Carla recognized the power of sharing our dreams and grief experiences when she and her husband were invited to speak at their church for a Confirmation youth group retreat in 1994. Speaking together for the first time, three years after Kevin's death, they shared the risks they took in processing their grief, walking their faith and living again. Later, inspired by a dream she had about the retreat, Carla realized her daughter and other grieving children  also needed a safe place to share their grief stories as well and became a coordinator for Rainbows, the first children's grief support group in Montrose, Colorado.
 

In 1997, Carla retired from hairdressing to be present for her growing family. In the midst of changing diapers and teaching her oldest daughter to drive, she answered the call to write Dreaming Kevin. The success of the book is due in part to her ability to write from the heart, exposing her inner world so others might see differently too. Dreaming Kevin has been divinely guided to serve by inviting the bereaved to see their perceptions about  death, grief and the after-life in a new light.

​

Since 1994, Carla has coordinated and facilitated bereavement support groups, camps and workshops and volunteer training for children and adults. An exceptional speaker, Carla has presented programs and workshops in person and online on dreams, grief, healing and after-death phenomena, writing a memoir and self-publishing, and served as editor-in-chief/columnist for Living With Loss Magazine. Nationally, Carla presented variations of her dream workshop, Dreams: A Blessing in Disguise through Loss & Transition at conferences such as The Compassionate Friends National and Regional Conferences; Bereaved Parents of the USA National Gathering; Journey to Joy Bereaved Mothers Retreat; Dreaming Kevin: Awakening at the Refuge; TAPS Seminar for military survivors; Beyond Words: Redefining Loss through Creative Approaches; The Annual Afterlife Awareness Conference; and the Healing Hearts and MSD Community “Day of Healing” in Parkland, FL.

​

In 2011, Carla became a Certified Dream Work Facilitator through the Marin Institute for Projective Dream Work with director, Dr. Jeremy Taylor. 

Carla's dream work practice, Dreaming the Way to Healing (c) encompasses both in person and online workshops and dream group programs. The DreamLight Cafe (on Zoom and in person) and The DreamLight Cafe for Bereaved Parents on Zoom,  offers dreamers an opportunity to see beyond the illusions of death, bringing their dreams, their deceased loved ones and ultimately themselves into the light.

​

As an MIPD certified dream work facilitator, Carla believes that "all dreams come to us in service of health and wholeness and only the dreamer knows for certain what his/her dream means" (Jeremy Taylor) Using the projective format, we share our "imagined version" of the dream offering the dreamer another perspective to see it differently leaving the analysis and interpretation to the dreamer. Weaving the values of spirituality with personal loss and transition for psychological and spiritual growth, Carla invites the dream images to speak their truth, thus creating a space for grace to nourish...and Love to flourish.

 

Carla lives and dreams in beautiful southwestern Colorado. Kevin continues to be her spiritual coach, inspiring and guiding Carla on this incredible journey.

​