Michael French
is one of the nation’s leading experts on dreams.
Since he last spoke at SFF seven years ago, he has written
a thesis on the field of dreams at Princeton University,
where he majored in psychology and religion, and has lectured
locally and nationally on the subject. His orientation to
interpreting dreams is clearly a spiritual one.
“We all dream four
or five times every night in approximately 90-minute intervals,”
Michael says,“ and we’ve all been doing it —
both as a species and as individuals — quite literally
since the beginning of time. Not only has every culture
throughout history made reference to dreams, but we now
have the scientific instrumentation to show that even as
babies in the womb, we all experience REM, or the rapid
eye movement state in which dreams occur, as our minds develop.
Since nothing survives without a purpose in the evolution
of a species, the questions that get begged here are why
do we dream, and what in the world is a fetus in the womb
dreaming about?”
Michael will answer these
questions and more at our February 2nd meeting. He’ll
use a graph to show the physiological aspects of how we
dream, and he will share a philosophy for why we dream that
has emerged from his work with hundreds of clients and thousands
of dreams over the years. Along with these “how and
why” looks at the subject, Michael will cite examples
of some of the common dream symbols that regularly show
up in everyone’s dreams and will show us how these
common symbols take on great specificity for each individual
dreamer. He’ll explain why the various people who
populate our dreams are there, and he will give tips and
techniques for improving dream recall for those of us who
have difficulty remembering dreams at all.
If we have enough time, Michael
will draw on dreams from the audience to demonstrate how
to break a dream down into three distinct parts and how
to put these parts back together again into a coherent whole
with a meaning that is entirely different from the seemingly
wacky story line of the original.
“If I were to sum dreams
up in a single sentence,” Michael says, “they
are nothing more than a running commentary on the shenanigans
of our egos.” We are hardwired as human beings to
have these experiences we all know and refer to as our dreams,
and their purpose is to give us insights about the way in
which we are choosing to live our lives. There is a method
to the madness of why our dreams seem so wacky, and this
is what Michael will be revealing based on his careful study
of the subject for more than 30 years now. Come to this
seminar and discover the messages that are embedded “In
Your Wildest Dreams.”
Michael conducts dream study
groups and private dreamwork sessions with individuals and
couples committed to one another. There will be a sign-up
sheet at the seminar for those interested in exploring dreams
in a group context, and you can contact Michael by phone
at 788-7600 or by e-mail at michael.french@earthlink.net
to schedule an appointment for a private session.
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