It was an afternoon of imagination and shared laughter at our latest Storytellers gathering. Hosted by the ever-gracious Leila, who opened her home and her heart to neighbours and friends alike, the event was brought together by the theme of dreaming.

As the stories unfolded, a quiet thread ran through them all… that dreams, whether asleep or awake, are not private possessions but shared spaces. Even when the story, or poem, has been shared before, its the group who make the new telling unique.

During the afternoon, laughter mingled with memory, and imagination became a kind of collective courage.

Each storyteller revealed that dreaming is not just about visioning the future but re-seeing the past and reclaiming forgotten selves, languages, and moments of wonder.

To dream together is to practice empathy and to step into another’s imagined world and find something of ourselves waiting there like a soft hug. Perhaps that is the quiet magic of these gatherings: the simple act of saying, “This is what I dream.”

Sue (Khoo) says, “it was a lovely meeting with very engaging stories”

Let’s start…
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Jill our MC, guided us with her signature warmth through stories that ranged from the whimsical to the deeply reflective.

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Storyteller Vivienne opened the session, transporting us back to 1982 at a multi-arts conference. She recalled a woman who refused to tell a story because she hadn’t practiced; an excuse Vivienne initially found flimsy. Until, of course, she tried it herself. Her story unfolded with wry honesty, holding up a small, well-loved booklet written by Mem Fox on how to tell a story. “What a gift she has,” Vivienne mused, reminding us that storytelling, like dreaming, takes courage and a little rehearsal. Her practice session was in front of her school classroom (a tough audience if ever there was one).

Storyteller Anne followed, sharing her dream of speaking fluent Spanish. Her daily practice, though earnest, sometimes led to hilarious missteps—like accidentally announcing “I’m pregnant!” instead of “I’m learning!” Her story spiralled through the joys and pitfalls of translation, from infamous ad campaigns gone wrong to her own travel-inspired daydreams. In the end, Anne decided it’s enough to know a few words, to watch the travel shows, and to live her dream in spirit.

Storyteller Olga carried us into deeper territory, reflecting on dream practices among the Senoi people, as described by anthropologist Hilton Stewart. The Senoi believed the universe’s order was delicate—requiring dreams to be handled with care. Negative dreams were not to be feared but transformed, a form of healing and balance. Olga gently questioned whether this “dream training” was spiritual wisdom or idealistic fatalism, reminding us that not every dream fits neatly into science.

Storyteller Maggie brought myth into the room, telling of Merlin and Arthur—the dream of destiny. She wove the ancient tale of Uther Pendragon and Igraine, of magic and disguise, of Merlin’s duty to guide Arthur toward his fate as King of Albion. Through her voice, the dream of old England stirred again—a reminder that our legends are humanity’s shared longings given form.

Storyteller Jill, also our delightful MC, offered a pause. “Was it a dream?” she asked, before reading a poem that echoed the lingering wonder in the room.

Storytellers Gail and Munetaka shared a story of detachment and discovery, a meditation on the impermanence of wealth and the quiet truth of a simple life. Their words flowed like a river of reflection.

Life drifts by like a dream, a blurred reflection on a still lake. I have a dream, to be a hermit, to live where silence speaks truth.

They left us pondering the tension between illusion and reality, and how often our greatest lessons arrive disguised as dreams.

Storyteller Susan shared a story that traced love through generations “once upon a time,” she began, reaching back to a fourth great-grandmother whose quiet choices still ripple through the family’s present. Her words reminded us that love itself might be the longest dream of all.

Then, this writer had to depart the afternoon. We are reassured all following stories were equally as dreamy… and we are left to quietly ponder… what’s next.

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The Storytellers Guild: where stories breathe life into the dreams we still dare to tell.

Some stories return to us, familiar yet freshly alive. Each retelling gathers the spirit of its place and the company that surrounds it — reshaped by laughter, silence, and the particular light of the moment.

A story once told is never the same again; it carries the fingerprints of those who shared it. That’s the quiet beauty of storytelling >> it keeps evolving, just as we do, every time we dream together.