DNANZ BULLETIN NOVEMBER 2021 ISSUE. Vol 8. No 4.
EDITORIAL:

• In the Reports section, Margaret Toland shares a synopsis of her recent online presentation to DNANZ via Zoom last month. She describes how self-havening technique was successfully used to maintain safety in nightmare work with a client who had experienced childhood trauma.
• In the Reports section Marie Brand reports on Margaret Toland’s Zoom presentation to DNANZ last month on her use of self-havening in nightmare work with a client (a social worker) who had been vicariously traumatised by her own client’s disclosure of being raped. It had triggered the social worker’s early experience of being raped by her grandfather. In the presentation Margarent descibes how the chemistry of how the technique kept the client safe as they re-explored this early traumatic memory.
• Dream Corner, Brother Kevin Dobbyn explores a challenging question posed to him by a conference participant about the difference between soul and spirit. He uses a friend’s dream entitled “Boiling Water” relevant to the question which in turn poses further challenging questions for himself and reader.
• In Research Corner, Margaret Bowater discusses the multi-layers of potential data that dreams unlock from the unconscious mind and how there are now tools available for dream researchers to explore. Such a tool is Kelly Bulkeley’s Sleep and Dream Database which provides information on emotional concerns and waking interests of dreamers from blind-analysis of long-term journals.
• In another article, Margaret Bowater describes research that shows how dream sharing in paired dreamwork increases the discusser’s empathy for the dreamer but not vice versa.
• Jenny McGarry gives us a summary of content for her upcoming Dream Conference presentation. She discusses how dream content associations can amplify the meaning of current events in the dreamer’s life.
• Upcoming Events - Margaret Bowater signals the hope that our postponed DNANZ Conference will be able to proceed next year in March.

PRESENTATION REPORT

TRANSFORMING THE DARKNESS: A Presentation by Marg Toland on Zoom. Report by Marie Brand

Marg described her case-work with a young Pasifika woman, M, 26, who had begun  training as a Social Worker, and was unexpectedly traumatised by her meeting with a client who reported being raped. M’s body seemed quite frozen as she described a recurring nightmare of falling down a tunnel in darkness and feeling trapped. The client’s trauma had triggered recent memories of being raped by her own grandfather X, while living in a social system where the young ones were controlled by the elders.

A genogram showed that M was one of many siblings, that she had few loving relationships and that her favourite grandfather G had died when she was 11years old. There were many emotional and verbal abuse relationships within the family, and church elders were also implicated in power relationships.

Marg implemented two interventions. The first was Self-Havening Touch, as described in videos by Robin Youngson (e.g. https://youtu.be/AdqTb71eRCs). The client is taught to self-soothe by touching or stroking their face, hands and /or arms whilst being guided verbally and using distractions, to think about something else, (e.g. describe a pleasant walk), or problem solve in a light-hearted way (e.g. say all the words you can think of beginning with C), or calming affirmations (e.g. “I am safe”). This process generates chemical reactions in the brain which have calming effects on the person.

The limbic brain is the place where emotions and memory of a trauma is stored and can be later triggered (as had happened with M). For such a memory to be created the event itself is deeply disturbing and inescapable. It must occur in a landscape of high stress in which the person cannot exert any emotional control and finally, must take place where its meaning is linked to poor attachment (for example an abusive relationship). So Havening Touch uses the chemical processes inherent in gentle touch accompanied by a calming experience (in the brain) to counter the effects of trauma (stored in memory in the brain. This has been described by brothers Donald and Steven Ruden.) ( https://www.havening.org ). M became calmer as she stroked her own hands and arms.

Marg’s second intervention was Dreamwork. She asked M to revisit the nightmare, drawing it on the white board with the intention of extending the dream. M was asked to imagine what would happen next when she was trapped and falling through the dark tunnel. This was difficult for M to imagine, so Marg suggested recalling her Grandfather G. M spontaneously extended her drawing, which described reaching the end of the tunnel, and emerging to standing herself alongside her dearly loved grandfather G. Following this action M stood very still in silence, an engaging few moments....finally M announced softly, “I never grieved his passing.”

In 3 more sessions, they did body work for expressing anger safely (e.g. stomping around the room), reflection on spirituality (e.g. John 2, 13-16) and on the four aspects of experience using Via Positiva, Via Negativa, Via Creativa, and Via Transformativa from Original Blessings by Matthew Fox.

M reported that she subsequently shared her story (relating to the over-bearing authority figures in her life) with one of her siblings with whom she had a reasonably good relationship, saying “I no longer accept this kind of authority.” She felt an immediate mood change and announced “I am free.”

This case study shows the potential for trauma removal with enhanced personal awareness and control that can be achieved by dreamwork and havening techniques.

Post-script concerning Technology: Although DNANZ has been using Zoom for committee meetings as a result of Covid 19 restrictions, this was our first Zoom slide-show presentation. Notwithstanding some hiccoughs, there may be further DNANZ Zoom presentations.

A dark night of the soul?

Considerations…

DREAMS AS SOUL GUIDES

   At the conference I will be talking about how dream objects and their associations are often clues to a deeper hidden meaning into our conscious process, acting as soul guides.
I would like to share the following quotation and relate it to an experience I had after a friend shared her dream with me. I was struck by how profound associations are and how they reveal emotional and psychological significance to give wisdom to the dreamer.
 
   The following quotation is from the book Dreams: A Portal to the Source, by Edward C Whitmont and Sylvia Perera (pg. 34) This book is used as one of my references in my presentation. They explain how associations can be amplified for the dreamer, and when given the time and space to be talked through can promote a deeper understanding.

“ the psychological context of a dream-consists in the web of associations in which the dream is naturally embedded. It should therefore be an absolute rule to assume that every dream, and every part of the dream, is unknown at the outset, and to attempt an interpretation only after carefully taking up the context. We can then apply the meaning we have discovered to the text of the dream itself and see whether this yields a fluent reading, or rather whether a satisfying meaning emerges." (CW,12par 48)

LOOKING AHEAD