latest by jen
Why Dreamwork?
Recently, I wrote a brief personal essay in response to the question, “What is dreamwork?” In this post, I offer you why you might work your dreams and some benefits I’ve received as a result of dreamwork. (I envision this as a series, evolving as I evolve, as new benefits to dreamwork arise for me personally.) I’ve written in the past about maintaining a “dream practice,” which for myself and my clients includes an intentional …
The Best Way to Spend Your Morning Hours
What is the most healthful way to spend the hours just after waking in the morning following a good night sleep? Is it best to roll out of bed, on to a mat, and spend an hour in silent meditation? In prayer? Is it best to begin your day with journaling? Exercising? How about drinking a tall glass of room-temperature water with lemon and cayenne? Juicing? Stretching? Laying in bed simmering in the images of …
Talking to No One
I am a talker, a writer, a person who externalizes that which is internal. Over the course of my life until now, this has sometimes looked like over-sharing with friends, or over-confessional blog posts, or over-explaining myself and my reasons for my actions. About 15 years ago, during a self-development workshop, I made an internal connection between my compulsive need to talk, and deep-rooted feelings of not being listened to, not being heard, and not …
What Is Dreamwork?
You picked up a business card with the word “dreamwork,” but you didn’t know what that meant, so you searched up the web site listed and found yourself here. Or… Someone you trust told you that there was a way to intentionally and purposefully work with your dreams for healing, and you found yourself here. Or… You googled “why do I keep dreaming of an old boyfriend” and you found yourself here. Or… Whatever led …
Dreams and Time
Since I was a little girl, I have been as fascinated with the concept of time travel as I have with the nature of dreams. It wasn’t well into adulthood, however, that I started contemplating that one possibly related to the other. Influenced by science fiction tv shows and films like the original Star Trek (my parents were fans when I was a kid) and the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as Quantum Leap, …
Is Dreamwork Like Therapy?
This week, I attended an annual writer’s conference, but instead of my writer self, I could tell it was my inner dreamworker who wanted to show up there. In a way, the writer’s conference was my dreamworker debut, if that’s a thing. A bit shyly, but not reluctantly, I added “dreamworker” to my response when people asked me what I did professionally. The feedback from strangers and friends alike was overwhelmingly positive, and even more …
Working with Dreams for Healing
In my recent “audio chat” on Patreon, I spoke a little about why I believe we are missing an opportunity for healing when we don’t pay attention to our dreams, when we don’t dive deeper into the dream experience, and when we don’t meaningfully engage with our children about their dreams. (This chat episode is free and available to the public; you don’t need to be a subscriber to my Patreon to listen.) I wasn’t …
Are Some Dreams Psychic?
It took me a long time to believe in my psychic dreams, in my ability to dream of events that eventually came true. In fact, it took more than just “belief;” it required an alternative paradigm for experiencing time, space, and memory. As I started to understand that precognition inside dreams (or meditations, for that matter) was a real possibility (with some backing by science), I started to relate less to my dreams as “psychic” …
What’s the Weirdest Thing That’s Happened to You?
I have a vague memory of sitting at the kitchen table in my childhood home and saying to my mom, “I’m weird.” “You’re not weird,” my mom said in response. (I almost wrote “honey” there at the end, but I’m pretty sure my mother never called me a pet name.) “I don’t think weird is bad, actually,” I said to her. “I like being weird.” I didn’t understand at 17 that being weird was probably …
Seeking Guidance With Your Spiritual Awakening?
Is it necessary to move through a spiritual awakening alone? I’m not sure. Maybe for some or parts of it. But I know that on my own journey, especially over the last seven years since I turned 40, there have been times I’ve desperately sought out a teacher, a guide, or at least a teammate to share my discoveries with, and to be validated through or by. Occasionally, I’ve been fortunate enough to find myself …
Welcome to My New Web Site! (2021)
If you’ve found yourself here, I imagine you may be curious; curious to know more about my writing or my latest work, curious to know how we may work together, or perhaps, as I often do on individual web sites, you ended up here by some roundabout path, intuitive hunch, or shared interest. Whatever the reason or method, welcome. Over the past two decades, I’ve shared writing online on various sites and platforms, including some …
Seven New Poems (2021)
In 2020 and 2021, writing essays and nonfiction did not come easy. What seemed to want to come out of me was poetry. These poems complemented a period in which I was re-discovering old music, and engaging with new-to-me music. The series of poems from the past year (and newer ones) may be found on Medium— where reading and engagement with my content supports me financially in a very small, but still meaningful way. A …
New Lyric Essay on Love and Time (2021)
In a year in which creating felt hard, I feel proud and a little bit still-in-love with this flash essay I wrote in May 2021. In the old days (circa last year), I may have submitted it to literary journals in the hopes of being “selected for publication” (aka validation I am a writer worth reading), but this year I experimented with validating my own self by publishing poems and essays when I thought they …
Into the Dream Is Now on Patreon (2021)
I’ve been researching precognitive (aka “psychic”) dreams for more than a decade, after my dreams starting showing up as real-life waking events and images. In the spring of 2021, following a big professional life shift (euphemism for job loss), I launched a Patreon so individuals could support my writing and research, and I could attempt to do dreamwork, writing, and research full-time, without hustling for freelance gigs, or placing myself in an unfulfilling role in …
Interview with Author Rivka Galchen (2016)
I so enjoyed Little Labors, the latest book out from award-winning novelist Rivka Galchen. A stunning, intimate, but thoughtful hybrid work, Little Labors is definitely a recommended read for this summer. Check out my review and interview with Galchen, up on The Times of Israel today.
Interview with Author Curtis Sittenfeld (2016)
Up in The Times of Israel today is an interview I conducted with Curtis Sittenfeld, the New York Times bestselling author of “Prep” and “American Wife.” Sittenfeld has a new book hitting shelves this week: “Eligible,” a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” I’ve been a big fan of Sittenfeld’s since my NJ book club (make that my beloved and sorely missed book club) read “Prep” as our first selection back in 2006. “Eligible” was cleverly …
New on District Lit (2015)
My latest column is up on District Lit today. It’s not about real estate, nor about ghosts, but about the lies I tell myself about the idea of home. Check it out.
New Poem Up at Silver Birch Press
I’m excited to share with you my new prose poem, “Repeat,” is up at Silver Birch Press, a selection for their When I Hear That Song series. Check it out!
- Dreams |
The Blessing of a Forgotten Dream
- Dreams |
Who’s Listening to Your Strange Dreams?
- Dreams |
What Your Dreams Require Of You
- Dreams |
Is Dreamwork Right For You?
- Dreams |
What to Do About a Psychic Dream?
- Dreams |
Recurring Dreams: Stress Dreams
- Dreams |
No Dreams Necessary
- Dreams |
NDEs, the Afterlife, the Paranormal, and Dreaming
- Dreams |
Why Dreamwork?
- Health |
- Mindfulness |