Prison Dreams — New Book Introduces Revolutionary Inmate Rehabilitation Tool
Carol Oschmann began dream study to rid herself of stress and to control the nightmares that haunted her. After reading Edgar Cayce On Dreams, she adopted the belief that God talks to us in dreams, and the message was confirmed for her when a Baptist minister said, “I don’t know how God talks to you, but He talks to me in my dreams.” Oschmann spent three years volunteering as a class leader in a women’s prison, teaching dream interpretation, and the result is her new book, Prison Dreams, published by Outskirts Press.
Prison Dreams is a compilation of the author’s experiences and the experiences of the female inmates in her group. Originally the idea was to use these discussions to gather some unusual dream images to use in her outside dream groups, classes, and lectures, but Oschmann was astounded at the lifelong changes in the way the women of the prison began to view themselves, their capabilities, their relationships, and their addictions after analyzing the meaning of their dreams. It began a new movement of introspection and therapy that very few people have learned to use. Oschmann hopes that this book will encourage people to learn the art of dream interpretation, lead dream groups, and volunteer their time in prisons nationwide.
“Inmates don’t think much of themselves to begin with or they wouldn’t be where they are,” says Oschmann. “When they discover they have a best friend in whoever is giving them their dreams, they eagerly await the instructions of the dreams—the next step in getting and keeping a better life. Lives change when one suddenly sees his or her own personal value increase.”
According to the Justice Department Report (11/30/06), one out of every 32 people in this country are either in jail, on probation, or have a warrant out for their arrest, and the numbers have surely increased since that time. Rehabilitation, treatment for addiction, and group therapy could do wonders for this segment of the population, increasing their feelings of self-worth and instilling a sense of hope for a better future.
Carol brought to my attention the difference between my ego consciousness and my subconscious. My ego is where I’m conditioned by what others say, trying to fit in—sure some is the true me, but a lot is my conditioning to fit in, and I am learning to be the true Billie through Carol’s work and finding the messages from my subconscious. This is the aha moment. I feel the whole world can use this if they are open to it. She is a wonderful speaker/instructor/teacher/friend.
—Billie Laurin, Inmate
Hillsborough Correctional Institution
One of the inmates Oschmann counseled had been shot in the head as a child and suffered nightmares every time she closed her eyes. With the help of the class, she was able to get rid of these nightmares and replace them with more uplifting, spiritual images. This book particularly addresses reforming prison inmates, but there are also prisons we create ourselves, with mental bars. And you don’t have to be a dream worker to appreciate the life-changing power of the stories contained in Prison Dreams.
About the Author: Carol Oschmann was born in upstate New York. The mother of three and grandmother of four, bookkeeper by trade, Oschmann was amazed as her life shifted to that of a writer and photographer for a travel magazine, program planner for a TV travel program, and dream researcher. Carol is a graduate of the Haden Institute and is a Dream Group Leader. She leads a weekly dream study group in Sun City, Florida and at a correctional facility in Florida. Carol contributes to Dream Network Magazine, and, a popular speaker, she also gives lectures on dreams for church groups, senior groups, women’s groups, Lions Clubs, Rotaries, and other organizations. Oschmann is the author of a previous book, God Speaks In Dreams; Connect With Him And Each Other.
Prison Dreams is now available through the Epoch Book Store For only $20
I got the book! Carol- it is extraordinary. I’ve read it all through. Very teachable and interesting. Matter of fact – three of my friends have read it and Carol, one was in a DUI that lost her baby girl in the accident. I want to tell you, she was in tears and said, “Oh Billie! I’m having my mother order all Mrs. Oschmann’s books. So go Carol! She was also afraid of witchcraft with dreams. She said your book was put together so well – till she does not believe that anymore! She read all the biblical ref. and all. I’m so proud of you. I wish we could get a couple in our chapel library. Amen. I get out soon – I’ll help you. We’ll put them in all prisons. Because your teachings sure helped me.
I dreamed of Mama last Sat. night in the nursing home. But she was free and with me (free). She had a real long 2ft needle in the right corner of her eye. I tried to pull it out real easy but stopped when she started one of her epilepsy seizures. Mama pulled it out herself. End of dream. What I got was that Mama can heal herself like I did.
My friend Suzanne wants all your books Her Mom will buy them for her too! Yea!
Love, Billie.
God Lives in a Camper by Carol Author of Prison Dreams
Oct 22, 2009
Mary was in prison before she arrived in prison. She was imprisoned by what she’d been taught. We each have a set of beliefs; are they right? Have we been given wrong information? The older I get, the more I believe that this is a common societal malady.
Mary came into my class in the faith based prison, told she might find relief from her nightmares and her day time nightmares. She thought no one could help her, that the devil was after her in her dreams. She didn’t really want to talk about the dreams. She didn’t want to be in this class. The only way she knew how to act was to lash out. True to form, she banged her head on the desk, she walked around the room. Anger consumed her. Why could she not send letters to her son, also in prison? Why could she not receive letters from him? Why did the guards treat her less than human? Why did she see a face in her sleep and then, the next day or two, see this same face on a new inmate. Believing the devil was after her, this new person was the devil, to her mind, and she proceeded to attack the devil. She attacked a common room TV set when a dream she had appeared on the screen. Unchecked anger was not acceptable, thus she was sent to my dream interpretation class as a last resort.
One root problem we could quickly solve was the devil thing. “Mary, what you describe is common to all of us. We all get predictions in our sleep. That’s the way our creator made us.” Of the fifteen other women inmates in the room that night, almost all shared a prediction they’d received. “Some say that life is lived first in the dream state before in the waking state. It has nothing to do with a devil.” Mary listened. All her life, she’d thought differently. How could this room full of people all be wrong?
The next was her anger. We talked about causing more trouble for herself by making the guards dislike her. Someone suggested we pray for her. Instead we went into meditation, another form of prayer. I asked them all to imagine sitting in a chair at the edge of the ocean. The tide would come in, gradually climbing up their body. Not to fear because we could breathe under water just like the fish. A fish of their choice would come to them and they could ask anything of it and get an answer.
Mary shared afterward that the fish that came to her was a large mouth bass. (Sound like her?) She asked the bass to take away her anger. The last she saw of him was the fish swimming away from her with a bulging belly. It worked, Mary was a changed person.
Mary had a good dream. She walked through a field of tomatoes until she came to a camper. Going inside she found no radio or communication devise, no air conditioning. Outside, looking under the camper she saw wires hanging loose. She crawled under and tried to push them up into the camper via the hole she saw there. It wasn’t going to happen until fingers reached down through the hole and helped her.
We decided the fingers were God’s fingers, reaching down to help her. We thought good things were now coming her way. After all, she was communicating with us alright now. And when she got frightened by a dream during the week, she now had friends from the class she could turn to for understanding. That week something good did happen, she got permission to communicate with her son. After many past arguments with the mailroom personnel, she now went to the mailroom and politely showed her permission and made friends with them.
Later that week another good came her way. She met me at the gate as I arrived, eager to tell me of being assigned to work in the Culinary Arts Department where they learn to work in high class eateries. No one had ever done anything nice for her before; she told me and asked how do I act when I walk in the room? She made the connection predicted in the dream. The tomato field was the symbol for the Culinary Arts position. The wires connected because she finally looked at things the way they should be.
About a year later, Mary died due to cancer of the liver, as the jailhouse grapevine had it. But the good thing is that she made her peace with God.
Mary made a commitment to see her predictive dreams as a gift from her creator. Her attitude changed, her life changed drastically. I’ve seen this change happen in the lives of men and women who’ve never been in jail. It’s happened for me.
What are your dreams telling you?
Can this tool make a permanent wonderful change for us? We need it, especially in prisons, as the jail population needs turning around. Today it is growing at an alarming rate. Dream study is needed for people to regain a lost sense of self-worth.