Volume LXVIII - Black Dreams Matter

Dear Dream Tending and Deep Imagination Community,

I am grateful for the opportunity to recognize and celebrate Black History Month. Two of my favorite African American figures, amongst many others, are Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and W.E.B. Du Bois. While these are familiar and popular African American figures, I have specific admiration for them both. Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech challenged racial dynamics in this country and W.E.B. Du Bois coined the phrase “double consciousness” in his eloquently written book, The Souls of Black Folk. As someone who has been trained as a Therapist in Depth Psychology the question that resonates with me from these two phenomenal works is: What is the Black Psyche Dreaming?

I’ve pondered this question both consciously and unconsciously for over a decade. When the tragedy erupted on June 27th, 2022 of Jayland Walker being shot at least 46 times by police in Akron, Ohio and social and racial tensions increased locally and nationally I stepped into a place of feeling like I needed to do more. In my life, by no means have I been a political or social activist, but in that time of social uncertainty, I had to question my contribution to social justice and social change. This is when “Black Dreams Matter” came to me.

Black Dreams Matter is a dream group series to incubate dreams for social justice. Dreams are a language of the soul and by tending the dreams we tend to the Souls of Black Folk. Black Dreams Matter’s intention is to discover the wellspring of unconscious creativity that can promote new ideas for social justice.

I hope this Black History Month we can bring awareness and tribute to generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity and illuminate the dream images to awaken our personal call to action.

In Peace

Andre McCray, MA, LIMFT

Inside The Curious Mind

A quote that resonated with me this week…

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

― Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Stephen Aizenstat

Stephen Aizenstat, Ph.D., is the founder of Dream Tending, Pacifica Graduate Institute, and the Academy of Imaginal Arts and Sciences. He is a world-renowned professor of depth psychology, an imagination specialist, and an innovator. He has served as an organizational consultant to major companies and institutions, and as a depth psychological content advisor to Hollywood film makers. He has lectured extensively in the U.S., Asia, and Europe. He is affiliated with the Earth Charter International project through the United Nations, where he has spoken. Professor Aizenstat is the Chancellor Emeritus and Founding President of Pacifica Graduate Institute. He has collaborated with many notable masters in the field including Joseph Campbell, James Hillman, Marion Woodman, and Robert Johnson.