Whatever you’re dreaming at night, you’re living in the day. And whatever you’re living in the day, you’re dreaming at night.
In this episode, I sit down with Bonnie Buckner, PhD — founder of the International Institute for Dreaming and Imagery, faculty at George Washington University, and author of The Secret Mind: Unlock the Power of Dreams to Transform Your Life. Bonnie knew at three years old that she was here to teach people about dreams. Life took her through Hollywood, politics, and a PhD in cognitive neuroscience before she landed back where she started — and her work now sits in that rare space where the esoteric and the scientific actually talk to each other.
We get into what dreams are really doing for us, why dream dictionaries miss the point, and the difference between what she calls resolved and unresolved dreams. Bonnie explains why every aspect of a dream is an aspect of the dreamer, and what to do when you find yourself running from something in the night — hint: it’s not finding a better way to run.
I also share a recent dream of mine — a giant anaconda in the water while I was kayaking — and Bonnie walks me through how to work with it in real time. What I did with it might surprise you.
Key takeaways from this episode:
- Whatever you’re dreaming at night, you’re living in the day — they’re not separate worlds, they’re the same conversation in two languages
- Dream dictionaries flatten what’s meant to be personal — a snake to you means something different than a snake to anyone else
- Every aspect of a dream is an aspect of the dreamer, including the scary parts
- Unresolved dreams have a necessity — you don’t rewrite them for a happier ending, you go back in and face what needs facing
- The “secret mind” isn’t hidden — we just don’t slow down enough to see it
- You don’t have to be a vivid visualizer to work with dreams; everyone has their own inner language
- All the tools you need to solve your own problems are already inside you. A dream journal is one of the simplest ways to start listening
Your dreams are talking to you every night. This conversation is about learning the language.
Show Notes Space:
Ready to explore the language of your dreams? Connect with Bonnie Buckner at BonnieBuckner.com or InstituteForDreamingAndImagery.com.
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