Students and clients often tell me that the spaces we create together feel both safe and alive — places where laughter and insight flow easily, where the heart feels seen, and where transformation happens naturally. Whether we’re exploring dreams, shadow work, or creative expression, my approach is rooted in compassion, humor, and a belief in your own inner wisdom.
“Tristy is a wonderful teacher and dreamwork facilitator who is leading by example. She can handle a group in such a way that the value of collective intelligence is immediately put into practice and into service (even if we were all ‘strangers’ to each other at the start)… She creates a safe space and encourages us to hold it collectively, allowing us to play with the most interesting aspects of our shadows and light. Her classes are imbued with her radiating smile and occasional bursts of laughter able to transform heaviness into lightness, helping us to make our individual burdens and traumas so much more bearable, and even to unveil and share the collective gifts they carry.” ~ Kristin
Morbid Anatomy Academy Classes
It has been an honor teaching classes for the wonderful Morbid Anatomy Academy for over five years! I have known the Founder and Creative Director, Joanna Ebenstein since we were in college together in the 90’s and what she has created is beyond brilliant. I highly recommend you check out all the classes being offered there.
Working with the Shadow in Dreams & Nightmares
Three Sundays over Zoom
September 27, October 4 and 11, 2026
PLEASE NOTE: Classes will be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time
Our shadow (both dark and bright) reveals itself in our waking lives through projections, triggers, obsessions, crushes, and the many complicated experiences of being human. But the shadow also speaks to us at night, appearing in our dreams and nightmares as villains, monsters, tricksters, ex-lovers, pursuers, and other terrifying figures.
But these frightening dream figures are not actually our enemies. In fact, they have gifts to bestow, including important messages about our lives and where we are headed.
All dreams come in the service of healing and integration, even the darkest ones. Nightmares are never “punishments” or “signs” that something is wrong with us. Rather, they can be seen as invitations to turn back toward what has been hidden, exiled, or feared, so that we can reclaim the many gifts that lie buried within our shadow realms. The confronting power of the nightmare is a call to wake up and notice what is actually happening in our lives, in order to restore us to wholeness.
In this three week class, we’ll explore the parts of ourselves that have been forgotten, rejected, hidden, or pushed into the shadows. Rather than seeing these parts as problems to fix, we will approach them with curiosity and compassion, recognizing that they often carry untapped gifts, wisdom, creativity, and life force. As we welcome these aspects of ourselves back into conscious relationship, we become less driven by fear stories and reactivity, and more capable of making choices from a place of presence, authenticity, and inner alignment.
Through lecture, discussion, creative exercises, and guided imaginal practices, we will discover that even the most frightening dream characters have golden gifts to share with us, if we are courageous enough to face them.
Class sessions are:
🌒 Week One: The Dream Underworld & Meeting the Shadow
🌗 Week Two: The Monster is Carrying Medicine
🌕 Week Three: Retrieving the Gold
Because every dark figure has a gift to give. And sometimes, the treasure we seek is hidden in the very place we least want to look.
Cosmic Energy (Energía cósmica) by Remedios Varo (1956)
In-Person Dream Theater Workshop in Portland, Oregon
I am so excited to be offering in-person gatherings again! When the pandemic hit, I was able to move almost everything I teach to online platforms except for Dream Theater which in my opinion, has to be done in person. At this point, I think it is clear that we will never be “free” of COVID. It is now a part of our lives, so I trust that those who want to gather in person will do so, making sure to take care of themselves however they need to. So let’s gather and make some dreams come alive!
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Go-at-Your-Own-Pace Classes
“Tristy is an incredible teacher with a remarkable depth of expertise drawn from psychoanalysis, philosophy, cultural studies, art history, and her own fascinating artwork. When working with her students, she has a delightful exuberance and a seemingly limitless well of kindness and empathy. Tristy’s class helped me collaborate with my dreams to better understand my waking life, process unresolved grief, and enrich my creative practice.” ~ Virgil Wong, Artist and Digital Technologist
evergreen classes at Morbid anatomy
Waking Up in Dreamtime: The How & Why of Lucid Dreaming
Have you ever become aware that you were dreaming while still being in the dream? Then you have experienced a lucid dream! In a lucid dream, you can control any and all aspects of the dream, essentially doing whatever you want with no boundaries like gravity or linear time. It’s one of the most powerful tools you can use to be a powerful navigator of your dream time.
I’m so happy to announce my very first “Evergreen” class. This is a pre-recorded class series, that you can follow at your own pace. It is 3 recorded video class sessions, and includes several handouts including:
- A Dream Recording Template
- Lucid Dreaming Tips That Really Work
- My Very Thorough Lucid Dreaming Reading List (which includes books, articles, movies and more!)
Whether you are a already a skilled lucid dreamer, or fear that you will never be able to do it, this class series has something vibrant and valuable to offer you.