Dreamwork Is Amazing

Added: 11/29/2006

Dreamwork is the way we work and play with dreams and in dreams. Sigmund Freud used the word "dreamwork" to mean the opposite, the way dreams play and work with us. But generally dreamwork means that we are doing something with the dream either while we are dreaming or with the dream image as it is recorded or remembered. There are no clear scientific answers about the meaning of your dreams. Different groups give different meaning to dreams. This doesn't mean that dreams don't have meaning.

Just like when I walk down a street and open an umbrella, it means different things. Sometimes it means I think its going to rain. Sometimes I want to keep the sun off my face, and other times I just want to play. In other words, the context will give different meanings to a scene. The same is true for dreams. If you are seeing a therapist and tell them a dream about a flower you found on your doorway, this may have a very different meaning than if you were telling your lover this dream. However, the therapists interprets your dream, they will eventually want you to learn to interpret them yourself. Perhaps with you lover, you will learn to interpret dreams together. Either way, you are the final authority on the meaning and value of your dreams.

However, most of us can't resist finding out what other people are dreaming about and the meanings that they give to their dreams. The word "dreamwork" here is used to mean anyone who works and plays with dreams. Some dreamwork is a psychotherapist, others are artist who allow dreams to inspire their creations. But most dreamworkers are people who explore dreams to better understand the meaning and value of their lives. I will be drawing on all these uses of the word, though the last is perhaps the most relevant. A dreamer's decision to share or discontinue sharing a dream should always be respected and honored. The dreamer should be forewarned that unexpected issues or emotions may arise in the course of the dreamwork. Information and mutual agreement about the degree of privacy and confidentiality are essential ingredients in creating a safe atmosphere for dream sharing.

Note that dreamwork ethics are somewhat different than clinical ethics. Dreamworkers are generally considered to be anyone working with dreams. This may be dreamwork in a clinical setting, a institutional group setting, private counseling, grassroots support groups and/or large lecture hall demonstrations.

Sometimes people dream of cheating boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, and other lovers. For example:

Dream: " I was just getting back from the store when I looked in my bedroom window and saw by boyfriend in bed with my best friend."
Dreams of cheating partners are very common and often give us a jolt. Since we have all heard that dreams might predict the future or reveal deeper meanings, the fear arises that our lovers might be cheating on us. Usually this is unfounded. Here are some questions I ask myself:
1. How likely is this to be literally true? If it is likely, I would confront my lover, not by saying I had caught her in a dream, but that I had a dream about it and tell the lover my fears.
2. If its *not* likely, I would see the people in the dreams as parts of myself. Carl Jung saw the act of sex as a symbol of union. So if my husband, who is a very thoughtful type, was in bed with my friend, who is very emotional, I might ask myself what would happen if I joined my own thoughtful side with my emotional side?
As you can see, this technique works just as well for me. That is, if I dream I am cheating on my lover, but would never do this in waking life, then it is an opportunity for me to join with some of the characteristics of the dream lover. If Scott is a hard working person and I'm more of a happy go lucky person, I can use the dream to explore what it would be like to mix these qualities in my life.
These unexpected unions in dreams can lead some very positive growth once we get over the belief that they might be literally true.

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