Intuition and Dreams

Psychologist, Dr. Marcia Emery, Program Instructor.

Session 2

As you become involved with dream interpretation, you will be come adept at interpreting the messages sent by the dreaming mind. A dream symbol or image can be viewed in two different ways. First, the symbol can be literal, or manifest. With these symbols, what you see is what you get; so if you dream of having a baby, don't be surprised to find out that a new family member is on the way

The second way that dreams can be interpreted is to unravel the meaning of the latent or underlying symbol. The dreaming mind can sort through endless possibilities before finally choosing a relevant symbol to represent people or events in your life.

For example, a dream of having a baby could symbolically represent "a new project on the way" or even giving birth to "a new you". If you are surprised to dream about a particular person, you may have to decipher what this person symbolizes or represents. If you dream of Jack, does he symbolically stand for another person named Jack, or someone who looks like Jack, or even an individual that share the same profession as Jack? Uncoding these symbols is the detective part of the dreamwork.

Without requesting specific input, you can let a dream come spontaneously and unsolicited. With this unguided approach, your dream content may or may not relate to a specific problem. That does not imply the dream content will not be meaningful; just that it may not address a particular problem on your mind. To court a spontaneous dream, simply be receptive to receive a dream about anything.

Many people actively program a dream to resolve a nagging problem, get insight into another person's action, or discover creative inspiration. If you want your dreaming mind to show you how to bridge the gap with your new assistant, you post the question, "How can my new assistant and I improve our communication?" Dr. Gayle Delaney, a California psychologist, calls this process "dream incubation." I recommend reading her books, Living your Dreams and Breakthrough Dreaming,to deepen your understanding of dream incubation or programming.

Basically, you formulate a question before going to sleep to summon an answer or clarification from your dreaming mind. Here is an example of dream incubation. Are you wondering about forming a closer relationship with someone at work? program your dreaming mind to give you a response to this situation by writing the following question in your dream journal: Will I spend time outside of work with my new workmate?

Decision-making questions can also be used for programming. If you are asking about the feasibility of starting a new career at this point in your life, you might ask, "Should I make a career change?"

With practice, you can recall your dreams. You will find tapes listed on at the end of this course that will help you master the basics of dreaming and take you into the sleep state. Successful dream recall entails the following steps.

Engage in daytime activities that facilitate dream recall. Several times throughout the day, give yourself the suggestion, "I will remember my dreams" and then, at bedtime, go to sleep anticipating a dream that will give you insight. If you chose to program a dream, it is essential to pose a question for a dream response. For example, if you are concerned about a career change, you want to focus on this situation intermittently throughout the day. Suggest to your dreaming mind several times throughout the day that you will remember your dream about making a career change.
Set up your dream journal. This can be a notebook or spiral memo book that is easy to carry. Have a pen, which can be used while you are lying down or sitting up. And last, see if you can obtain a small penlight that can be attached to your journal. I suggest placing the journal, pen, and penlight on a nightstand next to your bed. Keeping these materials close at hand reflects a serious commitment to record your dreams.
Prepare your dream area. This will help encourage dream recall so you can avoid distractions. For example, a blaring alarm clock in the morning can be jarring whereas a clock radio playing gentle music can be soothing. Be certain that you are comfortable in your sleep environment. If you have difficulty sleeping because the room is too cold or to warm, this will preoccupy you and distract the dreaming mind.
Develop presleep rituals. Slow down the outer activities as you approach bedtime. Try to avoid stimulants such as alcohol, coffee, or tea with caffeine. You might meditate, listen to relaxing music, or take a soothing hot bath before getting into bed. Once in bed, take your dream journal out and write the date in the left-hand margin. To ensure complete clarity, date it the night and morning it was dreamed. If I put down May 25/26, this would mean the night of the 25th and the morning of the 26th during May.

If you are programming a dream, you want to record the day residue, incubation discussion, and incubation phrase in your dream notebook.

Day Residue: Write a brief paragraph under the heading, "Day Residue." In a few sentences, describe your day's activities. You might also note any emotional or physical reactions left over form the day that might influence your dreams. For example, are you feeling joy or sadness? Have you felt alert, tired, drained or weary during the past day? Are you unusually hot, cold or sweaty? These "day notes" can also be written for a spontaneous dream if you choose.

Incubation Discussion: Record a discussion that will center on the question you want to resolve. Probe your mind by asking;

Incubation or Programming Phrase: Then write your incubation or programming phrase, which is a one line question that will help you answer this predicament. This maybe simply put by asking, "Is a career move appropriate for me at this time of my life?" When drifting off to sleep, focus on that programming phrase and give yourself the suggestion several times that your dream will show you the right perspective about making a career move.

5. Take care on awakening (to collect and hold on to your dream). Be gentle upon awakening and don't move or even open your eyes until you are ready to record. This is a delicate time, so lie as still as possible while you are recalling the dream. Changing positions or quick movements will quickly chase away the dream memory.

Focus completely on retrieving any dream image. If you are having difficulty remembering the dream, lie still until you can "pull up a thread" to help you retrieve the complete dream. For example, one morning I seemed to wait endlessly for a clue. Suddenly, I remembered seeing a "stop sign." With that thread, I easily reconstructed the rest of the dream.

Start with the last scene and work backward until you are led to the previous scene. You might want to rehearse these dream details several times until the dream is clearly embedded in our memory. I must emphasize that it is vital to lie still while any fleeting thoughts, feelings and images surface.

6. Record the dream in your journal. Now you are ready to record the dream in your journal. Sometimes the hardest thing is to get up and record these dream memories. At the very least, force yourself to make notes. Even if you awaken in the middle of the night or early morning, record any notes that will help you recall the dream later. If you awaken during the middle of the night and don't feel coherent enough to write in your journal, have a pad handy to record any recollections.

Each dream can be recorded on a separate page. Honor any fragment, flash, emotion, or one-liner. Every bit of information is important. Eventually, your dreams will become longer and more detailed. Make certain you are including the setting, the characters appearing in the dream with whom you may be familiar or unfamiliar, and any other significant symbols.

After making your entry, give the dream a title. You might want to note any emotional feelings you have as a result of the dream. If anything stands out graphically, draw those figures in your journal.

Leave some space so you can relate the dream information to your waking experience. You will make bridges between the symbolic images presented and the reality of your life. As you continue to make entries in your dream book, the symbolic meanings of the symbols will become clarified.

I am deer hunting on my property. Brother had a four-point buck go right next to him but didn't shoot. Buck turned into a doe. When I awaken, I realize that I need to spend more "quality" time with my brother and his family.

My wife and I have been looking at buying some lake property. Last night I dreamed of mowing the lawn of a lake house with my riding mower. The prior night I had been talking with my father about what a good decision it was to trade my large Ford tractor for the new smaller lawn tractor. Although I didn't want to part with my old Ford, it was the right thing to do.

Interpretation: I believe this dream confirmed that our continued search for the "right" lake house is the right thing to do. I also believe that the dream indicated that the right place will come along, just as the right tractor did. The details of the lake house in the dream are sketchy at best, but I'll bet it is similar to the place we end up with.