Every dream has many layers of meaning. Every object, person, and
situation in a dream may have many meanings. So take your time in
trying to understand it. Think of your dream as something to EXPLORE.
You have to look at it from different angles, walk around in it for
awhile, work with it - and then its many meanings will begin to reveal
themselves.
Try not to give into the pressure
to "interpret" a dream. If you put yourself or others
on the spot to "tell me what it means" then you are taking
the wrong attitude toward working with the dream. It's not a game
of Jeopardy or a multiple choice test where there's a right or wrong
answer. Working with a dream is more like playing with it - the
kind of play that involves creativity, imagination, and a willingness
to experiment. It also requires patience!
Here are some ways to work with
a dream:
Free Association
To unpack the various meanings of a dream, take each
object, person, situation, etc. and free associate to them, one at
a time. What does it remind you of? What comes to mind when you think
of that element of the dream? Let your imagination go. Let your attention
wander. Come up with as many associations as possible. Do this in
your head, or talk out loud. If you let yourself go with this, something
will come up - a memory, an idea, a feeling. It may not tell you "The
Meaning" to the dream, but it will give you pieces to the puzzle.
(You know you are onto something when you experience that AHA!, lightbulb-popping
experience)
Free
Writing
Write down on paper a stream of consciousness reaction to your dream.
Start anywhere and just keep writing whatever comes to mind. Don't
censor or edit anything out. It's like free associating onto a piece
of paper. Record everything you are thinking and feeling. If you
get stuck, simply write "I'm stuck, I'm stuck..." over
and over again until a new association comes up. Then keep writing.
Or write down on a piece of paper each element
of the dream, and then write a stream of consciousness for each
one. Compare what your wrote for each element of the dream. Look
for similarities and patterns. Hold onto these writings - and go
back to them later on. Days or weeks later you may see something
that you missed the first time around.
Mental Images
Images are pictures or sensations in you imagination, in your "mind's
eye" - similar to dreams. Use them to explore a dream. For
example, close your eyes and free associate to the various elements
of your dream by letting PICTURES or SENSATIONS flow through your
imagination. Let your imagination go. Don't try to control what
you see or experience. Let it move on its own. Stay with this and
something important will come up.
Another technique is to RELIVE the dream in your imagination. Close
your eyes, start at the beginning of the dream, and relive it as
vividly as you can. Then replay the dream again, only this time
let your imagination go. Let your imagination add to and change
the dream in any way it wants. It will lead you to important insights.
(Any sensations you experience in your body
during a dream, or while working with it, may reveal something about
its meaning.)
Dialogues
Create a conversation between you and the dream, or between two
elements of the dream. If you dreamed about driving a car through
a forest, write down on a piece of paper a conversation between
you and the car (or the forest). What would you say to the car?
What would the car say back to you? Don't try to over-control the
conversation. Let it be as spontaneous as possible. Stay with the
dialogue and let it progress. Or create a conversation between the
car and the forest. What would they say to each other?
Another possibility is to carry out this
conversation LIVE. Set up two chairs. Sit in one chair and put the
car into the other. Talk to the car. Then switch chairs and talk
back to yourself. Keep switching back and forth. Let the conversation
progress. Be spontaneous and honest! Sounds crazy, but THIS WORKS!
Dream Enactment
If you are in an adventurous move, get together some friends and
reenact the dream as if it is a play. Assign roles to people. People
can also be objects in the dream. First replay the dream as it actually
occurred. Then do it again and let people improvise in their roles.
Experiment with the play, with you as the "director."
This is a powerful technique.
(All of these techniques work best if you
are SPONTANEOUS and FREE-WHEELING. Let your imagination go. Don't
try to force or over-control the process. Be honest. Don't censor
ideas.)
Day Residue
People, things, or events from the previous day that get incorporated
into a dream were put there for a reason. They touched off ideas,
feelings, and memories in the unconscious. Examining your thoughts
and feelings about these events from the day will help you understand
the dream and why it is "commenting" on these events.
What do these day residue events remind you of? Have these sorts
of things happened before?
Dream Intangibles
There is a tendency to focus just on objects, events, and people
in a dream. But there is more to the dream than that. Consider also:
- FEELING TONE : what is the primary feeling
in the dream. What does it remind you of in your life? Does the
feeling tone change at different points in the dream? Why?
- COLORS : how are colors used in the dream?
What feelings and meanings might be associated with them? What do
the colors remind you of?
- TIME AND SPACE : how are time and space
used in the dream? What feelings do these create? Is the dream communicating
an idea by how it uses time and space?
- MISSING AND VAGUE PARTS : what parts of
the dream are vague or unclear? Is something missing that should
be there? These might be the points where dream censorship by the
ego is at its strongest. Focus on these parts. There's something
important going on there. Use free association and the other techniques
described above to fill in the gaps. If there is a vague part to
the dream, try to catch whatever details you can. For example, if
you can't remember a person in the dream, can you remember what
they were wearing, the color of their eyes, the color of their hair?
Who does this remind you of?
Connections Among Dreams
Dreams often are connected to each other in their meanings. Look
for similar patterns or themes across your dreams. Are your dreams
progressing or changing somehow over time? This might indicate something
about YOU that is changing over time. Pay particular attention to
recurring dreams since these are important! They point to a persistent
theme or issue in your life. They may indicate some "unfinished
business" in your life. How are the recurring dreams similar
to each other? Different? Are they changing over time? What might
this say about how you are changing?
Think Unusual
Remember that the unconscious thinking that affects a dream is unusual
and illogical by conscious standards. Things can mean exactly the
opposite of what they seem. Something you FEAR in the dream may
be something you unconsciously wish for. Things may contradict each
other, which suggests a conflict in which you have contradictory
feelings about something.
Try EXAGGERATING some important aspect of
the dream. In your mind, in writing, or in a dream enactment, amplify
the feeling, action, or situation in the dream. Take it to the limit.
Make it as intense as it could be. Where does this take you?
Try REVERSING the important elements in the
dream. Turn them into the opposite feelings, behaviors, or characteristics.
Does this ring any bells? Does it change the meaning of the dream?
The Problem and Its Solution
A dream may be showing you a problem or issue that needs to be resolved.
It may be showing you how you are reacting to the problem. It may
even be suggesting a solution. For each dream, ask yourself, "What
is the problem? How am I reacting to it? Is the dream suggesting
a solution?"
Anxiety and Fear
Anxiety in a dream usually indicates a point where important, perhaps
threatening, ideas are surfacing from the unconscious. The anxiety
is a signal. Pay close attention to these anxiety dreams. Nightmares
that wake you up indicate the surfacing of particularly powerful
material. In these cases, the mind can only think of one way to
deal with the situation - ESCAPE!
Where are you?
You may be able to find yourself in various places in the dream.
The most obvious place is the "dream-ego," as Jung called
it. This dream-ego is the person who is having the experiences that
make up the dream. Usually the dream-ego does not know he/she is
dreaming, unless it is a lucid dream.
Examine this dream-ego carefully. Even though
you may experience this ego as yourself, the person in the dream
may be behaving and feeling in very different ways than you normally
would. Compare yourself to this person in the dream. How are you
the same? Different? Is this person in the dream some hidden part
of you - some part you wish for, need, or fear?
Other people in the dream may represent important
people in your life - how they actually are, how you wish them to
be, how you fear they might be.
Or, other figures in the dream may represent
hidden parts of yourself - the way you wish you could be, the way
you used to be, parts you try to deny, your hidden potentials, something
that is missing in your personality etc. Some dream researchers
even believe that everything in the dream - every person, object,
and event - represents a hidden part of you.
Jung would say that you should always look
for what the dream is trying to teach you about your SPIRITUAL self.
Myth
Jung would say that every dream has its roots in mythology. Your
dream - and the situations in your life that it depicts - are a
reliving of issues that are universal to all humans. So find a good
book on mythology. Locate a story that contains people or events
similar to those in your dream. The mythical story will give you
insights into your dream and how it relates to universal human struggles
and triumphs.
Impasse
At some point in working on a dream you will get stuck. This is
an impasse, a barrier. It means you have to take a different perspective
on the dream. You have to reorganize your thinking. Immerse yourself
into that stuckness. Stick with it and eventually you will be able
to break through to a new level of understanding. If you're REALLY
stuck and frustrated, you may have to set the dream aside and come
back to it later. Let it percolate in the back of your mind. Look
at other dreams. They may help you make that breakthrough.
Don't underestimate how "deep"
a dream may be, even if it seems silly or simple. When you think
that you are all finished working with a dream, think again. There
is probably more there!
A Little Help from Your Friends
It often helps quite a bit to get someone else's perspective on
your dream. Tell your dream to a friend or family member, someone
who knows you pretty well. With their help, try using some of the
dream techniques described in these pages. Here are some other tips:
GROUP DREAMING: In the presence
of one or several friends (or when working with fellow dream explorers),
close your eyes and describe your dream in the first person and
in the present tense. Tell it, from beginning to end, as if it's
a story. With their eyes also closed, everyone quietly listens to
your dream and tries to imagine it in their mind as you describe
it. Afterwards, they describe to you the reactions they had to your
dream.
"IF THIS WERE MY DREAM..." - As a general rule, you can
only make guesses about what someone else's dream means. And it's
quite easy for you to project your own personal meanings into it.
Try using your own personal reactions to help your friend. What
if your friend's dream WAS your dream! What would you think and
feel about it? What would you be thinking and feeling if you were
the people inside the dream? Tell your friend about your personal
reactions. It might help your friend understand his or her dream.
Your Dream, You
Remember that your dream was created by your mind. Other people
can help you explore it, but that's all. Listen to their feedback,
take what makes sense, and leave the rest. Ultimately, YOU are the
expert on what your dream means.
The Dream Collage
In a group with fellow dreamers, take turns creating a dream collage.
On a chalkboard or on a large posterboard, jot down words or phrases
about your dreams. Feel free to be creative in how you record these
ideas. Pick an interesting spot for each item. Add arrows, boxes,
patterns, drawings, doodles, whatever you like. Be as spontaneous
as possible. The group can suggest ideas about things to add to
the collage. Some items that you can add to the collage might include:
the people, places, animals, objects in your
dream
the important activities, actions, or events in your dreams
the emotions expressed in your dreams
quotes from things said in the dream
how you would describe the dream ego
the names of important people in your life
important past or current events in your life
Afterwards, the dreamer and the group can
step back to take a look at the completed collage. Do any interesting
patterns emerge? Is there meaning to how the different items are
placed next to, above, below each other? What is written large,
small, faintly, boldly? Do there seem to be distinct sections, centers,
boundaries in the collage?
[Note: When using any of these techniques,
if something makes you too uncomfortable, then stop. ]
