A Dream Not Interpreted Is Like a Letter Unopened

Barb Kreisman
Aug 11
4 min read

Every night, we enter a world entirely our own.

During REM sleep, the average person dreams for nearly two hours each night. Over the course of a lifetime, that can amount to roughly seven years spent within the imaginative landscape of the dreaming mind. It raises an intriguing question: Can we truly say we know ourselves if we ignore such a significant part of our inner lives?

Dreams have long fascinated psychologists, philosophers, spiritual teachers, and mystics. They have been described as the "royal road" to the unconscious, but they can also serve as a pathway toward greater self-awareness and spiritual awakening.

Dreams rarely speak to us directly. Instead, they communicate through symbols, metaphors, emotions, and mystery, sometimes revealing dimensions of ourselves that our waking minds overlook or avoid.

As the mystics teach: "A dream not interpreted is like a letter unopened."

What Might Our Dreams Be Telling Us?

It has been said that our dreams often know more about us than we are comfortable knowing.

Yet when we approach them with curiosity rather than judgment, dreams can reveal what we may be ready to discover. They become invitations to explore our inner lives, deepen our understanding of ourselves, uncover hidden possibilities, and perhaps awaken to a fuller experience of life.

On Thursday, August 20, the Purposeful-Aging Wisdom Group welcomes Dr. David Sanders, clinical psychologist and Spiritual Director of Kabbalah Experience, for a fascinating exploration of dreams and the wisdom they may contain.

Dr. Sanders will provide a framework for analyzing dreams and demonstrate how we can begin exploring their meaning as a tool for personal growth and spiritual direction.

About Dr. David Sanders

Dr. Sanders brings an extensive background in Judaism, Kabbalah, psychology, and spiritual development.

As founder and executive director of Kabbalah Experience, he combines more than 30 years of experience as a psychologist and Kabbalist to help people develop deeper awareness and greater fulfillment in their lives.

His own journey from traditional religious studies toward mysticism inspired him to broaden the study of Kabbalah into a practical approach to spiritual growth. His work encourages people to challenge long-held perceptions about themselves and the world around them while becoming more receptive to the wisdom that can emerge from within.

Dreams are an important part of that exploration.

The Wisdom Group: Knowing Ourselves More Deeply

The Purposeful-Aging Wisdom Group was created to foster thoughtful conversation, meaningful relationships, ethical reflection, and lifelong learning.

The group's logo reflects this philosophy by bringing together the Tree of Life and the Ensō circle, a symbol rooted in Japanese calligraphy and Zen Buddhism that represents enlightenment, strength, elegance, and infinity. Together, these elements reflect the Wisdom Group's commitment to growth, reflection, and our interconnectedness with the world around us.

When the Denver Wisdom Group launched two years ago, its first session explored Aristotelian wisdom and the corresponding virtues, hosted by Dr. Buie Seawell, Professor Emeritus of Business Ethics at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business.

Central to Aristotle's understanding of wisdom is a deceptively simple principle:

Know yourself.

That idea continues to inform the Wisdom Group today. Special-interest topics are not explored simply for the sake of acquiring knowledge, but as opportunities to better understand ourselves and one another.

Two additional principles help guide the group.

Epistemic humility reminds us to recognize the limits of our own knowledge and remain open to the possibility that our understanding may be incomplete.

The sociological concept of milieu asks us to consider how our social and cultural environments shape the ways we perceive ourselves, others, and the world.

Together, these principles create an environment where curiosity, reflection, respectful dialogue, and personal growth can flourish.

Join Us August 20th

The next Purposeful-Aging Wisdom Group gathering will take place:

Thursday, August 20th

1:00 p.m. to approximately 3:15 p.m.Room 510

Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging

Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science

University of Denver

2155 E. Wesley Ave.Denver, Colorado

The first half hour of the gathering is intentionally social, providing participants an opportunity to connect, build relationships, and strengthen the sense of community that is central to the Wisdom Group.

We are also exploring the possibility of offering this particular session in a hybrid format via Zoom, as many of Dr. Sanders' Kabbalah students who live outside the Denver area have expressed interest in attending.

Interested in Attending?

To attend the August 20 Wisdom Group session, please contact Barbara Kreisman at Barbara.Kreisman@du.edu.

Whether you are fascinated by dreams, interested in psychology or spirituality, or simply curious about what your own dreaming mind might have to tell you, this promises to be a thought-provoking afternoon.

After all, if a dream is a letter from somewhere deep within ourselves, perhaps it is worth opening.

To learn more about the Wisdom Group and explore additional topics related to purposeful aging, visit Purposeful-Aging.org.