This past Tuesday, I had my first post-college class: the first in a
series of six called “Dreamwork: An Introduction,” offered by the
University of Southern Maine’s Center for Continuing Education. The
official description summarizes what the course is all about better
than I can, so I quote the relevant parts of it below:
“This course introduces you to different approaches to dream work, and
while we consider the ideas of Jung and Freud, our main work is
hands-on and practical. Each session involves the introduction of
techniques and then working as a group to grasp a dream that the
instructor presents… You will learn techniques for considering your
own dreams and initial steps to approach the dreams of others.”
Sounds intriguing, eh?
Some people don’t recall their dreams; others take little interest in
thinking or talking about them; but, at least anecdotally, I’ve found
that a good majority of people are quite curious about dreams and
dreaming. I’ll be sure to keep the blog updated if the class
precipitates any cool revelations.
(As a side-note, I had a dream the other night in which I found
myself, inexplicably, comparing the size of my right biceps muscle to
that of Sylvester Stallone. We’ll see what the instructor and the rest
of the class make of this one!)
The Center for Continuing Education (CCE) offers a bunch of courses
across three disciplines: Health and Human Services, Nonprofit
Management, and Business and Management. Course offerings range from
one-time courses in, for example, “Buddhist Psychology and its
Application to Counseling” to multi-day seminars in such areas as
grant writing or non-profit management. What I respect most about the
CCE is its democratic spirit; anyone who can pay the (very reasonable)
course fee can take whatever course they please. What motivates people
is a passion for on-going, lifelong learning in a structured classroom
environment.
It’s not that I intend to make this a sales-pitch for the USM Center
for Continuing Education…but I think its plethora of interesting
offerings warrants some blogosphere attention. It is just one of many
traits that make Portland such a vibrant culture.
–Collin “Biermeister” York