Association for the Study of DreamsNewsletter, Volume 14, Number 1 Winter 1997 (reprinted by permission of the ASD)

Along with being the birthplace of ASD, the San Francisco Bay Area is also home to one of the oldest regional dream networking groups: The Bay Area Dreamworkers Group, or BADG (pronounced badge). BADG was founded in July of 1985 by Fred Olsen and Linda Magallon. Their vision was to provide a way for people interested in -dreams to meet, share dreams,  and support each other's involvement with dreams - both  personal and professional. 

The longevity and success of BADG has been attributed to the principles which have guided this group over the past eleven years. A central principle is that the organizational structure of BADG is based upon a partnership paradigm In a recent Dream Network article, BADG past president Jill Gregory writes that, "What this partnership means in the dream field is that instead of a hierarchy with an authority figure as leader, there is a peer relationship in which the authority comes down from the pedestal, joins the group and shares his or her dreams along with the rest. This makes the leader as strong or as vulnerable as any other person in the group." 

Linda Magallon adds that partnership means, "We have to be pretty honest with each other, admit strengths and weaknesses, process them and move forward from there. We do spend a fair amountt of time on processing, but with the result that we're building a foundation of trust"  

BADG co-founder Fred Olsen uses the metaphor of not pouring new wine into old wineskins. He savs "We need to really attend to how organizational form reflects the dream; and not just put the dream into old forms. The habit is to go back to old forms, then wonder why we're not connecting. We need to be a model for society about how to create new forms  in the world.," 

In keeping with this model, BADG's orientation to dreamwork is eclectic, not tilted towards one approach or discipline over any others, but geared to allowing the individual talents of each member to be expressed]. Bob Trowbridge, one of the early co-leaders of BADG, says, "You could read a dozen books about dreams and not experience what I have in BADG -- like somebody singing their dreams!"  

BADG's commitment has been to keep the operation of the group organic, rather than fixed. This has meant that meeting frequency and organizational structure have varied over the years, with much openness and experimentation. Meeting formats have included talks and workshops by members; discussions of issues pertaining to dreams, dreaming and dreamwork; socializing; dream sharing; and pot luck dinners. 

When organizational decisions need to be made, BADG often relies on members' dreams for guidance. One such dream, which Jill Gregory shared with the group, involved a boat without oars, motor, sails or rudder, made it to the mainland  just through being guided by the currents. This led to the understanding, which has itself out over time, that BADG will survive best by following the "currents" of the group, rather than setting a course and insisting that it be followed. 

A final principle which has been central for BADG involves the difference between an expert and a "star". Fred Olsen explains that "We're not experts. Each dreamer is a star and needs to be supported as a star from his or her own place. There really are no experts. We're modeling creating a vehicle for everyone to be a star." 

For many BADG members, the supportive atmosphere of the group his been crucial to developing their own work in the world with dreams, helping to launch many significant ventures. One of these was the formation of Fred Olsen's Dream House in San Francisco, Which housed the Friday Night Lecture Series where BADG members presented. For many BADG members, this was their first opportunity to give a public presentation on dreams, These lectures are now available on cassette. 

Other individual projects supported by BADG include Linda Magallon's three years of publishing the Dream Network, and the formation of Jill Gregory's Dream Library and Archives (featured in vol. 13, No 2 of the ASD Newsletter).  Most recently, BADG members made invaluable contributions to ASD's Conference XII in Berkeley last July, giving  twenty-five of the conference presentations. BADG also hosted the Communal Dream Room, an ongoing gathering site for socializing and networking. The room included a display with the history of BADG and a poster of dream careers which have been represented in BADG. Scheduled conference events took place there, as well as the first-ever conference computer hub, where people could experience dream community networking in cyberspace.  The other invaluable contribution by BADG members was the conference program itself, chaired by Dale Westbrook and Richard Russo. Dale and Richard originally came to conference planning meetings as the BADG representatives,  before accepting the formidable task of putting together the program. Dale comments that "I would never have had this chance to contribute without BADG."