December 2018

Fire by Night is glowing! 
Welcome to the first issue of the monthly letter of Fire by Night Dreamwork. Here’s a flotilla of flaming thanks to all of you who have participated in Fire by Night over the years as it’s moved from a quiet circle of dream exploration to a certificated practice with multiple offerings and outreach events.
 
You’re receiving this because you’re a current or previous Fire by Night dreamer, or you’re a friend, colleague, therapist, and creative, curious person who might be interested in dreamwork.
 
Thank you for opening up the first issue to see what’s new.

Dear Dreamers,
Here are some recent dream images shared in the groups: a gorgeous red and white ‘53 Ford mired in deep mud. A rotted ceiling opening into a vast new room under the roof. A herd of beautiful golden-gray fish with a tender caretaker. A motorcycle rushing out of town with grinning baby girls balanced like outriggers as champagne rains down. So much change and growth underway! What image would you share?
 
Dreams come to us as emotion-drenched images. Soul-stirring pictures and symbols are the language of dreams, and as we shift from experiencing the dream to telling it, ordinary words often strain to translate the energies of the dream into a tellable tale. We try to outline the story, or describe the scene, or name the feelings. And, however limited the language, when we speak the dream aloud, and then play with it and work on it together, an amazing thing happens: meaning glows from within the dream, intuition leaps to insight, and we begin to perceive waking life differently. Dream story changes life story.

As dreams and synchronicities led me to put down teaching and take up dreamwork full time, it was time for a logo. I asked Linda, my inspired artist friend, to help. “Wait for an image that shows how it feels to do the work,” she said. I did, and here it is. Not quite what I’d imagined at first. I hope when you look at it you’ll see something you recognize. Maybe the inbreaking of an “Aha!” Or the peace of mandala patterning. The unsettling scatter of dream fragments that nevertheless bear light. The shape of the overlapping realities of dreaming and waking. The fascination of light and the beauty of darkness. The realization that dreams, like images in stained glass, point beyond themselves to the “fire by night” or Presence at the heart of life that knows you, loves you, challenges you, changes you.

My hope for you in this season of light is that however you name and celebrate the Mystery, that your dreams may lead you to new perspectives of compassion, courage, creativity, and joy.
 
Deep dreams,
Laura