Conversations on Healing

Toko-pa Turner is an author, dreamworker, and teacher whose work explores the profound relationship between dreams, belonging, and the human psyche. Drawing from the mystical tradition of Sufism and Jungian psychology,

Toko-pa invites people to see dreams not as random events, but as living conversations with a deeper intelligence that guides us toward wholeness. Her award-winning books, Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home and The Dreaming Way: Courting the Wisdom of Dreams, encourage readers to reconnect with the symbolic language of the soul and rediscover belonging as an inner, evolving experience rather than something to be found outside themselves.

In this episode, host Shay Beider and Toko-pa explore how dreams can become trusted companions on the healing journey, offering insight into the parts of ourselves that long to be seen, understood, and integrated. Toko-pa shares how her own experiences growing up in a spiritual community marked by both beauty and abuse led her to the work of Carl Jung, where she discovered that much of our suffering stems from the divide between our public selves and our hidden inner lives. Together, they discuss the role of shadow work, the meaning behind recurring dreams and nightmares, and why approaching dreams with curiosity rather than fear allows them to become powerful allies in personal growth. Toko-pa explains that metaphors are the psyche’s native language, serving as a bridge between the visible and invisible worlds, and that dreams often reveal our deepest potential long before we consciously recognize it. Rather than searching for belonging in external places, she invites listeners to see periods of exile, uncertainty, and even loneliness as essential parts of discovering who they truly are. Their conversation is a reminder that healing is not about becoming someone new, but about remembering the wholeness that has always existed within us—and allowing our dreams to gently lead us back home.
Listen to the complete episode by clicking the player above. Transcripts for this episode are available at: https://www.integrativetouch.org/conversations-on-healing

Show Notes:

• Learn more about Toko-Pa
• Read Toko-pa’s book Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home
• Read Toko-pa’s book The Dreaming Way: Courting the Wisdom of Dreams
• Learn more about Sufism
• Find out more about Carl Jung
• Read The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture by Gabor Mate, M.D. and Daniel Mate