www.dreamnetwork.org.nz Vol. 2, No. 4 (November) 2015
Editorial
Welcome to our final issue of the Bulletin for this year. We have much to share with you!
- Our Conference on “Dreams and Spirituality” in September was so successful that
we have booked the Franciscan Centre again for the next Conference in two years’ time:
5th-7th October, 2017; as well as a one-day Conference on Sat 18th June next year.
- We were honoured by the presence of Dr Susannah Benson, President of both the
International Association for the Study of Dreams, and the Australian Dream Network.
- A brief Report mentions some of the Conference highlights; and our leading article is
a shorter version of Dr Lea Holford’s Keynote address on the Shadow side of spirituality.
- This issue’s dream is contributed by Bev Roseveare-Kaho, a poignant expression of
hope after her recent bereavement.
- Our book review recommends a valuable new book outlining the relationship
between sleep, dreams and mental health.
- Finally we include a short account of our Open Meeting on 30th October, when Craig
Whisker gave us a demonstration of the classical process of dreamwork in Psychodrama.
- On a sadder note, we express our sympathy to the family of Evan Sherrard, who
passed away on 20th October, a founding father of psychotherapy in Auckland and NZ, and
a strong supporter of our Dreamwork movement. MB
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VISIT OF IASD PRESIDENT 
Participants in the Dream Conference were honoured by the presence of Dr Susannah Benson, the newly elected President of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. She is also President of Dream Network Australia, and was accompanied by Elaine Kennis, the Vice-President, both of them from Sydney.
Susannah is a small, neat, dynamic woman, a Transpersonal Counsellor and educator, with a PhD in Social Ecology and a background of living in the USA, Europe and Asia. She presented our first keynote address on the Friday evening, on the transformative power of our “big dreams,” which bring us into contact with the Sacred, offering insight, meaning and purpose in our lives.
On Saturday afternoon she joined with Margaret Bowater in presenting a seminar on “Living with Shaky Edges on the Pacific Rim,” drawing attention to the ways in which our dreams connect us with our landscape, through imagery of Nature and warnings about the dangers threatening our environment.
Elaine, a specialist in Grief Counselling, made her own contribution in a workshop on “Dialogue with Dream Figures.” Both of them enjoyed their time amongst us, and walking among the lovely old trees and lawns of the Retreat Centre. We are grateful to them for contributing their time and energy to our first NZ Dream Conference
HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR FIRST DREAM CONFERENCE
- beautiful grounds, green and spacious, scattered with gracious old trees;
- excellent meals, including options for different dietary needs;
- the artistic sculpture of Water, Fire, Air and Stone created by Margaret Toland;
- dream discussions at the breakfast tables with personal sharing;
- morning and evening rituals with chimes, candle lighting and poems by Leunig;
- thought-provoking presentations and absorbing practical workshops;
- open-minded sharing and discussions on many aspects of spirituality;
- opportunities for many discussions with people of like mind;
- the whole atmosphere of friendly informality.
Words of appreciation spoken by participants at the Feedback session included:
Community * companionship * courage * caring * creativity * dipping my toes into the ocean * depth * discovery * energy * exploring * friendship * holographic perspective from groups * honouring * informality * inspiration * new learning * potential * sharing of deeply personal reflections * stories * uniqueness of the soul’s journey * wisdom * world-wide *
the value of talking together about dreams, and capacity to hold differences ….
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