I have been working with dreams since first attending a workshop in 1987 and joining an ongoing dream group. My job as a community organizer had me agitating for consumer, environmental, reproductive, and electoral reforms. I stayed in the dream group for seven years, but after the first year, I left fulltime organizing to earn my Master’s in Adult Education at Ohio State University.
My intention was to learn more effective tools for social change, but my studies opened me to the important link between personal growth and social change. As a student and dream worker, I was hired as the first administrator for the local Jung Association ~ where I could attend as many programs as I liked ~ for free!
The academic and experiential learning convinced me:  To change the world, we need to know and change ourselves. I knew before too long that Dream Work would be my best contribution… when I was ready.
Soon I became a member of the “sandwich generation†which meant I wasn’t ready; I was too busy! For me, the challenges of the “sandwich†years were raising daughters, caring for aging parents, grieving losses, working in a hospital and then a law office, and exploring my sanity. Living those challenges, and making sense of them, is my foundation for leading dream work with integrity.
Since 2009, my Dream Integrity practice has included work on hundreds of dreams. All “that living†has been invaluable since “dreamers†come to dream work at all ages and stages of life. Some are bored or antsy, some are grieving or healing, and others are just curious about a dream they can’t, or don’t want to, forget! They bring nightmares and daydreams, snippets and epic journeys. “My†dreamers and I have experienced something else: to benefit from dream work, you don’t even have to bring a dream!
I graduated from the Institute for Dream Studies in 2011.  I am thoroughly enjoying using my Adult Education background and skills as I share knowledge and skills about dream work with dreamers and mental health colleagues.  I am even happily accepting and fulfilling public speaking engagements ~ who knew?  To see my resume’, please click here.
I am fond of the phrase “showing up†~ we show up for work, we show up some how or another, for life each day.   “Showing up†for Dream Work means “showing up†for ourselves ~ it is about making a time and holding a place for our individual, unique natures to be discovered. And when we show up for dream work, there is always a little surprise: a golden nugget about human nature and what we have in common.
Betsy Grund, M.Ed., C.D.T.
Associate, Institute for Dream Studies, Charleston, SC
Phone: 843-343-3136
betsy@betsygrund.com