The Dream Journal Holding Space for the Mystery with Bonnie Buckner, PhD
Dreams bring us back to our true self. Today’s guest, Dr. Bonnie Buckner, speaks about the visual language of dreams which awakens in us feelings which are the base of our inner knowing. Dreaming also reminds us of wonder and mystery. By embracing mystery, we discover more of our own potentials and possibilities of transformation in the outer world. Bonnie starts by describing some of the competing pulls we have including the desire to fit in vs the desire for connection. She says our true self is often crowded out by thinking, but that dreams bring us back to a visual and feeling-based language.
After the break, we take a question from Stacy from Canyon Lake Texas who shares a dream about filming a waterfall and NOT filming a topless woman. We also take a question from Max which starts a conversation about how to bring wonder into our daily experience.
Here is a link to a short video clip of the conversation:
The Full-Length video can be found here:
BIO: Bonnie Buckner, PhD is founder and CEO of the International Institute for Dreaming and Imagery®, author of THE SECRET MIND, and Program Lead for George Washington University’s One Humanity Leadership Coaching Certification Program where she uses dreaming and imagery work to develop coaches.
Find our guest at: bonniebuckner.com and at institutefordreamingandimagery.com
Her new book is the Secret Mind: Unlock the Power of Your Dreams to Transform Your Life
This show, episode number 347, was recorded during a live broadcast on January 24, 2026 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz.
Here are links to some other Dream Journal episodes you might be interested in:
Dreams as Medicine with Stephanie Trager
Stop Thinking and Start Imagining with Catherine Shainberg, PhD
Intro and outro music by Mood Science. Ambient music new every week by Rick Kleffel. Archived music can be found at Pandemiad.com. Many thanks to Rick for also engineering the show and to Erik Nelson for answering the phones.
SHARE A DREAM FOR THE SHOW or a question or enquire about being a guest on the podcast by emailing Katherine Bell at katherine@ksqd.org. Follow on LI, IG, YT, FB, & LT @ExperientialDreamwork #thedreamjournal. To learn more or to inquire about exploring your own dreams go to ExperientialDreamwork.com.
The Dream Journal aims to: Increase awareness of and appreciation for nightly dreams. Inspire dream sharing and other kinds of dream exploration as a way of adding depth and meaningfulness to lives and relationships. Improve society by the increased empathy, emotional balance, and sense of wonder which dream exploration invites.
A dream can be meaningful even if you don’t know what it means.
The Dream Journal is produced at and airs on KSQD Santa Cruz, 90.7 FM. Catch it streaming LIVE at KSQD.org 10-11am Pacific Time on Saturdays. Call or text with your dreams or questions at 831-900-5773 or email at onair@ksqd.org. Podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms the Monday following the live show. The complete KSQD Dream Journal podcast page can be found at ksqd.org/the-dream-journal/.
Closed captioning is available on the YouTube version of this podcast and an automatically generated transcript is available at Apple Podcasts within 24 hours of posting.
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