If It Were My Dream...

Whenever I do a dream group, I always use projective dreamwork. This is the type of dreamwork I would like to do here.

Let me explain a bit more. When someone reads a dream to you, you immediately begin imagining this dream in your mind. In a way, you have the dream. Then, when it comes time to interpret the dream, you are using the images you saw and the feelings you experienced. You don't know how the dreamer pictured it or experienced it. Even so, your experience of it can be valuable to the dreamer. That is why dream groups work so well.

However, dreamwork can get into the sticky realm of projection. Jeremy Taylor, who created projective dreamwork, wanted to make sure that projection remained in the consciousness of dream group members. He also wanted to ensure that people who joined dream groups were not doing pop psychology on one another. So he devised a method in which one always states, "If it were my dream..." before offering an analysis of a dream. This way, one's projection is identified.

For instance, pretend the image to the right is the lingering image from someone's dream. If I were working this dream, I would say, "If it were my dream, I would wonder if this mysterious and majestic tree that represents a part of myself that I am not acknowledging. It is beautiful, wispy and delicate. How am I beautiful, wispy and delicate?"

Two things are important in this statement. The first is, of course, saying, "if it were my dream" because it puts the focus on my interpretation. The second important piece is saying "the tree represents a part of myself I am not acknowledging." Using the word "myself," instead of "you," signals that I am, again, talking about my interpretation and not playing therapist with the dreamer.

It can be tricky to remember at first, but once dreamers get going, it becomes easier. And it feels better too, because people don't feel like they have to have all the answers: they can just share their impressions. The dreamer, in turn, does not feel like everyone is giving unsolicited advice.

In the end, only the dreamer truly knows what the dream is about. He or she can take, or leave, anything anyone in the group says. Often, what group members say is incredibly valuable. And that is why this method works so well.