The Dream Sourcebook: A Guide to the Theory and Interpretation of Dreams (4 page)

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Authors: Phyllis R. Koch-Sheras

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BOOK: The Dream Sourcebook: A Guide to the Theory and Interpretation of Dreams
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The symbol language our dreams speak to us is like a puzzle to solve, and the reward for our efforts is a deeper understanding of ourselves and how we think and feel. Although we will give you several suggested meanings for dream symbols, we do not believe a "dream dictionary" with page after page of symbols and their meanings would be sufficient to give you the expertise you need to understand your dreams. It is up to you to use the suggestions in this sourcebook to develop your own personal dictionary of what your dream symbols mean to you. We can offer suggestionsthat a bird might symbolize freedom, for example, or an oak tree strengthbut it's up to you to decide whether these possibilities are relevant for you. No two people have had exactly the same life experience, and so no two people will interpret a symbol the exact same way. As with any other language, the more you practice dream language, the more fluent you will become.
There is no one right way to work with your dreams, just as there is no one correct interpretation of a dream. This book offers a cross section of what researchers, theorists, and people of various cultures have thought about dreams over the centuries. We also offer the dreamwork techniques that have been most popular and successful over the years. But it is up to you to choose your own path, to discover your own route on the map, to lead yourself to your source through the study of your dreams.
As for the dreaming itself, simply knowing a little more about how and why you dream can open a whole new world of consciousness for you, a world you can remember, a world filled with dream helpers and dream symbols and dream landscapes. You'll discover a world in which you can spend time with those you love, living or dead, remember forgotten people, places, and events from the past, visit places exotic and familiar, have
 
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intimate contact with famous figures from the past or present, confront enemies and triumph over danger, and so much more.
You spend about a third of your life sleeping. And you dream more than a thousand dreams a yearwhether you remember your dreams or not. By the time you turn seventy, you will have spent about six years of your life in Dreamland. Make the most of it. Dare to dream!
 
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Chapter One
What's in a Dream? What We Think and What We Know
What is a dream? Is it a story that evolves in your mind, all in a single flash, moving from start to finish in seconds? Why do you dream more vividly one night than another? Was it spicy food eaten late at night? And those fragmented images you imagine just as you are falling asleepare those dreams or merely thoughts? When does a dream become a nightmare?
To begin with, we need to establish some common terminology, so that we are speaking the same language about dreams. The word
dream
appears in many expressions: "dreamy" and "dreamland" and "dream up," "dream house'' and ''dream boat" and "dream lover," "hopes and dreams" and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream." A dream holds power, promise, and inspiration.
Webster's New World Dictionary
defines the word
dream
in five ways: first, as "a sequence of sensations, images, thoughts,
 
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etc., passing through a sleeping person's mind"; second, as "a fanciful vision, a fantasy"; third, as "a state of reverie"; fourth, as ''a fond hope or aspiration"; and fifth, as "anything so lovely, charming, transitory, etc., as to seem dreamlike.''
Indeed, any of these definitions rings true for us as dreamers. Linguists say the Modern English language word
dream
is derived from the Middle English
dreem
or
dreme,
which harkens back to the Old English word
dream,
meaning "joy" and "music" or "noise," and also to the Old Norse
draumr,
meaning "dream" (which is related to the Old High German
troum,
which also means "dream").
Centuries ago, people in many cultures believed dreams were presented by an outside force and intended to serve as oracles or omens. Later, people theorized that dreams were caused by anxiety, household noises, and even indigestion. Dreaming is certainly a mysterious process: Images float by, often at lightning speed, improbable events seem commonplace, people from our past emerge, people we have never met become our close friends or bitter enemies. A concentrated effort in dream research since 1952 has netted some concrete results, enabling us to define dreaming as a psychophysiological (or mind-body) process and to begin to understand the role dreams play in basic human functioning. The prevailing notion, based on psychological research and scientific study, is that dreams are our own inventions, born of a mind that remains fully activewith brain waves racing and five senses perceivingeven as we slumber in relative physical calm. Here is the definition that scientific research has given us: A dream is a period of spontaneous brain activity usually lasting from about five to forty minutes that occurs during sleep several times a night, usually at about ninety-minute intervals.
 
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Types of Dreams
Althoagh we will be referring throughout this book to dreams in general, it is useful to keep in mind some distinctions about particular kinds of dreams. There are several different types of dreams.
Fantasy, Daydream, and Waking Dream
Many people think of a fantasy as something sexualan imagined encounter with an acquaintance, famous person, or even a stranger. Still others think of a fantasy as akin to a fairy tale, the stuff of unicorns and witches and princesses in towers. But as a psychological term, fantasy means anything your mind conjures up while awake. The fantasy may be a response to a real situation: Your new boyfriend cancels plans with you and your fantasy is that he has met someone else and is going out with her instead. Or it may be a daydream or "waking dream": You are awake, and as your mind begins to wander, you lose yourself in an imagined scenario such as winning an award, saving the president's life, or attacking your former girlfriend and her date. The content of fantasy or daydream is unrestricted, and can be positive or negative. It is like a dream in that you follow your imagination where it takes you, rather than guiding the images as you would in normal waking thought. Research shows an inclination to daydreaming or fantasy for a period of 70 to 120 minutes during the waking day, but it differs from a dream in that you are in a waking state rather than a sleeping state while it occurs.
Another kind of waking dream that is more consciously self-directed can be called a
visioning dream
. Phyllis Koch-Sheras and her husband, Peter Sheras, coined this term in
The Dream Sharing Sourcebook
to describe a dream "built on the foundation of your own actual experience," as opposed to a night dream or
 
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daydream, which may be random, or without any basis in reality. A visioning dream is similar to an affirmation or visualization consciously constructed to depict your future based on achieving certain personal goals. These kinds of dreams can be particularly powerful when created and shared with others. For example, a newly married couple may design a visioning dream for themselves that is more concrete and inspiring than "happily ever after" by stating and visualizing themselves as having an open, loving relationship, sharing feelings, and creating a comfortable home together. More information on working on visioning and other dreams together is included in chapter 9.
Though we usually do not tend to analyze our waking dreams or fantasies, it is possible to apply the same principles of dream-work to this kind of dream and discover more about our conscious and unconscious selves. Whether it be your own daydream or a "guided fantasy" (see chapter 6), you have the opportunity to participate directly in your waking dream by engaging with the characters and themes as they develop. What may seem like a mundane or meaningless act in your fantasy has dream content of its own and can spark powerful insights if you pay attention to it. So, while you may be tempted to dismiss your daydreams as inconsequential, let yourself appreciate and work with them as with any other dream.
Lucid Dream
Have you ever realized you were dreaming while the dream was still happening? That is what dream experts call a lucid dream. Most people have had this experience at some time, and it is often during a nightmare, when the fear of the situation suddenly lifts as you say to yourself, Wait a minute, this is only a dream! A lot of times, however, dreamers wake themselves up as
 
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soon as they notice they are dreaming. Next time it happens to you, try to stay in that state of dreaming sleep and pay attention to where your conscious dreaming takes you. (Chapter 6 outlines lucid dreaming in detail, offering techniques to cultivate this type of dream awareness.)
Nightmare
We just mentioned that lucid dreams often take place during nightmares. What is a nightmare really? Is it different from a scary dream? Not really. A nightmare is a disturbing dream that causes the dreamer to wake up feeling anxious or frightened. The content of the dream is easily recalled, and while the plot may seem silly in the clear light of day (being pursued by a neon-colored Frankenstein, riding in a car with no wheels) the strong emotions are all too real, and may stay with the dreamer for several days.
"Let Not Our Babbling Dreams Affright Our Souls."
William Shakespeare
Most people have nightmares about being chased; for children, the pursuer is usually an animal or a fantasy figure such as a monster. For adults, the pursuer is usually an unknown male figure. Nightmares also feature a king of replay of real-life traumatic events, and are often brought on by these events. Drugs, illness, and stress all seem to contribute to the likelihood that a dreamer will have a nightmare.
But even without these factors in place, just about everyone has had a nightmare at some point in life. Nightmares are actually considered a normal part of child development, occurring frequently in children under age ten, who are still learning the basics of negotiating their fears and conflicts. Grown-ups have them too, however. In fact, studies suggest that as many as one
 
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in ten adults has nightmares at least once a month, with women reporting three times as many as men do. (Both children and adults can benefit a great deal from candid discussion of the monsters in their minds; for this reason, we believe there are no "bad dreams," though some are scary or disturbing.)
Dream researcher Ernest Hartmann has discovered that, unlike people who suffer from night terrors, people who have frequent nightmares have a distinct personality profile. Hartmann reports that most nightmare sufferers were as sensitive as children, remember their childhoods clearly, have family histories of psychiatric disturbance, have had some bad drug experience, have contemplated suicide, have stormy relationships, and tend to have "fluid" sexual identities and "thin boundaries."
Night Terror
A child wakes up in an extreme state of panic, perhaps screaming out in fear and appearing dazed. Her heart races, she perspires, and she just can't seem to calm down. She may even hallucinate. Yet when you ask her what she was dreaming about, she might not be able to remember. The only thing she knows is that she is absolutely terrified. This is a night terror. How does it differ from a nightmare? Put simply, you could say that night terrors are basically severe nightmares. They are common in children ages three to five, but can also occur in older children and adults. Research shows that nearly two-thirds of adults say they have had one night terror or more. Night terrors are more frequent in males than females, though both boys and girls usually outgrow them by adolescence. (Chapter 9 offers some tips on how to learn from children's nightmares, and to cope with night terrors, which, perhaps, should be dealt with in a different way than nightmares.)

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