Dream Garden Tending: A ritual and practice to cultivate Self intimacy
The words “The place where I rest is where the fruit grows” and imagery of blackberries growing out of the back of my bed came to me from my soul Self in a dream during a time when my dream tending practice had dwindled. To me the blackberries symbolized the wisdom passed down from my paternal grandmother of learning to forage and create (aka foraging blackberries and making blackberry jelly.) The imagery and phraseology stuck with me, a gentle reminder I needed to hear to bring me back into an intimate relationship with my dream garden. A reminder that dreams and the imaginal realm are such a fertile ground of restoration, illumination, creativity, imagination and Self intimacy.
C.Jung (1977) eloquently spoke of dreams; “As a plant produces its flower, so the psyche creates symbol. Every dream is evidence of this process” (p. 5, par 512). Tokopa Turner (2024) also reminds us in her latest book ‘The Dreaming Way: Courting the Wisdom of Dreams’ that in dream space we are in conversation with the Divine and that the earth is dreaming through us. Both Tokopa Turner and Carl Jung believe(d) dreams come from nature / psyche, which are essentially one in the same.
C.Jung (1977) believed there is another in us who speaks to us in dreams to show us how differently they see us, as a way to alter our attitude about a difficult situation, for example. He emphasized the importance of dream tending as a way for individuals to bring unconscious material into conscious awareness, gaining insight into one's inner world, and facilitating the process of individuation (process of becoming a more integrated and whole self.) He believed dreams are a natural product of the unconscious mind and function primarily to compensate for imbalances or one-sideness in our waking conscious attitude. A crucial self-regulating function within the psyche that seeks to restore psychological balance and promote wholeness. He also explained “Dreams are the natural reactions of the self regulatory psychic systems” (p.123). They bridge the ego and Self, leading to wholeness.
Dreams are a free tool for making the unconscious conscious, providing profound insights, reflection, and growth, while leading one more closely along their souls pathway of liberation, wholeness, and purpose. They often lead one where one’s ego mind may not and illuminate truths one may not see from the analytical left brain / ego mind. When looking at characters in the dream as aspects of yourself, for example, you may begin to understand shadow aspects of yourself at work in your psyche that you may have otherwise overlooked. There are profound possibilities in shifting energetic, behavioral, and thought patterns through dream garden tending and illumination. C.Jung (1977) said:
According to the old belief, a god or demon spoke to the sleeper in symbolic language, and the dream interpreter had to solve the riddle. In modern speech we would say that the dream is a series of images which are apparently contradictory and meaningless, but that it contains material which yields a clear meaning when properly translated (p.7).
Translation or as T.Turner (2024) so poetically describes ‘courting the wisdom of your dreams,’ is a process and practice that takes time, devotion, openness, receptivity, patience and practice. A practice well worth the time and tending, in my humble experience. A practice that fosters a deep intimate relationship with soul Self (personal and collective.) Another benefit is the potential for innovation, inventions, and new ways of being or creating in the world. Listed below are some well known inventions that have come from dream space that we see in the world today.
Inventions that have come from Dreams:
-Benzene structure
-DNA structure
-The melody for ‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles
-The theory of relativity
-The atomic mode
For those new to dream tending, here is an easy way to begin from B.Bright's (2025) Institute for Soul-Centered Coaching and Psychology program:
A Jungian Psychology approach to dream tending:
Record the Dream
Make Personal Associations (what does the symbol or theme of the dream scene remind you of?)
Amplification of the Archetype & Image (what is the symbolic meaning via nature, culture, myth, all branches of sciences to gain different perspectives)
Research: Image Work, Somatic or Body-Work, Creative expression (thereby developing a relationship with the symbol)
Transformation & Integration
I recommend creating a devotional ritual ceremony for your dream tending practice and doing so from a grounded place. It is always best to first begin with your own personal associations with symbols. Working first with those associations from your life that stand out for you and resonate with you. There is the option to then amplify symbols through research of the image or symbol through books of symbols, myth, via nature, culture, and all branches of sciences to gain different perspectives or perform an internet search about the meaning and etymology of the word if you feel called. Take what resonates and leave the rest. This process will allow you to follow the archetypal energy, provide profound insights & conclusions from your soul Self that you may not otherwise have discovered using one's own ego mind to a current life challenge or situation you are facing. Create an altar with any symbol, image, or energy that feels powerful to you and engage with it further to deepen into this part of yourself. Follow your intuition about how you would like to creatively engage with this part further such as journaling, poetry, dancing, art, etc., allowing the energy to move through you and your life over time.
Some other resources I recommend are listed in the references section of this blog post. I adore T. Turner’s poetic Depth perspective and E.Gendlin’s body-led approach to dream tending.
In the container I hold for my clients, we have the opportunity to tend to, explore, and dialogue with dream images in a variety of ways using Somatic Imagination methods to deepen and gain insights one may not come to by dream tending on their own. Deepening and cultivating Self intimacy, harvesting gifts, insights, creativity, and transformation, while feeling through and releasing those energies that are ready to be released and transmuted.
Over time and practice of tending to your fertile dream garden, learning the dream tending approaches and practices that work for you and those which do not; you will come into a trusted relationship with your soul Self's language (symbol.) Beginning to more easily decipher the wisdom of the archetypal themes, patterns, imagery, and energy that you receive from the Divine through your dreams. It is truly an adventure into the mystery each time you co-create in sacred space with the Divine in dream garden tending rituals. You will begin to see many synchronicites from dream space are then mirrored back in your outer life, and how the following dreams reflect the transformation illuminated through your prior dream reflections and integration.
Cultivating this level of intimacy with soul Self leads to profound inner and outer transformation in your life, strengthening your relationship, connection, and intimacy with the Divine and your soul Self, as well as the outer world. The intimate relationship you gain also strengthens a felt sense knowing of the inner wise one within you, a felt sense of true connection, and a felt sense of Self trust.
Your unlimited soul Self holds the keys and has all the answers for you. You may even ask your soul Self before bed a question (write it down next to your bed) and see what arises. It is also fun to keep a dream journal to draw or paint what comes regardless of whether you are clear about the symbolic meaning behind it at first. Right brain intuitive insights will come days, weeks, even months later.
Have you discovered your dream garden and do you tend to her? I wonder what fruit is growing there or how she illuminates reflections that guide you on your pathway of liberation? Does your soul Self ever make you laugh through Dream images or scenes?
As I come to the end of the co-creation of this blog post, a spider dropped from the ceiling onto my left arm. Again a gentle reminder that we are truly weaving and co-creating with the Divine, not only in dreamspace but in all conscious intentional co-creative practices, rituals, and in life. May you also feel this felt sense of connection, intimacy, and co-creation with the Divine within and without you as you tend to your dream garden, weaving the creative life your soul Self desires on your pathway of liberation, wholeness, and purpose.
Written by Lauren May (soon to be Milo)
Resources:
Jung, C. (1977). Symbols of Transformation (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.5), Princeton University Press.
Turner, T. (2024). The Dreaming Way: Courting the Wisdom of Dreams, Her Own Room Press.
Gendlin, E. (1986). Let Your Body Interpret your Dreams, Chiron Publications.
Bright, B. (2025). Module 6: Dreams and dreamwork Video 1. Certificate Program in Soul-Centered Coaching Psychology, Institute for Soul-Centered Coaching and Psychology.
