About Len Worley, PhD
Over the last thirty years, I have worked as a psychologist, marriage and family therapist, Rolfing bodyworker, and dream researcher and mentor. I obtained my Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Florida State University in 1981.
I currently spend most of my time writing and creating films to inspire and educate about the wisdom available in dreams. I also mentor those who wish to master the skills of dreamwork, devoting a few hours each week to online consultations for individuals and small groups. Along with dreamwork, I offer guidance for those wishing to solve a life conundrum or simply get more from life.
My devotion to the study of dreams came not from idle curiosity but rather as the result of being plunged into a personal crisis at age 39. Though I had obtained my PhD in psychology some years earlier, I found that my training did not prepare me for the grief I suffered and could not find my way out of due to the loss of a romantic relationship.
I now consider that Fate intervened when I discovered the author and therapist Sukie Colegrave, who helped me find the most unexpected solutions to my dilemma by opening the wisdom of dreams to me. This remains the pivotal discovery of my life. While I had always been intrigued with and curious about dreams, I had never been able to discern the guidance that is available through the dreaming process. In a word, I was astounded to realize that there is a benevolent, intelligent process at work that seeks to help us face the challenges of life.
My writing is an expression of gratitude for my mentors and to the dreaming process itself which have given me life-saving wisdom. But because dreaming does not occur in a vacuum but is in response to the particular dilemmas of our lives, my writing also addresses the challenges I faced from having grown up in the confines of the religious fundamentalism in the deep south of the USA. Racism was in the air we breathed, and the hyper-conservative, authoritarian atmosphere in my home, church, and community led to me being deeply divided within myself. My religious training taught that there were evil forces not only in the world but also potentially within each of us, and for this reason we should always be on guard. Such a worldview creates a painful fragmentation within the personality, leading to a presumption that there are good and bad parts of us.
Because of this early influence, much of my attention has been devoted to understanding the integration process; that is, how to make use of all aspects of the self, even those parts of personality that may initially be threatening to approach. Dreams provide x-ray vision into the deeper parts of the self that are often in opposition to one another, and at the same time they provide glimpses into some of our greatest undeveloped potentials.
Psychological integration requires deep compassion, courage, and especially wisdom to achieve what Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung described as Wholeness, a state whereby the various parts of the self are actualized and work in harmony to create a potent and fulfilling life.
Over the last 30 years dreams have helped me make sense of my life and actualize strengths I missed out on developing in my restrictive childhood. As you can read in one of my forthcoming books about therapeutic psychedelics, I also underwent a long and profoundly difficult exploration with visionary plants and compounds. To say that these experiences were life-changing grossly understates their impact on me. But even after such intense encounters, which often felt like death and rebirth experiences, they pale in value compared to the steady, daily, uncanny wisdom that comes through dreaming.
For this reason, I am devoting the remaining years of my life, which I am hopeful will be many, to helping others access the benefits of this marvelous, intelligent process that tirelessly works on our behalf to help us become far more than we have ever imagined we could be.
I currently spend most of my time writing and creating films to inspire and educate about the wisdom available in dreams. I also mentor those who wish to master the skills of dreamwork, devoting a few hours each week to online consultations for individuals and small groups. Along with dreamwork, I offer guidance for those wishing to solve a life conundrum or simply get more from life.
My devotion to the study of dreams came not from idle curiosity but rather as the result of being plunged into a personal crisis at age 39. Though I had obtained my PhD in psychology some years earlier, I found that my training did not prepare me for the grief I suffered and could not find my way out of due to the loss of a romantic relationship.
I now consider that Fate intervened when I discovered the author and therapist Sukie Colegrave, who helped me find the most unexpected solutions to my dilemma by opening the wisdom of dreams to me. This remains the pivotal discovery of my life. While I had always been intrigued with and curious about dreams, I had never been able to discern the guidance that is available through the dreaming process. In a word, I was astounded to realize that there is a benevolent, intelligent process at work that seeks to help us face the challenges of life.
My writing is an expression of gratitude for my mentors and to the dreaming process itself which have given me life-saving wisdom. But because dreaming does not occur in a vacuum but is in response to the particular dilemmas of our lives, my writing also addresses the challenges I faced from having grown up in the confines of the religious fundamentalism in the deep south of the USA. Racism was in the air we breathed, and the hyper-conservative, authoritarian atmosphere in my home, church, and community led to me being deeply divided within myself. My religious training taught that there were evil forces not only in the world but also potentially within each of us, and for this reason we should always be on guard. Such a worldview creates a painful fragmentation within the personality, leading to a presumption that there are good and bad parts of us.
Because of this early influence, much of my attention has been devoted to understanding the integration process; that is, how to make use of all aspects of the self, even those parts of personality that may initially be threatening to approach. Dreams provide x-ray vision into the deeper parts of the self that are often in opposition to one another, and at the same time they provide glimpses into some of our greatest undeveloped potentials.
Psychological integration requires deep compassion, courage, and especially wisdom to achieve what Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung described as Wholeness, a state whereby the various parts of the self are actualized and work in harmony to create a potent and fulfilling life.
Over the last 30 years dreams have helped me make sense of my life and actualize strengths I missed out on developing in my restrictive childhood. As you can read in one of my forthcoming books about therapeutic psychedelics, I also underwent a long and profoundly difficult exploration with visionary plants and compounds. To say that these experiences were life-changing grossly understates their impact on me. But even after such intense encounters, which often felt like death and rebirth experiences, they pale in value compared to the steady, daily, uncanny wisdom that comes through dreaming.
For this reason, I am devoting the remaining years of my life, which I am hopeful will be many, to helping others access the benefits of this marvelous, intelligent process that tirelessly works on our behalf to help us become far more than we have ever imagined we could be.