New Moon in Aries

art, beauty, consciousness, creativity, dream interpretation, dreaming, dreams, events, Writing

Apr 102013

Happy New Moon intrepid dreamers!

I have a dear friend who calls this the ‘horns of the bull’ moon, which I find so apt considering the fiery, active energy that comes available to us at this time. For many of us, these long winter months have been about doing the hard, internal work of shedding old habits and patterns, sealing up our energy leaks, and tuning in to the deeper sense of direction that only arises from ashes. And now, we are ready to grab on and go!

As well as a couple of announcements below, you’ll find some beautiful art, poetry and wisdom to touch your brave heart in my April Newsletter.

In my biggest news, a gorgeous group of women will be making the great journey to the UK this August to come together in Dreaming Council for a retreat I am offering called Embodying the Dream. There are a handful of spots left if you’d like to join this magical circle!

And by popular demand, I’m happy to announce new dates for Dreamwalking: A 4-week online Course on Dreaming. It tends to fill up quickly so be sure to register early if the timing feels right for you.

Lots of love,
Toko-pa

Night Raptures

beauty, consciousness, creativity, dreaming, dreams, inspiration, paradox, Rumi

Feb 162013

Millions of people around the world report awakening around 3 a.m. for no reason. For many, it is a frustrating interruption in an otherwise restful sleep. But what if you could learn to release resistance to these mysterious awakenings? What if the night has secrets to whisper to you? What if that is the magic hour in which to move “back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch,” as Rumi writes.

Indeed, my most powerful teachings have come through at that time, many of which I might have missed had I kept sleeping.

I call them Night Raptures. Sometimes difficult to explain, these experiences are like catching glimpses into the perfection of everything.
For those brief moments when the ego is retired from guard, we are given sudden access to the allness – a pure and sensual passion for everything just as it is. Like a giant parade, organized in its chaos, in which every last one of us is celebrating this gift of being alive. Don’t go back to sleep!”

Embodying the Dream: Women’s Retreat in Wales

dream interpretation, dreaming, dreams, events, myth, visions, women

Jan 092013

Embodying the Dream

A 4-night Dreaming Retreat for Women

Dates: Aug 1-5, 2013
Place: Snowdonia, Wales

In ancient times, our ancestors saw no separation between us and the cosmos. Nature and humanity were inextricably linked and it was our prayers that kept the sun and moon rising, our rituals which ensured the rain to fall on our crops, and it was our songs which brought the planets into right alignment.

Sadly, the Elders who once passed on these ancient customs – wisdom they’d received from their own dreams – have all but vanished. Now it is up to us to become those Elders, to nurture the seeds of our dreams and provide a meaningful inheritance to the young ones who will follow us.

In this 4-night retreat we will be living as a Women’s Dreaming Council in the mystical serenity of Cae Mabon, a secluded fairytale village to ourselves in Northern Wales. In our daily sessions we will listen deeply and respectfully to our bodies, engage with the wisdom from our Dreams and enact ritual and song around a sacred fire together under the moon. Along with these central practices, we will also have free time to get to know one another better and explore the vast beauty of our inner & outer surroundings.

Secure your place (and the earlybird discount) with your $250 deposit. See cancellation policy below.

Sample Daily Schedule

Until 10am             Silent Morning Practice (& serve yourself Breakfast)
10 – 12:30 pm        Dreamsharing
12:30 – 1:30 pm    Delicious, healthy lunch
1:30 - 3 pm            Dream Workshop
3 – 5:00 pm          Free Time or Group Adventure
5:00 – 6:30 pm   Delicious, Healthy Vegetarian Dinner
7:30 – 9:30 pm      Sacred Fire (ritual, song, invocation)

The schedule may change according to what serves our circle most. Thursday August the 1st is our arrival day (anytime after noon) – we will have a brief session at 5pm before dinner, and a sacred fire to open the ceremonial space for Dreaming. Checkout will be on Monday August 5th before noon.

Cae Mabon

In December 2011 John Thackara in his ‘Doors of Perception’ blog wrote: ‘Sites such as Cae Mabon are like the region’s antibodies, playing a vital role in healing the crippling disconnection within Western culture between body, soul, spirit, and place.’

Cae Mabon is nestled at the foot of Elidir Fawr in an oak forest clearing by a little river that cascades down to the nearby lake. The summit of Snowdon lies just five miles to the southwest as the crow flies.

At the heart of Cae Mabon is a thatched Celtic Roundhouse. With a fire in its hearth and smoke rising from the thatch it’s been the home of many convivial evenings of song, story and chat.

Circling the Roundhouse is a family of seven elegant natural dwellings – a strawbale Hogan, an oak and slate Longhouse, a cedar log Lodge, a cob Cottage, a redwood Chalet, a Hobbit Hut and a cedar Cabin. Each is unique, snug and subtly lit by solar power.

A renovated barn contains a fully equipped kitchen and a spacious eating and meeting room. There is a fine composting loo, a stylish washroom, a thatched shower hut and, stunningly located by the river, a luxurious hot tub.

Accommodations

You will be dreaming in one of Cae Mabon’s 7 gorgeous eco-dwellings:

Hogan:  4 single beds; can be made into one double and two singles. (sleeps 4)
Longhouse:  One double bed, one pairr bunk beds (sleeps 3)
Cob Cottage : One double bed, bunk bed and single bed (sleeps 3)
Lodge:  Same as Hogan (sleeps 4)
Chalet: One single and on pairs of bunk beds, one loft (sleeps 4)
Hobbit Hut : One double bed, one single (sleeps 2)
Cabin : One double (or twin) room, one single room (sleeps 3)

*Comfortable beds are provided with top sheets, pillows (with pillow protectors) and a spare blanket, but guests have to bring their own sleeping bags and towels.

To learn more about each of these beautiful, natural buildings, click here.

Food

Included in the retreat are three delicious & lovingly prepared (buffet style) meals every day. All food is vegetarian, organic wherever possible, with lots of raw options. If you have any dietary restrictions or needs, please contact Toko-pa to make special arrangements.

Travel

AIR
The nearest international airports are in Liverpool (just under two hours away) and Manchester (just over two hours). There are train services from both airports to Bangor station, but you may have to change twice. Birmingham airport is about three hours away.
TRAIN
The nearest train station is Bangor (Gwynedd). There is a good service to Bangor from Euston, London, which can take as little as three and a half hours. It takes about 25 minutes to drive from Bangor to Cae Mabon. Taxis cost between £20 and £25. Check http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ for train times.

CARPOOL
Once you have registered, you’ll be invited to join a private Facebook Group where you can arrange carpooling with other Dreamers, and/or a pickup from Bangor Station by Cae Mabon hosts (passengers are asked to contribute £5 to cover fuel costs.)

Registration

Before March 31st: $750 CAD (earlybird discount)

After March 31st: $850 CAD

Registration is only available to graduates of Toko-pa’s Dreamwalking Course. If you haven’t already taken the Dreamwalking Course and want to attend, contact me at dreamquestion@gmail.com and we’ll work something out.

Space is limited to 20 women for this event

Deposit: You will secure your place (and the earlybird discount) by sending us a $250 deposit. See cancellation policy below.

Includes: Includes 3 Meals/Day and 4 Nights Accommodations

Does not include: Airfare to UK, Transport to/from Cae Mabon, additional activities and outings.

Cancellation:

In case of cancellation before March 31st you will forfeit 50% of your deposit as an administration fee.

In case of cancellation after March 31st you will forfeit 100% of your deposit as an administration fee.

We are not responsible for any changes in the exchange rates throughout the year.

After June 1st there will be no refunds.

In case of sickness, you may transfer the course fee (minus deposit) to a future course (you can only transfer the sum once, and there are limited courses available for this kind of transfer.)

We are financially responsible for the retreat so we ask you kindly to respect that we cannot make any exceptions to this agreement.

How to Register:

Click the Register Now button to pay your deposit of $250 via PayPal. As soon as I have received your deposit, I will send you a confirmation and information about the next steps.

The balance of your tuition can be paid anytime before June 1st, 2013.

Dreaming in 2012

beauty, consciousness, creativity, dreaming, dreams, grief, inspiration, women, Writing

Jan 032013

Someone recently asked me, “In your Dreamworking practice, have you seen a collective theme in the kinds of dreams people had in 2012?”

I paused for a moment to reflect on the epic tapestry of dreamers I’ve been blessed to work with in this last year, and the answer crystalised.

“The Rise of the Feminine. In men and women alike, there is a tenacious chipping away at the internalised, calcified Patriarchy to rouse the long-Sleeping Beauty of the heart.

AP/Kevin Frayer

Dreamers are toppling patriarchy’s worst tyrants; Perfectionism, Prestige and Power over others. We are learning to live unsplit-off from our vulnerability and our sacred endowments.

Grief, long-stopped up in the body, rushes like a torrent yearning for self-love, fertilising everything. The child-heart remembers its innocence and belonging.

We are drawing out the sudden shoots of creativity, vitality and empowerment. We are coronating our inner-authority. We are wearing red and letting our voices be heard. We are, like an ecosystem, carrying our responsibility together.”

I can’t wait to see what we dream in 2013.

A conversation with Moon Woman Rising

consciousness, creativity, dream interpretation, dreaming, dreams, inspiration, women, Writing

Dec 182012

Tree of Life by Enkel Dika

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the special fortune to be interviewed in depth by Aja Blanc who runs one of my favourite blogs, Moon Woman Rising on the deep & tender Art of Dreaming. Here is an excerpt:

“So many of us feel a deep longing to offer our gifts to the world, to contribute something meaningful to the deficits of our time, but there are so many sources offering spiritual guidance that it can be hard to know who to trust. But as a student said recently, “The beauty of Dreamwork is that it connects me to my inner teacher, who I know is guiding me to live my life according to me!”

And that’s just it – we can think of dreams as Nature, naturing us by way of symbols and stories. There is no outside guidance more creatively genius, or tailor-made for our personal growth – we just have to re-learn the language dreams are speaking, which is the mother-tongue of the soul. Despite the richness of the Sufi tradition, my own family home was very troubled and I left at a young age. With no parental guidance I was, in a sense, forced to turn to my inner world and very quickly learned that it was a source of powerful wisdom and it was rooting for my greatness!

People are often blown away when a dream tells them that they are a writer, or a healer or whatever their vocation may be – because it confirms their greatest hope. The dreams show them that it isn’t fanciful – they must follow that secret passion with a life-or-death commitment. One of the first things that happens when people get into this work is the releasing of shame around dark dreams, which seem to contain perverse or violent images, but which are often speaking to the ways in which we are being violent or dismissive of our own hearts.”

To read the full article and have a chance at winning a Private Dreamwork session with me, click here to get to Moon Woman Rising’s blog.

Dreamspeak: Eating Your Shadow

ambiguity, beauty, consciousness, creativity, death, depression, dream interpretation, dreaming, dreams, Dreamspeak, grief, jung, paradox, shadow, Writing

Oct 042012

The Shadow is the place where everything we have forgotten, denied, rejected or not yet discovered goes to live. The greater the denial of one’s darkness, taboo, or ‘negative emotions’ the more fertile the breeding ground for fear, shame, depression, violence and anxiety.

Dreamspeak: The Importance of Fairy Tales

consciousness, creativity, death, dream interpretation, dreaming, dreams, Dreamspeak, jung, myth, symbols, Writing

Sep 262012

Little Red & The Wolf, by Amy Sullivan

As the maple leaves begin to fall here on Salt Spring Island, I’ve started lighting fires in the evenings, eating spicy dhals, and reading dreamy books. These days I’m sinking my nerdy teeth into Marie-Louise von Franz’s Archetypal Patterns in Fairy Tales.

Actually a transcript from her legendary Zurich lectures, von Franz explores in-depth six fairy tales from Denmark, Spain, China, France, Africa, and one Grimm (from Germany).

As Joseph Campbell famously says, “Dreams are the private myth & myths are the public dream.” Indeed Campbell and other mythologists, such as those delightful Jungians, discovered amazing cross-cultural motifs in Fairy Tales. Those patterns, (or what we now call Archetypes), are found repeatedly in stories from around the world, seemingly unconstrained by geography or epoch.

Imagine for a moment that you could strip your ‘local’ story down to its bare essence, to find what you have in common with everyone in the world, and you’ll get archetypes. From the Greek archetupos, meaning “first-moulded,” fairy tales are the blueprints of our innate, universal experiences.

Archetypes get activated in our dreams during meaningful transitions, but having lost the art of symbolic language in our culture, we don’t recognize (or remember) them when they arise. Working with Dreams & Fairy Tales helps us to see when we are undergoing important rites of passage, such as initiation, courtship, marriage, birth and preparation for death.

They bring meaningful dimension to our human lives by showing us the chapters in our mythic journey. We aren’t just leading unnecessary lives, but stepping through the same gates with bravery and despair, awe and triumph as the heroes and heroines we grew up admiring in our storybooks.

As the woman who gives birth in a dream at the same time she launches a creative project into the world, she recognizes how long the labour, how precious the outcome, how fragile yet the offering. She comes into contact with the hugeness of her experience, and knowing how fairy tales work, might then follow their maps with greater confidence into the unknown.

Dreamwalking – A 4-week (online) Course on Dreams

art, consciousness, creativity, dream interpretation, dreaming, dreams, events, inspiration, myth, paradox

Aug 172012

Digital painting by Stacy Pugh, of Lavender Lilly Dilly Dilly

In this 4-week online course, (April 29th-May 24th), you will be learning the Cornerstones of Dreamwork. Using an intimate blend of art, theory and practice, dreamers learn to understand the structure and language of dreams & develop the tools necessary to begin bridging their wisdom back to waking life. This series is excellent for beginner and intermediate dreamers.

The weekly online classes will cover the following topics:

Dream Architecture

Dreamwork is an art as well as a science. In this class we learn to approach dreams in the same way we would a work of literature, film or painting; appreciating its mechanics as well as its poetry. We will learn how to recognize the dramatic structure of a dream, isolate its key elements and bridge their symbolism back to waking life.

Light in the Dark

Learning to actively dream involves finding balance between the light and dark sides of our nature. In this class we will pay special attention to the Shadow and nightmares, learning how to read the warning signs of imbalanced attitudes. We will explore the redeeming medicine of dark dreams and the importance of finding the light contained within them.

Inner Marriage

Each of us contains both masculine and feminine qualities within. It is only our gender conditioning that engrains a bias towards one or the other. What results, is an impoverishment of our opposite-gender qualities. In this class, we will learn how to integrate both through dreamwork, so that we can recover our wholeness as individuals, correspondingly healing our larger community.

Dream Yourself Awake

Dreaming is a kind of archaeological process where we enter the landscape of the soul to unearth the forgotten or undiscovered parts of our selves. As we begin to do away with unconscious, habitual behaviour, we awaken to a new way of being in the world. We begin to walk the dream – turning inspiration into action. In this class we will learn techniques for engaging our co-creative abilities in both dreaming and waking realities.

How it works:

Once I have received your registration, you will receive an invitation to join an exclusive Facebook Group with your fellow Dreamwalkers, where most of our discussions will take place.

You will then receive your video lessons on Monday of every week, along with your weekly study guides.

We meet twice a week to accommodate opposite time zones: Saturdays at 11 am (PST) and Wednesdays at 7pm (PST). You are welcome to come to either or both. If you have to miss both, Live Chats are available for review by members anytime.

We will be working on actual dreams as a group in every class, so if you’d like to submit a dream, you will be invited to email it to me beforehand.

Our private Facebook Group can be used throughout the week to share dreams with your fellow Dreamwalkers, start discussions, offer insights, and ask questions.

Testimonials:

Click here to read some Testimonials from Graduate Dreamwalkers

Tuition:

Earlybird tuition (Friday April 19th) for this 4-week course is $140.

Final registration deadline (Friday April 26th), is on a sliding scale from $160 – $180.

Due to the volume of scholarship requests, any amount above the base price ($140) will go towards a Scholarship Fund to help those in need.

Some scholarships are available and will be considered on interest, merit & need. If you’d like to apply for a scholarship, please send a mind & heartful letter to dreamquestion@gmail.com.

If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me.

Click the ‘register now’ button and enter an amount between $140-180:

Forgetting & Remembering

consciousness, creativity, dream interpretation, dreaming, dreams, inspiration, Writing

Aug 062012

People often ask me, “If dreams are so important, why are they so difficult to remember?”

Consider for a moment how deeply invested we are in what we call Reality. Rationalism is the pervasive myth of our time, occupying the lion’s share of our thoughts & motivations. So focused are we on navigating the literal, material world, that we’ve atrophied our relationship with the symbolic life.

When we wake up from a dream, it appears as a jumble of nonsense, so we set about forgetting it. The more we forget our dreams, the more they forget us.

You see, forgetting is a passive choice. We choose unconsciousness because, somewhere deep in our bones, we know that Remembering is not only an act of rebellion that will carry us far out onto the fringes of consensus reality, but a choice that also carries a great responsibility.

Once we see the power we possess as autonomous individuals, we are beholden to its brave use. Remembering means looking at that which cannot be unseen, and offering our service to its resurrection.

Testimonials from Dreamwalkers

dream interpretation, dreaming, dreams

Jul 172012

After many years, I finally feel able to connect to those buried parts of myself and have been amazed at what happens after I do connect. I can tell you it turns out exactly the opposite of what I’ve always thought would happen. – KO

The depth and the richness of what we are receiving in this class is beyond what I expected and immensely appreciated. – SW

Dearest Toko-pa, I am most grateful for your soul-filled teachings. I thoroughly enjoyed Dreamwalking and honor the wisdom you so beautifully shared. Thank you so much. – TB

Doing Dreamwalking with Toko-pa has been one of the best things I have ever done in my life. I have always been pulled towards dreams, but previous to meeting Toko-pa I had little insight into them. The class material Toko-pa shared with us worked at a very deep level of knowledge and consciousness. I felt that I was supported, at all times, in exploring at my own rhythm the levels of the dreams. In a short time I learned to practice dreaming in a fruitful manner. As the classes went by and new material was given, I felt I was acquiring in a natural way the language and the decoding needed to make the most of what dreams offer to us towards our waking life. I felt the group formed organically and the bases of it were love openness and generosity. This work is a precious gift. Through this work I have been able to connect with my ancestry, advance my personal healing and believe in my instinct. Mostly important, this brought me towards being able to handle the shadow and the light, realizing that it is part of the same process and that the more we give space for our own wildness without any apology, the more we are close to the universe, and it is there that we can construct build create and dream new ones. I can’t wait for Dreamwalking 2 to happen. It is an experience everyone should get the opportunity to embrace! So thank you Toko-pa for your generosity and your knowledge that you so lovingly share. With love honesty and light, Ambra Bergamasco

I don’t think I would have survived if not for this course. – LR

Thank you Toko-pa for your wealth of knowledge and passion through this course. – MC

I have held off writing a testimonial for Toko-pa because at every opportunity to write down the impact this mentor, beautiful woman, shadow champion has had on me, something even bigger from her has come forth.Nearly 3 months have gone by that I’ve met with her each week feeling as I did as a little girl first of the school year. I will happily study Toko-pa’s work endlessly and her course Dreamwalking has provided me tools, and yet, they scarcely scratch the surface to her wisdom. I’m like a hungry dog relentless for even a bone when it comes to Toko-pa Turner.How have I been transformed working with her? I began with her wanting the “Ultimate Relationship”. My dream last night I stood in an ocean as warm as I, the air smelling of roses and a blessing of love from dear friends. Do you see? I was in an ocean of bliss! I made it. I made it back home. I am the Ultimate Relationship.

I listen to my dreams now because we are speaking the same language. I have themes and familiar encounters which play themselves out in waking times. As I awaken to this the veil between dreaming and waking has thinned. I am at times now dreaming awake, and waking in my dream. The veil thinning and medicine stronger.

Most of all what I have gained from this incredible woman is to be ok with me. I used to believe I was damaged beyond repair. Now, the bumps and bruises are my gifts. My life has become my work of art and Toko-pa creates a safe place to feel emotions, to feel into my shadow, to ride grief into the sunset.

I take grief out to dinner now. We have a fine relationship and love for each other.

Life is better with Toko-pa, her words, her medicine, her midwifery of hidden mysteries. I am forever grateful. – Jessica Beck

It has been really good to be here. And it shows that when we stick together things change under our eyes and fear dissolves under the soft fingers of love power acceptance compassion and generosity. Thank you Toko-pa for all your work – I truly have reconnected with something that is so so important to me. – AB

I am in awe and gratitude of you, Toko-pa, and have been taking some quiet time the last couple days marveling at what a blessing it is to know you, but also to know that there is this something like a wildfire of beautiful shared growth. – LG

I hardly know where to begin in thanking you for what I have received and know I will continue to receive from you through having done the Dreamwalking course. I am already profoundly enriched in my creativity and self-knowledge. I can’t tell you how empowering it is for me to do this work as…well, I have this internal tussle with wanting deeply to learn from the wisdom of others, and yet rejecting/mistrusting the teacher once I get deep into their teaching. Not because I distrust the teacher’s intention, but rather because I fear I am getting lost in ‘their way’ and losing my sense of autonomy and how I want to live in the world. The beauty of the dream work is it connects me to my own inner teacher, whom I know is guiding me to live my life according to me! The journey is learning how to build the bridge between this constant source of inner guidance that you have opened me to. I feel strongly that this is only the beginning, I feel like a real novice, and I am happily so for now. I trust that my journey with understanding the symbols and bringing forth the creativity into my waking life will be my own unfolding in the right time. – NW

When I listened to the Inner Marriage video I felt like it was speaking directly to my life. Thank you so much, Toko-pa! – NK

Toko-pa, I really appreciate your acceptance of all feelings and experiences (waking and dreaming) to be tools for gaining wisdom and, as you say, to embody spirit. In the Dreamwalker course you were professional and warm, a great leader who was not afraid to show her vulnerability. Lao Tzu says, “To be a great leader is like cooking a small fish, one must do it lightly”, you are indeed a great leader in every sense of the word. – LR

It is really so so amazing how we are all over the world and we are here together sharing pieces of the same image…maybe that is why we are here! – AB

This course is a blessing. Everything resonates. – LG

I have been following Toko-pa’s blog and offerings on Facebook over the past year and learned much from her about the kind of relationship I want to have with my beautiful, rich, generous dreams. I’ve always been curious about my dreams which have been sporadically vivid over the years – and since giving them more of my attention over the past few months they have responded and flourish! It’s amazing what I have learnt about myself and the world this way and it’s only the beginning!
I recently completed Toko-pa’s online course on ‘Dreamwalking’, which has greatly deepened my relationship to the unconscious, creativity, and my own inner wisdom. Toko-pa guides us gently through this learning with honesty, depth and humour.

‎

Toko-pa – I am deeply grateful for all the wisdom you have shared. I have taken so much from this course. – NA

My compassion for myself has really grown these past few weeks and i am finding great joy in being able to extend that to everyone i meet in my life. – VP

How glad I am that I serendipitously found your page, and now have the opportunity to share in the experience of this course. Your video’d course materials are so clear. You seem to be speaking right to me, and have such a friendly, open demeanour. You do have a fine gift as a intelligent, clear communicator. I really appreciate your warmth and genuineness. I am grateful in that core of me. – LG

I have learned and moved so much with the help of this group. – KO

Click the ‘register now’ button and enter an amount between $140-180 or return to the Dreamwalking Course Description.

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