TOKO-PA TURNER on Dreams of Belonging /342
Symbolic painting by Sidney H. Sime courtesy of Sidney Sime Gallery
This week’s guest, Toko-pa Turner, invites us to consider that our dreams may serve as important guides throughout our lives. Diving into the intimately intertwined world of psyche and matter, Toko-pa considers the ways we may rehabilitate our imaginative capacities. We cannot simply dispose of that which goes beyond physical observation. Instead, centering the importance of feelings and sensing, Toko-pa encourages us to take time and pay attention to dreams.
Dreams and our interior worlds, according to Toko-pa, are deeply important within our personal searches for belonging. Modern society demands that we estrange parts of ourselves in order to “belong,” but this false belonging will never satisfy. Rather, Toko-pa focuses on finding interior belonging. What is internally guiding us towards our potential? Collectively, we need change at the level of consciousness. Connection to ourselves, to nature, and to each other - all as intertwined - may bring us to a space of resonance with the world.
“There is something within us that knows who we are supposed to become, and in our dreams we see evidence of that. ”
Photo of Toko-Pa Turner
Blending the mystical teachings of Sufism in which she was raised with a Jungian approach to dreams, Toko-pa Turner is a Canadian author, teacher, and dreamworker. She founded The Dream School in 2001, from which thousands of students have since graduated. She is the author of the award-winning book, Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home, which explores the themes of exile and belonging through the lens of dreams, mythology, and memoirs. This book has resonated for readers worldwide, and has been translated into 10 different languages as well as winning multiple awards for excellence in publishing. Her work focuses on the relationship between psyche and nature, and how to follow our inner wisdom to meet with the social, psychological, and ecological challenges of our time.
♫ The music featured in this episode is “Gathering of the Waters” by Magnetic Vines, and “Portals to Elsewhere” and “Pedestrian Freezeframe” by Tarotplane.
Episode References
Belonging – Remembering Ourselves Home by Toko-pa Turner
Carl Jung's Collective Unconscious Theory
GUEST Recommendations
Support RAVEN. RAVEN raises legal defense funds for Indigenous Peoples in Canada to defend rights and the integrity of lands and cultures: https://raventrust.com
Participate in Dream Drops, a 30-day Email Course on Dreams, delivered to your inbox. Designed in delicious daily drops of wisdom, practical guidance, and playwork to move you into a deeper relationship with your dreams: https://toko-pa.com/dream-drops/
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