If you've always been convinced that your dreams have significance beyond a bit of late night indigestion, an upcoming workshop by a visiting "shamanic dreamer'' may be just the key to understanding the messages hidden in our dreams.

Robert Moss is the author of more than 15 books, two of which focus on the subject of dreaming, entitled "Dreamgates'' and "Conscious Dreaming''.

He was invited to Bermuda by resident Barbara Bluck to conduct a workshop this weekend practising the ancient shamanic art of dreaming.

Ms Bluck, who is a member of the international Association for the Study of Dreams, met Mr. Moss while attending the Association's annual conference in Hawaii.

Mr. Moss describes shamans as "strong dreamers -- people who dream profusely, dream the future, dream for others, practise dream healing and above all have mastered the art of dream travel and are able to move at will into the dreamworlds and bring back gifts''.

The purpose behind Mr. Moss' workshop is to sensitise participants and give them a better understanding of the purpose and meaning of dreams.

"Dreams take us beyond our habits and self-limiting beliefs, beyond the narrow confines of what Yeats called `the daily trivial mind', into an encounter with our higher self,'' said Mr. Moss.

"The Iroquois Indians say that dreams reveal the secret wishes of the soul.

They give us an impeccable nightly readout on our physical, emotional and spiritual health -- and if we heed their messages, we'll spend a lot less time in doctor's offices or divorce courts,'' he added.

"Dreams show us the natural outcome of our present actions and attitudes.

They bring us glimpses of future events, both large and small -- and if we can only learn to look for the precognitive elements in our dreams, we will find that in our dreams we are all psychic.

"Then we'll be ready to wake up to the fact that if you can dream the future, you can also use that dream information to create better futures.'' Mr. Moss said he has had a lifelong fascination with the meaning and interpretation of dreams, dating back to his early childhood.

Growing up in Australia, he survived a string of near-death experiences and encountered the ways of a "Dreaming People'' through his friendship with Aborigines.

"Shamanic dreaming is dreaming the old-fashioned way. From the shaman's perspective, if you are having a BIG dream, one of two things is likely to be going on,'' he noted.

"Either you are travelling outside your body and outside the limits of spacetime and are therefore able to `fold time' and travel into the possible future and enter other dimensions of reality where you may have encounters with ancestors, spiritual teachers and animal guardians.

"Or, you are receiving a visitation by another being who is not bound by spacetime -- a departed loved one, perhaps, or an angel, or the spirit of one of the First Peoples of the land you inhabit.

"Dreams also help us to understand each other and go beyond barriers of prejudice and misunderstanding. In our dreams, we can literally know what it feels like to walk in someone else's shoes.

"And when we learn to truly listen to each other's dreams, we will find that, as we listen, we recognise common bonds with other people and the ability to build creative communities together.'' The $10 introduction on Friday, April 16 from 7.30 to 9.30 p.m will be a talk and sampler programme that will give a taste of the themes to be explored in the workshop.

Participants in the introduction will learn techniques for creative dream journaling and using dreams for self-understanding, self-healing, overcoming nightmare terrors, and to get more information.

Both the introduction and the workshop will be held at Admiralty House Community Centre.

For more information and to register, contact Barbara Bluck on 295-2554.

A Real Dreamer: Shamanic dreamer Robert Moss