Stories are the fabric of the human connection. They plunge us into imaginative spaces of alternative perspectives, where we try on characters and viewpoints. They inspire, and elicit the emotions that are the engines of change. Stories – not dry philosophies or academic theories – are our teachers.
The ancients knew this more than any modern academic, and they conveyed their wisdom teachings through stories, poems, and epic tales. To understand these stories, we have to step into the dream of them.
Torah class looks at the ancient Jewish stories that are the cornerstone of Western culture and thought, and form the West’s esoteric tradition. Through the stories found in text and oral tradition we enter as dreamers to understand the ancient, Jewish perspectives of the human condition. Desert-walkers, these aboriginal tribal people sat beneath galaxy-filled skies, dreaming and envisioning and weaving together the perspectives that have, for centuries, continued to inform us about the pitfalls and the possibilities of a human life. In them are found the roots of the dreamwork taught at the Institute.
The dreamwork of the Institute is based specifically in the Jewish perspective, and the Jewish Kabbalistic tradition, of understanding these stories. Torah study looks at them from this perspective, working with them as a dream. We explore them by diving deeply into the drash of specific Torah portions, and the class is informed by midrash, kabbalistic, and other commentaries and teachings. The class will focus on dreaming the texts, with occasional imagery exercises.
This class is for anyone, of any background, and any religion.
If you are a training practitioner, or would like to deepen your understanding of dreaming, this class is recommended. Many foundational principles of the specific lineage of dreaming taught at the Institute are deeply discussed in Torah class. In these teachings one finds the genesis of understandings around the numbers, directions, movements, colors, and other aspects of dreams we use when working with them.
Winter 2024 | Mondays | February 5 – April 8
9am – 1030am Eastern US , 15h – 16h30 CET
Faculty: Bonnie Buckner
Spring 2024 | Mondays | May 6 – July 8
9am – 1030am Eastern US , 15h – 16h30 CET
Faculty: Bonnie Buckner
Online via Zoom.
