USING DREAM EXPERIENCES

Keep a dream journal

Why record dreams?

The fact that dreams are so often forgotten on waking was one of the reasons Jung urged his clients to write them down straight away (an idea which seems obvious now, but was regarded as rather odd at the time). Another reason for recommending the regular recording of dreams was his interest in dream series. Keeping a journal helps us to recognise patterns and identify themes in our dreams – useful both for personal work and in using our dreams for story making. Particularly significant on both counts is Jung’s discovery that when we work with a series of dreams, later ones often correct mistakes we make in working on earlier ones. This is a dramatic illustration of the interactive process which occurs when we give dreams our full attention.

The very act of keeping a special book and recording our dreams thoughtfully in it, lets the psyche know that we are serious, and the psyche responds accordingly.

How should dreams be recorded?

Most therapists who work with dreams ask that they be related in the present tense. This reconnects the dreamer with the energies of the experience, and makes the work far more powerful. The same principle applies when we use dreams in story-making. Recording them in the present tense puts us in touch with the energies and gives the work immediacy. Reading them aloud can also be helpful. Taping this reading and playing it back to yourself can be very powerful.

• While the dream is still fresh in your memory, ask: ‘If this were a film, what would its title be?’ Record this title and your reasons for choosing it.
• Are there any changes you would like to make to this dream? If there are, record them.
• Ask ‘What happened next?’ and continue your dream in the form of a visualisation. Or ask ‘What was happening just before the point where my dream began?’ Record your answers.

Some people claim they never dream. In fact everybody dreams at regular intervals throughout their sleep-time, but the dreams are not always remembered. We can change this by actively encouraging the process, as described further on in this chapter. American dreamwork therapist Strephon Kaplan-Williams recommends recording your thoughts on waking each day, whether you remember any dreams or not. Like timed writing, this maintains the momentum of the process. The way in which you choose to organise your dream journal is a personal matter. You might record in a linear way or in chunks, chronologically or under themes. You might draw pictures, include cuttings, use coloured pens, etc.

A method I have found particularly useful for identifying patterns and themes, is the use of an A4 page-a-day any-year diary. In this I record dreams and, very briefly, significant daily events. This takes, at the most 15 lines. There are 52 lines to a page. At the end of the year I start again at 1 January, writing under the previous entry. By the third or fourth time round, patterns are very clear. The two-line days tend to be two-liners every year. The 15-liners may expand. Aggravation with the car tends to recur within a few days either side of the previous anniversary.

The computer crashes on the same evening as it did two years ago – and the dreams with certain themes tend to have their special times of year to recur as well. It is a weird and enlightening experience.

Checklist

Dreams:

• may be capable of putting us in touch with everything we have experienced
• may represent many aspects of the dreamer’s personality
• are best approached in a state of not knowing
• may be forgotten if not recorded straight away
• sometimes occur in series, and these can be self-regulating
• are best related in the present tense
• occur at regular intervals during sleep, but are not always remembered.