Deciphering dreams

I went to the most fascinating talk last night at WomenSpace, presented by dream expert and "dream alchemist", Jane Teresa Anderson.























Jane Teresa has been analysing dreams since about 1991 and has written a stack of books on the subject of what dreams mean and how we can change our lives if we pay attention to our dreams. She frequently appears on radio and TV, and seems to do presentations all over the place.

She talked about some of the common dreams - like the "tidal wave" dream, the "flying" dream and the "slow-motion" dream - it was reassuring to know that other people in the room had faced that giant tidal wave like I've done in various dreams over the years.

Dreams give us an amazing opportunity to explore how our subsconscious mind works. Jane Teresa said that we would all be really ill if we did not dream - that dreams are a way for the subconscious mind to process the day's events.

She also said that because we were so busy these days, it could sometimes take a couple of days for the sub-conscious mind to catch up - so that whatever I dreamt last night for example, is probably processing "stuff" from 1-2 days earlier.

She said that generally, if you dream about "stuff" that happened in the past, it typically means that something that happened inyour current day triggered a memory (typically a negative memory) of something that happened and made you feel the same way when you young.

Another interesting point was that if you dream about a person, it typically has nothing to do with that person at all - but rather something IN or ABOUT that person that mirrors what needs processing in yourself. So it may be for example, that you're dreaming about someone who is extremely angry - Jane Teresa's take on it was that it would be about anger you're feeling yourself. A dream expert would work with you to explore the dream in full detail and explain what was really going on.

Yet another curious fact was that if we're presented with the opportunity to kill something in a dream - like a monster or animal, or something or someone that is attacking us - that we shouln't kill it off, because that represents killing off a part of our psyche. We ran out of time for her to go into too much more detail about that, but it was all quite fascinating.

Jane Teresa has a stack of resources about dreams on her website at http://www.dream.net.au/, including free dream analysis podcasts, ebooks and dream glossaries. She also runs workshops and seminars.

One final point - we all dream. Whether or not we remember our dreams is another story, but if we work to understand what our dreams mean and what underlying issues they represent, it can help us to unblock and reach our full potential.

Have you had any interesting dreams lately?

Why holistic therapists need to network

The saying that "It's not what you know, but WHO you know" rings so true in business.

Getting out, meeting and connecting with people is a critical business skill - networking is widely practiced in the business world, and this brief video talks about the value of networking for holistic therapists.

It points out why, if you're not currently doing any form of regular networking, it may be worth considering doing so as a way of growing your holistic therapies business.

The video mentions some of Revive's networking events and our online networking forum, http://thetherapyexchange.ning.com/, as well providing a number of other suggestions for finding networking events near you.



Networking has worked for me - it has generated corporate and private massage work, writing and marketing work. I'm sure that if you begin to expand your network, and are out there talking about what you do with enthusiasm and passion, you'll reap the rewards too.

I'd love to hear any of your networking success stories. Please feel free to reply to this post.

New networking events for complementary therapists on the Gold Coast

As the dust from our first Brisbane networking event settles, I'm thrilled to announce that our networking events for complementary therapists will run each month on the Gold Coast from August 2009.

Revive launched The Therapy Exchange networking events in Brisbane in May 2009. Since the first event in early July, additional sessions of each event have been scheduled to cater for the growing interest in the opportunity to network with fellow therapists.

The Gold Coast events will be held in the Board Room of the Nerang RSL and Memorial Club on the second Tuesday evening of each month. Each event will focus on an aspect of marketing or business development related to the holistic therapies industry. The theme of the first Gold Coast event on 11 August 2009 is The Value of Marketing for Holistic Therapists.

Subsequent events will feature expert speakers and group discussions, and will showcase new products and services related to the holistic therapies industry.

The Brisbane networking events have demonstrated a strong desire by therapists of all modalities to connect with other practitioners and discuss the business challenges they face.

Therapists typically work in isolation, and these events provide a forum to discuss issues such as marketing, business development, practice administration and management, customer service, industry trends and developments, and many other issues that can determine their success.

Date & Time:
11th August 2009
6.45pm for a 7.00pm start – finishes at 9pm.

Cost: $20 per person

Venue:
The Board Room, Nerang RSL and Memorial Club
69 Nerang Street, Nerang QLD 4211

CPE Points:
AAMT members earn 5 CPE per networking event.
Other associations may recognise the events for CPE purposes.

Upcoming Events
8 September - Promoting Your Holistic Therapies Business Online
13 October - Expanding Your Business: How to Find New Clients
10 November - Love Thy Client: Keep Them Coming Back for More

We welcome the complementary therapists of the Gold Coast region to our upcoming events. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any queries about our networking events.

Revive's marketing workshops accredited by the A.R.M

More accreditation news! The Expedition to Success - Marketing Your Holistic Therapies Business workshop has been accredited by the Association of Remedial Masseurs (ARM).

ARM members who attend our two-day or 5-session workshop are eligible for 12 CPE points. In order for ARM members to remain on the Health Fund Provider's lists, they must earn 20 CPE points a year.

Our workshops are running in Brisbane, Byron Bay, Cairns, Coffs Harbour, Newcastle, Port Macquarie and Sydney in 2009, with more locations planned for next year. Check out our calendar for details and dates of a workshop near you.

We came, we saw, we networked!

The first of The Therapy Exchange networking events ran in Teneriffe this week, themed: The Value of Marketing for Holistic Therapists.

Such a diverse group of people brought an exceptionally diverse a range of skills - massage therapists, reiki practitioners, counsellors and beauticians. The range of business experience in the group ranged from people just starting out in their own business to those who had been running their business for a few years.

Some of the common business challenges the group members currently face, include branching out from a full time job to grow a business from scratch, understanding how to get the best “bang for buck” from limited marketing dollars, how to find new clients and how to retain existing clients.

Throughout the explanation of some of the key elements of marketing – product, place, price and promotion – a lively discussion ensued. Group members were happy to share what had and had not worked for them, and everyone agreed that it was valuable to mingle with other therapists and learn from each other.

Discussion moved onto a common desire for the various holistic therapies association to do more for their members – provide more business-based advice; more lobbying to raise the awareness of certain modalities and to gain Government recognition for particular modalities. It was valuable to hear of everyone’s experience with their respective associations.

It felt like the discussion could have kept going all evening! It was very much my intention in running these monthly networking events, to inspire discussion and sharing amongst therapists across all modalities. There is some reassurance in knowing that although we may work mainly in isolation, we have many colleagues in the same boat. I would like to thank everyone for participating with such enthusiasm. I can’t wait for the next event!

The theme proved to be so popular that we’ve scheduled a second event on 15 July. This session is filling up quickly - please register quickly if you’d like to attend. Bookings are essential. August’s event is themed Promoting Your Holistic Therapies Business Online. The 5 August session is booked out, but there are still a few vacancies for the session on 20 August.

Members of the AAMT can earn 5 CPE points by attending Revive Holistic Marketing’s networking events. Members of other associations may also be eligible to earn CPE or CPD points by attending networking events. Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries about our networking events.

Don't forget that we also offer online networking opportunities for complementary therapists at http://thetherapyexchange.ning.com/. Check it out today. It's free to join!