Stop Interpreting Your Dreams, Start Living Them — with Bonnie Buckner

Bonnie Buckner, PhD, founder of the International Institute for Dreaming and Imagery, guides us into dreaming as a living language rooted in the body and asks: What if your dreams weren’t random—but precise, intelligent messages leading you toward change?

In this conversation, Jessica and Bonnie move beyond traditional dream interpretation and into a more dynamic, participatory approach—one where images are not decoded from a distance, but entered, felt, and transformed from within. Dreams are not static symbols, but living processes that reflect your current state and invite you into deeper relationship with yourself.

They explore how nightmares often signal imbalance rather than danger, and how, when engaged directly, they can become powerful gateways to resolution, creativity, and healing. Bonnie shares how working with imagery in the waking state can shift internal patterns, restore coherence in the nervous system, and open intuitive channels that extend beyond sleep.

At the heart of this episode is a reorientation: dreaming is not something that happens to you—it is something you are already participating in. When you begin to work with it consciously, it becomes a powerful tool for transformation.

If you’ve ever felt there is something deeper speaking through your dreams—or wondered how to truly engage with that language—this conversation is for you.

Guest Bio

Bonnie Buckner, PhD, is the founder and CEO of the International Institute for Dreaming and Imagery and the author of The Secret Mind: Unlock the Power of Dreams to Transform Your Life. She also serves as program lead for George Washington University’s One Humanity Leadership Coaching Certification, where she integrates dreaming and imagery into leadership development.

Her work draws from an ancient lineage of embodied dream practices, supporting individuals and organizations in accessing deeper intelligence, creativity, and transformation through imagery.

Learn more:bonniebuckner.cominstitutefordreamingandimagery.com

Host Bio

Jessica Shepherd is a writer, astrologer, and intuitive guide based in Honolulu, and the author of five books, including A Love Alchemist’s Notebook. Her work explores sensitivity, embodiment, and the deeper intelligence that emerges when we return to ourselves.

Through her writing, podcast, and companion Substack Soft Human Words, she creates spaces for reflection, emotional clarity, and inner transformation—blending intuition, wisdom, and energetics into grounded, resonant insight.

Learn more:https://www.instagram.com/_jessicashepherd_/jessicashepherd.commoonkissd.com

Credits

Produced by Noah Tetzner