Dreamwork

Dreamwork is the exploration of the images and emotions that a dream presents and evokes. It differs from classical dream interpretation in that it does not attempt to establish a unique meaning for the dream. In this way the dream remains "alive" whereas if it has been assigned a specific meaning, it is "finished" (i.e., over and done with). Dreamworkers take the position that a dream may have a variety of meanings depending on the levels (e.g. subjective, objective) that are being explored. A belief of dreamwork is that each person has their own dream "language". Any given place, person, object, or symbol can differ in its meaning from dreamer to dreamer and also from time to time in the dreamer's ongoing life situation. Thus someone helping a dreamer get closer to their dream through dreamwork adopts an attitude of "not knowing" as far as possible. In dreamwork it is usual to wait until all the questions have been asked—and the answers carefully listened to—before the dreamworker (or dreamworkers if it is done in a group setting) offers any suggestions about what the dream might mean. In fact, a dreamworker often prefaces any interpretation by saying, "if this were my dream, it might mean..." (a technique first developed by Montague Ullman, Stanley Krippner, and Jeremy Taylor and now widely practiced).…

Dreamwork is the exploration of the images and emotions that a dream presents and evokes. It differs from classical dream interpretation in that it does not attempt to establish a unique meaning for the dream. In this way the dream remains "alive" whereas if it has been assigned a specific meaning, it is "finished" (i.e., over and done with). Dreamworkers take the position that a dream may have a variety of meanings depending on the levels (e.g. subjective, objective) that are being explored. A belief of dreamwork is that each person has their own dream "language". Any given place, person, object, or symbol can differ in its meaning from dreamer to dreamer and also from time to time in the dreamer's ongoing life situation. Thus someone helping a dreamer get closer to their dream through dreamwork adopts an attitude of "not knowing" as far as possible. In dreamwork it is usual to wait until all the questions have been asked—and the answers carefully listened to—before the dreamworker (or dreamworkers if it is done in a group setting) offers any suggestions about what the dream might mean. In fact, a dreamworker often prefaces any interpretation by saying, "if this were my dream, it might mean..." (a technique first developed by Montague Ullman, Stanley Krippner, and Jeremy Taylor and now widely practiced). In this way, dreamers are not obliged to agree with what is said and may use their own judgment in deciding which comments appear valid or provide insight. If the dreamwork is done in a group, there may well be several things that are said by participants that seem valid to the dreamer but it can also happen that nothing does. Appreciation of the validity or insightfulness of a comment from a dreamwork session can come later, sometimes days after the end of the session. Dreamwork or dream-work can also refer to Sigmund Freud's idea that a person's forbidden and repressed desires are distorted in dreams, so they appear in disguised forms. Freud used the term 'dreamwork' or 'dream-work' (Traumarbeit) to refer to "operations that transform the latent dream-thought into the manifest dream". ==See also== Oneirology Oneiromancy Oneironautics Lucid dreaming Dreams in analytical psychology Dreaming (journal) International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) ==References== ==Further reading== Bixler-Thomas, G. Dreams: Artwork of the Collective Unconscious, Houston, Texas, (1998). Delaney, G. New Directions in Dream Interpretation, State University of New York Press, Albany, New York, (1993). Freud, Sigmund. Interpretation of Dreams, multiple publishers & translators; 1st pub. Vienna, Austria (1899). Funkhouser, ArthurYour Dream Cow is not as I Imagined it to be, Primary Care, 2013. Funkhouser, ArthurA Way to do Dreamwork, 2020. Garfield, Patricia L, Creative Dreaming (1974) Hoss, R.J. Dream Language, Innersource, Ashland, Oregon, (2005). Krippner, S. Dreamtime & Dreamwork, Jeremy P. Tarcher, New York City (1990). Lasley, J. Honoring the Dream, PG Print, Marietta, Georgia, (2004). Muff, J., From the wings of the night: Dream work with people who have acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (1996), Holistic Nursing Practice 10(4):69–87. Siivola, M. Understanding Dreams - The Gateway to Dreams Without Dream Interpretation, Cosimo Books, New York, 2011. Sowton, Christopher Dreamworking: How to Listen to the Inner Guidance of your Dreams, Christopher Sowton, Llewellyn Publications, Woodbury, Minnesota, (2017). Taylor, J. The Wisdom of Your Dreams, Jeremy P. Tarcher Inc., New York, (2009). (Reissue of "Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill", Warner Books, 1992.) Ullman, M.; Zimmermann, N. Working with Dreams, Jeremy P.Tarcher Inc., Los Angeles, CA, 1985. Ullman, M. Appreciating Dreams: A Group Approach, Cosimo Books, New York, 2006. Van de Castle, R. Our Dreaming Mind, Ballantine Books, New York (1994). Whitman, R.M., Dreamwork 1966—a symposium. An overview of current research into sleep and dreams (1966), Ohio State medical Journal 62(12):1271–2. ==External links== International Association for the Study of Dreams, research in dreaming Dreamwork ethics, ethical guidelines for dreamwork

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