The Wisdom of Your Dreams: Unlock the Language of the Unconscious

This dream workshop at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, is a weekend of Jungian dreamwork for anyone curious about what the unconscious is saying at night. It is led by Lisa Marchiano, a Jungian analyst and author, who guides participants through Carl Jung's insights into the nature of the psyche and shows how to read the messages the mind creates during sleep. Beginners and those with an established dreamwork practice are equally welcome.

What to Expect

The weekend is built around practice rather than lecture alone. Lisa Marchiano teaches dream incubation, a way of asking for guidance from your "dream maker" while you sleep, and offers 10 to 15 specific keys and prompts you can apply to a dream to uncover its meaning. Along the way you will work on improving dream recall, meet shadow material as it appears in dreams, and see how the emotions in a dream can lead to greater awareness.

Most of the learning happens in small groups and paired exercises, where you try the tools on your own dreams. On Saturday afternoon the group takes part in a dream incubation ritual, so you can consult your dream maker during sleep that night. Sunday is given to discussing and processing the dreams that arrive.

The rhythm follows the usual Kripalu day. The program opens on Friday evening with a session from 7:30 to 9:00 pm, after check-in, a Kripalu Yoga class and dinner. Saturday has program sessions from 9:00 to 11:30 am and 1:30 to 4:00 pm, with a morning yoga class from 6:30 to 7:45, silent breakfast, lunch, and an evening ritual. On Sunday, yoga and silent breakfast are followed by a final session from 9:00 to 11:00 am, then lunch and departure. Actual times may vary, and a schedule is provided at check-in.

About Lisa Marchiano

Lisa Marchiano is a Jungian analyst and author. She is co-author, with Deb Stewart and Joseph Lee, of Dream Wise: Unlocking the Meaning of Your Dreams, which is the recommended reading for this program. Her teaching here draws on Jung's depth psychology and aims to leave participants with a practical, lifelong set of tools for engaging with their inner world.

The Setting

Kripalu is a yoga and health center in Stockbridge, in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, and this is an on-campus program, so you stay on the grounds for the whole weekend. Accommodations are intentionally simple, meant to help you unplug. Options include a private room, a semi-private room with a shared bathroom, and a community dorm. Rooms are ready by 4:00 pm, and a luggage room is available if you arrive earlier.

Three meals a day are included, with breakfast taken in silence. Daily yoga classes and access to the Kripalu grounds are part of your stay.

Before You Go

No prior experience with dreamwork or Jungian psychology is needed, and the workshop is taught in English. Tuition is paid per person, with accommodation required in addition. Included are the program sessions with Lisa Marchiano, the small group and paired dream exercises, the Saturday incubation ritual, meals, yoga classes and the grounds. Healing Arts sessions and purchases from the Kripalu Shop and Cafe are extra.

Room check-out is at 10:00 am on the last day, but you may stay on campus and take part in the workshop until 2:00 pm. Many people keep a notebook by the bed for the dreams that come, and it is worth thinking about what you would like to ask your dream maker before the weekend begins.