Dream Work for Beginners

Dream Work for Beginners

By Scott H. Colborn

The following article proceeds from these assumptions:

1) There is a "Dream-Maker."

2) The "Dream-Maker" cares about you.

3) The "Dream-Maker" gives you valuable information about yourself in your dreams, and this information is encoded in a language of symbol and metaphor.

4) The "Dream-Maker" may be an aspect of what we call "God."

5) It is possible to "de-code" your dreams, and find meaning, direction and guidance, and to realize with absolute certainty that "someone is listening."

6) The best dream-work is the work the individual does, and the payback is commensurate with what the individual is willing to put into the process.

7) Everybody dreams.

8) Dreams are much more significant than just random mechanical things occuring in the brain.

9) Everything in your dream represents a part of who you are, or who you can be, or who you are becoming.

10) This article is not meant to be the "A - Z" of dream interpretation - hopefully just a springboard from which the individual can proceed to a deeper and fuller understanding of the mystery of the dream and the dreamer.

11) There is no free lunch.

Who among us wouldn't like the advice of a really good, trusted friend that had our well-being always in mind? Wouldn't we all like to have the ability to bounce something off of someone whose advice and counsel we respected and that we could continually seek out for clarification on life's pressing issues?

This "really good, trusted friend" is with you each and every night. The "Dream-Maker" knows what is going on in your life, and gives you a stupendous theatrical production each night, tailored to your issues in life. The "Dream-Maker" knows you better than anyone, and knows your deepest and darkest recesses of your psyche completely. The "Dream-Maker" knows your pain and sorrow, and knows your joy and bliss. In short, the "Dream-Maker" cares deeply about you and wants the best for you.

So here are some practical, scientific procedures you can immediately instigate to deepen your awareness of the messages sent to you from the "Dream-Maker" in your dreams. With some practice, the process becomes easier and the "Dream-Maker" will acknowledge your interest and focus with even more and deeper dreams. So here we go.

Place by your bed a small flashlight, a pen, and a notebook of some sort. The flashlight is so you don't wake your partner when you want to get more light to write down an extremely brief overview of a dream. You can reach for your notebook, pen and flashlight, and briefly jot down the bare bones of the dream. Here's an example of what I mean by bare bones:

".....in an old but familiar castle, built with huge rocks, I'm going up some steps but suddenly I have the awareness that someone or something else is behind me and I'm starting to run to stay away from whoever it might be...."

Even more bare bones might be this:

".....old castle, going up steps, someone is chasing me and I start to run..."

The next morning, you then re-read your bare bones entry about your dream, and begin to fill it out, while the dream is still fresh. The longer you wait, the less re-call you'll have, so try to do the work of fleshing out your dream as soon as you can. Sometimes when I don't have time immediately to do this, I'll work on the dream consciously a number of times during my day, each time going over the dream from start to finish and listening to my intuition about the dream and it's initial meaning to me.

After you have the dream fleshed out and written down, you need to look at the three "P's" which are:

1) People 2) Plot 3) Place

Starting with "People," write down on a separate piece of paper all the characters in your dream. Leave space underneath each one and on the left put a heading of "Positive" and on the right put the heading of "Negative."

Now write down all the positive traits, characteristics, strengths, etc. of each of the people in your dream. Write down what you like about them and why. And then write down under the heading of "Negative" all the negative traits, weaknesses, character flaws, etc, of the person. Where is it that they fail to hit the mark? Where is it that they fall down or fall short in life?

If the person in the dream isn't known consciously to you, then ask yourself who he/she reminds you of - and then do the above with the positive and negative traits and characteristics. If the character(s) in your dream are faceless and unambiguous, write this down also under their heading (from a Jungian perspective, the shadowy figures in our dreams may represent some aspect of our unconscious that we don't want to acknowledge or accept).

Also write down under the character a description of the person - are they dressed appropriately for the scene, or are they so wildly dressed or undressed that it's really noticible. Is there anything unusual or "special" about the person. Do they stand out head over heels above everyone else in the dream? Do they in any way remind you of somebody else? A previous time?

After you have an opportunity of doing the "People" work, then read what you've written and ask yourself where is the person in yourself right now - are you being warned against relying too much upon the energy that they represent to get a job done or to meet a challenge in your life? Or, are you being urged to use the energy that the person represents to positively move through a crisis or to meet and overcome an obstacle in your life? Ask yourself, where is this person in my life right now? Look for associations you make with the cast in your dream - how you identify or don't identify with each person.

Next is "Plot." What is going on in the dream? What are the cast of characters up to? What is the action or lack of action? Have you experienced this before in your life? Does the plot remind you of something? How did you feel upon waking from the dream? What does the action of the dream mean to you?

Then we look at "Place." Where is the dream taking place? Is it a place you've been to at some point in your past? Is it a place you've always wanted to go to? What do the surroundings of your dream remind you of?

Looking at the three "P's" of your dream, ask yourself where these are within yourself right now. Listen to your mental processes as you make associations with aspects of the dream.

Another approach I use is to imagine a "Martian" seated across the table from me, who doesn't in the foggiest understand the aspect of the dream I'm working on. How would I go about describing it fully to this "Martian" so he/she could understand it? Write this down and then go over it, looking at your words you chose to articulate the description of something, somebody or someplace to this "Martian." As you read this dialogue with the "Martian" ask yourself where in yourself these traits, qualities, descriptors, etc. are right now?

Repeating dreams are sent to you by the "Dream-Maker" because there is an important message for you that you haven't understood yet. Additionally, from a Jungian perspective things, people, places, etc. in your dream that are on your right are connected with the world of work and the world of conscious reality. People, plot and place in your dream that are on your left can represent the unconsious and non-physical reality. Driving a car can represent being in charge of how you are deciding to make your way in life. Being in a car where someone else drives can represent feeling out-of-control in your life. Being in a car where someone else is driving in a very dangerous and unsafe manner can be a warning about something in your life that requires immediate attention.

Dreams can forewarn us. We can be given direction in our lives through our dreams. We can use the following simple yet extremely effective technique to interact with our "Dream-Maker:" As we go to sleep at night, hold a problem in your mind - perhaps an issue that you want clarification on, or an obstacle that looms and you would appreciate some feedback on. Ask of the "Dream-Maker" (and/or ask of God) what it is that you need to know right now about this _______, and that this information be revealed to you through your dreams, and that you have recall of the dream upon awakening. And then say, with reverence, "Thanks for your help." Let yourself go to sleep knowing that your request has been heard, and that you will be given direction and a response to your question will be in an upcoming dream. Perhaps that night, perhaps the next two or three nights. The more pressing the issue, the more immediate your response will be.

The more you work with your dreams, the more the "Dream-Maker" will give you. The more you put into your work, the more you get out. Nobody can do it for you. This is not something you can throw money at until it belches up an answer for you. It is my belief that your direct involvement is needed to realize in the most meaningful way the answer you seek. Don't worry about getting the full intent right off the bat - the "Dream-Maker" will see to it that any aspect not fully understood by you will be sent to you again in the same or perhaps slightly different form and wrapper.

Finally, if the dream calls for action on your part, you need to act. A repeating dream may indicate that you have chosen inaction over doing something constructive about the issue or problem.

We always should be on the lookout for the associations we make with the three "P's." Always ask ourselves, "where is this right now in myself?" As we go through the three "P's," we may begin to get a sense of what the dream is about. The meaning of the dream may get clearer and clearer the more we work on the dream.

It is my hope that this is an introduction to your quest for understanding your dreams. If I've succeeded in pointing you in the right direction, then my job has been done.

Some books that I recommend are:
"Encyclopedia Of Dreams" by Rosemary Ellen Guilley
"Little Course in Dreams" by Robert Bosnak
"Dream Book" by Betty Bethards
"Secret Language of Dreams" by David Fontana

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