Faculty, Students & Alumni

Students

Dana Ludmer

The doors to my dreams opened one year when I fell physically ill. I remember experiencing terrible days in my waking life, but finding an abundance of pleasure and comfort in dreaming. I remember looking forward to going to sleep so that my alternative reality could be revealed. While I eventually healed from sickness, this experience sparked a deep curiosity. Dreams take me to all different places. I wander night to night through layers of experiences I am far from understanding. And this draws me in. Why do particular sequences arise? What are they communicating? What happens when I pay attention? I chose to be a student facilitator because I think just asking these questions leads us down a very unique path. I hope to continue to share what comes up along my path and learn from what is surfacing in others. 

Kelsea Marschall

Throughout my entire life I have always had a deep connection and curiosity about dreams. Growing up, my family sparked my interest in dreams by openly discussing dreams with each other and attempting to understand them on a deeper level. I personally experience a few recurring dreams, dependent on my state of physical wellness. Others in my family have experienced dreams which somehow came true later in life. I find it interesting how dreams can directly or indirectly relate to one’s waking life, or serve as a completely separate entity. I decided to be a student facilitator because I believe regardless of why we dream our dreams, the experiences can test our creativity and thoughts during waking life. I am excited to learn more about what others have experienced in their dream states and share what I continue to dream, especially during these current unprecedented times. 

Susana Gomez

My relationship with dreams has been one of stark contrast. I have spent many a night too terrified of nightmares to sleep at all. I have also lingered with dreams, feeling more at home with their language than that of the “waking” world. Growing up, there was no one with whom I could discuss matters of dreaming. Nonetheless, life insisted I learn to conceive of everything that enters my experience – day or night – as a dream, and to cherish these communications from the unconscious. Dreams remain my most trusted guide, providing images to contain the unthinkable; showing me what I must attend and places I must go both psychically and physically. I would not be here, writing this, without their help. Meanwhile, reckoning with dehumanization in my inner and external world has brought me to the understanding that fully acknowledging someone’s personhood requires recognizing them as one who dreams. I hold this close to heart as a student facilitator of PsyDreams, while envisioning a culture where we can deepen our relationship to dreaming and dream data, individually and together.