Does a traumatic childhood doom you to unhappiness and dysfunction? Meet Wendy Correa who overcame a horrific youth. Dreams were a key part of her recovery! Wendy’s debut book is memoir My Pretty Baby: Seeking Truth and Finding Healing. Wendy starts with a pivotal dream of a black jaguar which had her face then talks about how childhood trauma affects life-long mental health including addiction, depression, and even physical ailments like irritable bowel syndrome and heart disease. She says that 64% of people have experienced at least one of the ten traumas highlighted by the “ACE” scale which lists Adverse Childhood Experiences. She encourages listeners to google the ACEs quiz to start thinking about how trauma might be informing our own lives.

She describes some of the modalities that were healing for her including meditation, psychotherapy, music, somatic practices saying “the issues are in the tissues.” Wendy describes the work by Bessel van der Kolk and his seminal book “The Body Keeps the Score.” After the break we talk about the dangers of toxic positivity and the art of learning “to suffer well” of which a pivotal component is forgiveness. She also mentions Whitney Goodman and Joan Didion.

Here is a link to a short video clip of the conversation:

The Full-Length video can be found here:

BIO: Wendy B. Correa is a writer, yogi, hiker and public speaker. She has worked in film, music, and radio. She holds bachelor’s degrees in psychology and theater arts. A wife and mother, she resides in Denver, Colorado. My Pretty Baby, an Amazon #1 Best Seller, is her debut book.

WendyBCorrea.com

This show, episode number 346, was recorded during a live broadcast on January 17, 2026 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz.

Here are links to other Dream Journal episodes you might be interested in:

Meditation and Trauma Recovery with Edit B Kiss

Post Traumatic Spiritual Growth with Linda Schiller

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.

Thanks for being a Dream Journal listener! Available on all major podcast platforms. Rate it, review it, subscribe, and tell your friends.

​​​How to really enjoy your dreams. Today Katherine speaks with Stuart Bailey, a British lawyer who has met Queen Elizabeth and sung with Elvis. His book is My Secret Life of Dreams: One Man’s Journey Into the Hidden World of Night. He says dreams are like movies starring ourselves so why not enjoy them?

Stuart starts by talking about his recurring childhood dream of flying down beautiful valleys, some of which date from before age 3 and a half. He speaks about how he might start to sink in those dreams but learned that by relaxing, he could keep flying. We also talk about precognitive dreams, deja vu, and an easy way to eliminate nightmares by daydreaming a better ending, his own version of Image Rehearsal Therapy.

Here is a link to a short video clip of the conversation:

https://youtu.be/hP5GXhtnEVg

BIO: Stuart Bailey is a lawyer from the Lake District, United Kingdom, and lives with his wife and two teenage sons. He is the author of My Secret Life of Dreams which explores how the dreams we have at night can guide, heal, and gently shape our lives.

This show, episode number 345, was recorded during a live broadcast on January 10, 2026 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz.

Here are links to some other Dream Journal episodes you might be interested in:

Eliminating Nightmares with Dr Michael Nadorff

It’s Always Been Me with Megan Walrod

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.

Thanks for being a Dream Journal listener! Available on all major podcast platforms. Rate it, review it, subscribe, and tell your friends.

We start the new years by welcoming Katrina Dreamer who talks about social justice dreaming and how we can start to dream up the kind of world we’d like to live in.

Here is a link to a short video clip of the conversation:

https://youtu.be/VPc75rnn3BA

Katrina starts by talking about harnessing the power of dreaming for social justice including using dreaming to build support and to find and connect with people. We speak about connecting to ancestors, mutual dreaming, and dream incubation. We then talk about dreaming up the kind of world we’d like to live in and why that can be difficult.

The class they are hosting called Social Justice Dreaming has a new cohort starting February 6. You can get 25% off the cost by registering here by January 23:

community.dreamstudies.org/c/social-justice-dreaming-winter-2026

After the break, we take a question from Max about day dreams and hear about a precognitive dream from Ellen from Santa Cruz which tried to warn her about getting arrested on a train in Europe.

BIO: Katrina Dreamer: Katrina is a pagan/Druid who co-hosts the podcast Dreaming Back to the Earth. They teach dream workshops on the Dream Portal, have presented multiple times at IASD conferences, and have written for Dreamtime magazine. They also write a web comic and are a tutor for disabled students.

This show, episode number 344, was recorded during a live broadcast on January 3, 2026 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz.

You might be interested in these related Dream Journal episodes:

Gender and Dreams with Katrina Dreamer

Radical Resistance with Victor Lee Lewis

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 FB, IG, LI, & YT @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.

Thanks for being a Dream Journal listener! Available on all major podcast platforms. Rate it, review it, subscribe, and tell your friends.