Bonnie Buckner, PhD, founder of the International Institute for Dreaming and Imagery, guides us into dreaming as a living language rooted in the body and asks: What if your dreams weren’t random—but precise, intelligent messages leading you toward change?

In this conversation, Jessica and Bonnie move beyond traditional dream interpretation and into a more dynamic, participatory approach—one where images are not decoded from a distance, but entered, felt, and transformed from within. Dreams are not static symbols, but living processes that reflect your current state and invite you into deeper relationship with yourself.

They explore how nightmares often signal imbalance rather than danger, and how, when engaged directly, they can become powerful gateways to resolution, creativity, and healing. Bonnie shares how working with imagery in the waking state can shift internal patterns, restore coherence in the nervous system, and open intuitive channels that extend beyond sleep.

At the heart of this episode is a reorientation: dreaming is not something that happens to you—it is something you are already participating in. When you begin to work with it consciously, it becomes a powerful tool for transformation.

If you’ve ever felt there is something deeper speaking through your dreams—or wondered how to truly engage with that language—this conversation is for you.

Guest Bio

Bonnie Buckner, PhD, is the founder and CEO of the International Institute for Dreaming and Imagery and the author of The Secret Mind: Unlock the Power of Dreams to Transform Your Life. She also serves as program lead for George Washington University’s One Humanity Leadership Coaching Certification, where she integrates dreaming and imagery into leadership development.

Her work draws from an ancient lineage of embodied dream practices, supporting individuals and organizations in accessing deeper intelligence, creativity, and transformation through imagery.

Learn more:bonniebuckner.cominstitutefordreamingandimagery.com

Host Bio

Jessica Shepherd is a writer, astrologer, and intuitive guide based in Honolulu, and the author of five books, including A Love Alchemist’s Notebook. Her work explores sensitivity, embodiment, and the deeper intelligence that emerges when we return to ourselves.

Through her writing, podcast, and companion Substack Soft Human Words, she creates spaces for reflection, emotional clarity, and inner transformation—blending intuition, wisdom, and energetics into grounded, resonant insight.

Learn more:https://www.instagram.com/_jessicashepherd_/jessicashepherd.commoonkissd.com

Credits

Produced by Noah Tetzner

Jessica is joined by BACP-accredited psychotherapist Marina Lorenzato. If you’ve ever overgiven, over-accommodated, or lost your center in love—this is for you.

What unfolds is an honest look at the subtle patterns that pull us away from ourselves, and how to begin returning, moment by moment.

In this episode of Soft Human Voice, Jessica and Marina explore people-pleasing, attachment styles, and the ways we can lose our sense of self in connection with others.

Marina shares how parts work, nervous system awareness, and simple embodied practices can help us return to center, make clearer choices, and build relationships rooted in presence rather than survival.

This conversation also touches on friendship dynamics, emotional consistency, and the courage it takes to choose what we truly want in connection.

The episode closes with a gentle grounding practice you can return to anytime you feel activated or pulled out of yourself.

A grounded and practical exploration of what it means to stay with yourself, and others.

Guest Bio

Marina Lorenzato is a BACP-accredited psychotherapist based in London, working with women and couples who find themselves losing their sense of self in relationships. Drawing on psychosynthesis, internal family systems, and somatic approaches, her work focuses on patterns such as people-pleasing, anxious attachment, and blurred boundaries.

She is the creator of Authentica, a self-esteem program for women ready to reconnect with themselves, and shares relationship psychology and self-awareness content with a growing audience online. Marina offers therapy in both English and Portuguese.

Instagram: @marinalorenzato

Website: marinalorenzato.com

Host Bio

Jessica Shepherd is an astrologer, intuitive guide, and the author of five books, including A Love Alchemist’s Notebook. She is the host of the Soft Human Voice podcast and its companion Substack newsletter, Soft Human Words, where she also shares embodied practices through Soft Human Movement. Her work explores sensitivity, intuition, and the power of returning to oneself.

Instagram: @jessicashepherd

Website: jessicashepherd.com

Production Credit

Produced by Noah Tetzner

Debra Martin, intuitive healer and cancer survivor, joins me for an honest conversation about what healing actually asks of us.

We begin with a grounding practice, then explore emotional permission, illness, and self-awareness. Debra shares how she moved through cancer by listening to her body rather than fighting it — blessing her medicine, releasing control, and shifting from fear-based thoughts to grounded presence.

We talk about handing back what isn’t yours, honoring your limits without guilt, and why expectations can quietly block receiving. At the heart of this episode is a simple reframe: it’s not only what we experience, but how we hold it.

If you’re navigating illness, uncertainty, or the tender work of becoming more self-aware, this conversation offers perspective without pressure.

About Debra Martin

Debra Martin is an intuitive healer whose work integrates mediumship and energy healing. Certified by the Windbridge Research Center, she is the author of six books, including Proof of Miracles, and offers private sessions and global healings.

About Jessica Shepherd

Jessica Shepherd is an astrologer, intuitive guide, and author of five books, including A Love Alchemist’s Notebook. She writes Soft Human Words and hosts the Soft Human Voice podcast.

Production

Soft Human Voice is produced by Noah Tetzner.