Dreams, Psychedelics & the Unknown. Making Sense of Extraordinary Experiences

Saturday August 1

11am- 3pm

New Paltz, NY

Illustrations by Valentina Plishchina

Please register: 

WhatsApp 973-896-9320 

email: nyworkshops@gmail.com 

Tuition

Price $75 before Aug 4, $95 after

During meditation, a psychedelic journey, a powerful dream, a shamanic ceremony, or even a near-death experience, we may encounter something so profound that our familiar understanding of reality is forever changed.

What do these experiences mean?

Are they psychological processes? Spiritual realities? Expressions of the imagination? Or something that lies beyond our usual ways of understanding?

Process Work offers a unique approach that honors extraordinary experiences without reducing them either to psychiatric symptoms or to literal spiritual beliefs. Instead of asking, "What should I believe?", we ask a different question:

"How is this experience trying to transform my life?"

This question lies at the heart of integration.

In this experiential workshop, we'll explore how extraordinary experiences can become lasting sources of resilience, creativity, personal growth, and new possibilities in life.

What We'll Explore

Types of Extraordinary Experiences

How do different kinds of extraordinary experiences differ, and how can we work with each of them?

We'll explore:

- Dreams

- Psychedelic journeys

- Shamanic experiences

- Meditative states

- Mystical experiences

- Near-death experiences

Each has its own psychological dynamics and calls for a unique approach to integration.

Initiatory Dreams

Some dreams become turning points in our lives.

Together we'll explore:

- How to recognize dreams that mark the beginning of a new chapter.

- Why these dreams often arise during times of transition and crisis.

- How to continue working with a dream long after waking.

Encounters with Archetypal Figures

Many extraordinary experiences include encounters with autonomous figures such as:

- Deities

- Demons

- Helping spirits

- Power animals

- Ancestors

- Inner teachers

- Extraterrestrial beings

- Other mysterious presences

We'll explore how to engage these encounters with curiosity and respect—without becoming trapped in either literal belief or psychological reductionism.

Nightmares & Challenging Psychedelic Experiences

Why do difficult experiences arise?

What lies behind experiences of:

- Being chased

- Natural disasters

- Labyrinths and impossible situations

- Emptiness

- Loss of control

- Ego dissolution

Most importantly, we'll explore how even the most difficult experiences can become powerful catalysts for healing and personal growth.

Higher States of Consciousness

We'll also explore experiences of:

- Unity

- Light

- Unconditional love

- Cosmic consciousness

- Profound emptiness

- The Divine

These experiences can profoundly transform us. But how do we bring them into everyday life without losing our grounding, clarity, and ability to function in the world?

Life Myth & Life Purpose

Extraordinary experiences are rarely random.

Recurring dreams, symbols, archetypal figures, and meaningful experiences often reveal the deeper story unfolding through our lives, pointing toward our unique path and the next stage of development.

Together we'll explore how to recognize this hidden narrative and learn to follow it.

Practical Methods of Integration

Participants will learn practical tools that can be used for both personal integration and professional practice, including:

- Process Work methods

- Working with roles and inner figures

- Essence Work

- Body-oriented awareness practices

- Movement-based exploration

- Symbol amplification

- Creative integration

- Translating insights into lasting change in everyday life

The workshop combines theory, demonstrations, experiential exercises, work in pairs and small groups, and opportunities to explore real experiences brought by participants.

Who Is This Workshop For?

This workshop is for anyone who has had an extraordinary experience and wants to understand it more deeply.

It is also designed for psychotherapists, psychologists, coaches, facilitators, psychedelic integration practitioners, meditation practitioners, and students of shamanic traditions.

By the end of the workshop, you'll have a clearer understanding of different types of extraordinary experiences, learn to recognize their inner logic, gain practical methods for integration, and discover how even the most mysterious and challenging experiences can become lasting sources of wisdom, creativity, inner strength, and conscious development.

Facilitator:

Dina Ostrovsky, MA

Dina Ostrovskaya is a Process-Oriented Psychologist, psychotherapist, teacher, and founder of the Terrapia School of Transformation. She has over 20 years of experience facilitating personal transformation through Process Work, Family Constellations, Qigong, meditation, dreamwork, and psychedelic integration.

Since 2013, Dina has been leading psychedelic integration groups and educational programs in New York and Boston. She leads retreats and trains therapists and facilitators in methods for preparing for and integrating extraordinary states of consciousness.