HEALING FROMÂ WITHIN BLOG
“A living collection of insights, reflections, guidance, and teachings that emerge from my work with dreams, imagery, and Kabbalistic healing.”
Dreams as Sacred Encounters
Reflections Inspired by the Writings of Dr. Rubin Naiman and
*Why Dreams Matter* by Debra Joy Goldman
“Dreams are not merely mental phenomena—they are sacred experiences, spiritual visitations that invite us into deeper relationships with ourselves and the mystery of life.”
— Rubin Naiman, Healing Night
In Dream Work, we come to recognize that dreams are not just fragments of the mind—they are messages from the invisible world, invitations from the soul. They carry healing, direction, and truth meant specifically for us. Waking Life as a Kind of Dream. Debra Joy Goldman MS, LMHC
“We are dreamt as much as we dream. What we call waking reality is often just another layer of dreaming.”
— Rubin Naiman
One of the most profound shifts in Dream Work is the realization that reality itself is layered and fluid. We begin to see that the same intelligence that shapes our dreams may also be shaping our waking lives. What if this world is also symbolic—also whispering to us?Debra Joy Goldman
Sleep and Dreams as Communion
“Falling asleep is not passive. It is a spiritual act, a surrender into the fertile darkness from which dreams and life emerge.”
— Rubin Naiman
Sleep is a threshold. In the Dream world, the ego softens, and we become available to a deeper kind of knowing. Dream Work invites us to treat this inner space with reverence—as a time of communion, where we are met by what is greater than ourselves. Debra Joy Goldman
Existential Empathy in Dream Work
September 2025
What is Existential Empathy?
Existential empathy is more than simply “understanding how someone feels.” It is the deep recognition that we are all human beings navigating the same mysteries of life.
To touch this level of empathy is to sense, in your bones, that another person’s experience could also be your own.
How Dreams Awaken Existential Empathy
When we share dreams in a group, something powerful happens:
A dream told by one person resonates with images, feelings, or questions within another.
We see our own struggles reflected in someone else’s night vision.
We recognize common ground beneath our differences, fear, hope, longing, loss, joy.
In this space, we don’t just “analyze” dreams. We let them speak to us in ways that remind us of our shared humanity.
Being Seen and Known
In the Dream Group, each person’s story is held with respect. As we listen, we not only witness another’s inner world, we allow their dream to expand our own sense of self. To be listened to in this way is to feel profoundly seen and known.
Connection That Strengthens Us All
Because we all relate to parts of each dream, the circle of empathy grows. One person’s dream can spark recognition in many others.
This collective resonance creates a bond, we are not isolated individuals but companions on the path of life, joined by the dreaming imagination.
Why It Matters
Existential empathy brings healing and strength:It reminds us that none of us is truly alone.
It deepens compassion, for ourselves and for others. It transforms a simple gathering into a sacred encounter.
Dreams show us:
âž¡ We are unique, and we are connected.
âž¡ Our inner lives matter.
âž¡ By honoring each other’s dreams, we honor life itself.
The Spiritual Roots of Dream Work
Dreams are more than reflections of our daily life.
They come from the invisible reality, a spiritual source that knows us, loves us, and calls us to awaken.
Even dreams that feel strange or upsetting may be part of something sacred unfolding within us.
A Spiritual Way of Listening
We ask:
What might this dream be asking of me?
Where does it come from — and where is it leading me?
A Glimpse of the Tree of Life
In Kabbalistic teachings, creation is understood as light emanating and traveling from the top of the Tree of Life in an orderly way down to become manifest in the physical.
As it descends, the light moves through interpenetrating layers. The last place the light filters through before manifesting in the physical is the ego.
The ego acts like a prism or diamond, fragmenting the light according to our personal beliefs, wounds, and worldview.
What we experience in life is not random, it is shaped by the way our inner structures receive and refract this descending light. Our beliefs do not just reflect reality, they help create it.
Dream Work helps us see the interior landscape that is creating our experience.
Contemplate these questions
What drew you to read this? Do you sense that your dreams come from a deeper place? What would it mean to trust the wisdom behind your dreams
Remember “Dreams come from the invisible reality — they come to awaken us.”