'THE DREAM TAROT''THE DREAM TAROT'A RESIDENTIAL WORKSHOP WITH MEMBERS OF THE FOOL'S DANCE GESTALT

COMPANY - PAUL REBILLOT SCHOOL IN IRELAND

Waterville Lake Hotel, Waterville, Co. Kerry, Ireland. February 14th to February 20th, 2015.

THE DREAM TAROT: From the earliest times humankind has been fascinated by dreams. The first known records of dreams, written in cuneiform on baked clay tablets, were found by archaeologists in Mesopotamia and date from about 3,000 BC. Curiosity about the significance of dreams is equally ancient and opinions about their meaning have varied from century to century and from culture to culture. In classical Greece and Rome, for instance, it was commonly believed that dreams were direct prophetic messages from the dead or from the Gods.

In our own time a consensus favours a psychological interpretation in which our dreams are products of our unconscious mind. Sigmund Freud famously described the interpretation of dreams as 'the royal road to the unconscious', a view broadly shared by C.J. Jung and by Fritz Perls, the founder of Gestalt Therapy. In both Jungian and Gestalt practice the images in dreams are seen as creative expressions of hidden psychic material, voices which articulate the important messages to ourselves that surge upwards into awareness from the profound depths of our unconscious.

Perls' approach to dreams is more expansive than Jung's in that he considers that every element of a dream - whether animate or inanimate - represents a fragment of our personality and that, ideally, all of these fragments should be reintegrated if the healing potential of the dream is to be fully realised.

The first verifiable descriptions of the Tarot deck of cards date from the early 1400s. Since the mid-1700s, perhaps even earlier, mystics have drawn on the symbolism of the highly evocative Tarot images in efforts at divination. In this workshop Paul Rebillot has combined some elements of a classical Tarot 'Life Reading' with his own powerfully original 'hyper-Gestalt' methodology - a fusion of Gestalt process with ritual, drama, art, movement, music and meditation - to produce a new creative approach to the exploration of dream material. You will: Use images from your dreams (rather than from the

Rider-Waite-Smith or other classic Tarot set) to create your own unique personalised deck of Tarot cards.

Learn an expanded form of Gestalt process that you can apply, not only to reading your dream cards, but to the classic Tarot as well.

Stage your dreams as you would a play, with yourself and other members of the group playing the rôles.

Dance your dreams to completion, discovering what they are telling you in relation to the most important questions of your life.

THE FACILITATORS: All facilitators and assistants are

members of the Fool's Dance Gestalt Company and are graduates of Paul Rebillot's Advanced Training. Collectively they have very extensive experience of working as Paul Rebillot’s assistants and, following Paul's retirement, in co-leading his workshops in Ireland.

Tony Carlin lives and works in Derry and has been involved in Paul Rebillot's workshops in Ireland since 1991. He is an experienced leader of experiential groupwork in a variety of areas including the Work of Byron Katie.

John Culhane has been involved in education for all his working life. He first encountered Paul Rebillot in 1997 and graduated from Paul's Advanced Training in 2003.

Fergus Lalor is a former academic scientist with a strong interest in the use of music in psychotherapy. He began working with Paul in the early 1980s and has co-organised

Rebillot workshops in Ireland since 1991.Mary Mangan is a psychotherapist, group worker and trainer. She has had a long involvement in the work of Paul Rebillot and since 1991 she has co-organised and worked in Rebillot workshops in Ireland. Claire Murray was the first person in Ireland to train with Paul Rebillot. She is a psycho-therapist based in Cork and a designer and leader of experiential therapeutic groups. Claire is director and co-founder of Flatstone Psychotherapy Training and also works in private practice.

In this workshop the facilitators will be assisted by Glenda Cimino.

THE FOOL'S DANCE GESTALT COMPANY - PAUL REBILLOT SCHOOL IN IRELAND: The Fool's Dance Gestalt Company is a group of graduates of Paul Rebillot's Advanced Training living in Ireland who have come together to continue Paul's transformative work in this country by offering opportunities for participation in his unique therapeutic structures and in new workshop structures designed by members of the group during their training. In due course we also plan to offer training in Paul Rebillot's work.

The name of the group has a threefold significance: Firstly it references The Fool, the zero card in the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck, who is portrayed as a young man carrying all his possessions in a bundle on a staff over his shoulder. Holding a flower in his other hand he is blithely about to step off the edge of a cliff. He symbolises the risk-taker, setting out on a journey of self-discovery that will take him through - and energise - all the other archetypal images of the Tarot. Secondly, the 'Fool's Dance' refers to a movement process that features in most of Rebillot’s therapeutic structures. Through the Fool’s Dance participants progressively embody - and thus deepen - their experiences as they progress through the workshop. And - finally - 'Gestalt Company' is a reminder

that the Rebillot approach is firmly rooted in Gestalt process.

PAUL REBILLOT was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1931. A successful theatre career as actor/director and academic was interrupted in 1971 by a severe personal crisis which brought him to the Esalen Institute at Big Sur, California. There he trained as a Gestalt psychotherapist with Dick Price, an influential early student of Fritz Perls', and set off on a new path which led to his becoming a major force in international psychotherapy and experiential education as well as an expert in the development of ritual therapeutic structures based on myth.

Rebillot’s unique contribution to psychotherapy derives from his integration of the wisdom, skills and experiences of his earlier life in the theatre world with classical Gestalt methodology. Particularly important influences were his encounter in Japan with Nōh and Kabuki dance-drama (in which ritual gesture is all-important) and his deep fascination with the psychology of myth. The latter was enhanced through contact with the noted comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell whom Paul came to know during his time at Esalen.

Personal transformation through ritual enactment is a fundamental theme of Rebillot's work. His ritual structures invite participants to discover and express their inner drama in a mode that is both safe and creative and also allows groups of people to support one another in their individual inner journeys. Returning drama to its classical Greek origins in the healing arts, Paul's therapeutic processes integrate myth, ritual, drama, art, movement, music, meditation and classical Gestalt in a powerfully original way to produce a hybrid therapeutic method which he called 'hyper-Gestalt'.

For over thirty years Rebillot presented his therapeutic structures at the Esalen Institute and elsewhere in the US, Europe and beyond. From 1991 to 2008 he led a series of very successful annual workshops in Ireland which - as well as the present workshop - include 'The Hero's Journey', 'The Lover's Journey', 'Death and Resurrection', 'Exorcising the Demon Should', 'The Quest for the Golden Fleece', 'Manifesting Your Own Myth', and 'The Grail Quest - Following the Path of Parzifal'. Rebillot also held Advanced Training courses in Ireland, elsewhere in Europe and in the US. In March of 2008 Paul retired from work in Europe and returned to his home in San Francisco. He died there on the 11th of February 2010 at the age of 78.

THE WATERVILLE LAKE HOTEL is a very comfortable modern hotel on the outskirts of Waterville, Co. Kerry. For the duration of the workshop we have exclusive use of the hotel which is situated in its own spacious grounds bordering Lough Currane and only a few hundred metres from the sea. The workshop space has wonderful views of the lake and the mountains behind it. Accommodation is in two-bedded rooms, all with en suite facilities. All participants will have a room to themselves but, of course, those who want to share can do so. Arrangements can be made for vegetarian food. The workshop will begin at 3:00 PM on Saturday, February 14th and will end at 5:00 PM on Friday, February 20th, 2015.

BOOKING INFORMATION: Workshop Fee: The workshop fee is 740 euros which includes accommodation and full board for the period of the workshop as well as all workshop materials. Drafts, cheques etc. should ONLY be made out in favour of 'Fergus Lalor' - we cannot handle cheques made in favour of the workshop.

Bursaries: A number of reduced-fee bursaries may be available to people whose circumstances make payment of the full fee impossible. Applications to the organisers at the address given below will be dealt with in strict confidence and should provide sufficient detail to allow the request to be evaluated. Recipients of bursaries will be expected to give some assistance with practical matters during the workshop.

Deposit: A deposit of 150 euros will secure a place at the workshop. Except in the case of cancellation (see below) deposits are not refundable. The number of places at the workshop is limited by the accommodation available and so we would urge all participants to pay the deposit and/or the full fee as early as possible. All deposit or fee payments will be acknowledged in writing.

Cancellation: If the workshop is cancelled due to insufficient numbers or other circumstances outside our control the deposits and fees are fully returnable.

Payments from outside the Republic of Ireland: Participants who intend paying in sterling (or who are resident in countries outside of the Euro zone) should contact us for advice before doing so.

How to Register: Send your deposit or fee (with the completed booking form below) to Fergus Lalor at:

2 Harbour View TerraceSummerhill North, St. LukesCork CityIreland.

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