading pioneers in dream interpretation techniques. He is the founder of one the world's top Transpersonal Psychotherapy colleges, the Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy Education in London, co-founder of the DRI Centre for Dream Studies and the former UK Representative of the Inayatiyya Sufi Order International. He has spent years studying and pioneering techniques for working with dream symbolism and his book Awakening Through Dreams: Journeys Through the Inner Landscape covers some of his fascinating discoveries. He teaches workshops and leads courses on spiritual approaches to psychotherapy at CCPE.    In this episode, Nigel talks about dreams as a journey, not just a narrative. He tells us how we can track consciousness travelling through the body during sleep, and why it is important to connect images to sensations and locate them in the body, and how this releases the transformative power of dreams. He shares images of transformation from his work as a therapist using the Waking Dream Process, including decapitation (as a good thing!) and an emerald green scarab beetle that represents the way out of a nightmare. He also talks about some of his own profound dream experiences that shaped his view of dreams and his development of the Waking Dream Process. For "Dream of the Week", Laura brings a client’s dream about meeting a childhood friend in a fairground. The crew discuss how they would use the Waking Dream Process with this dream If you have a dream you’d like to share (either calling into the Dream Lab or having us read it out for Dream of the Week), get in touch via the links below.   In this episode: Nigel’s book: Awakening Through Dreams: Journeys Through the Inner Landscape  Arnie Mindell: Dreambody: The Body’s Role in Healing the Self Iain McGilchrist: The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World   Eugene Gendlin: Focusing: How To Gain Direct Access To Your Body's Knowledge Research on the Waking Dream Process: Client Experience of the Waking Dream Process Gareth Hill: Masculine and Feminine: The Natural Flow of Opposites in the Psyche   Let us know what you think, and submit a dream for us to explore on the podcast!  Instagram @thedreamboatpodcast FaceBook @dreamboatpodcast Twitter @dreamboatpod DRI website: driccpe.org.uk/contact  This podcast is a project of the DRI, the centre for dream studies at CCPE, the psychotherapy college overlooking the canals at London’s scenic Little Venice. Remember you can join the DRI for just £10 a year currently to access discounted events, courses, newsletters and join in the conversation about dreams. Go to driccpe.org.uk/sign-up to join! Keep dreaming, and keep sharing your dreams!   Credits Recorded by Sophie and Lev at the Boat Pod https://theboatpod.com  Edited by James Ede at Be Heard https://beheard.org.uk  Podcast Artwork Design by Kat Seager Design   Music: Adventures by A Himitsu https://soundcloud.com/a-himitsu  Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/2Pj0MtT Music released by Argofox https://youtu.be/8BXNwnxaVQE  Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/MkNeIUgNPQ8