From Robert Bosnak's "A Little Course in Dreams" chapter 3.
Check in with yourself before you hear a dream told for the first time. What is your baseline? What body sensations are you aware of? What's your energy level? How's your mood? Any complexes acting up? Now you'll have something to compare against -- you'll be able recognize what changes as you're listening to the dream.
Ask to hear the dream twice. The first time through, Bosnak recommends that you keep half your attention for when your mind wanders and what it wanders to. What feelings, desires or images arise in you in response to the dream? If you get bored, "take it as a rule of thumb that resistances are present... on the part of the dreamer (p. 30)". If your mind wanders, "let that image sink in briefly and see whether an underlying parallel to the dream develops (p. 30)". Or say you realize you've been holding your breath - maybe the atmosphere of the dream is claustrophobic.
The second time through, keep your attention on the dream images you're hearing. Observe the dreamer as she tells her story. Be in the story with the dreamer. Notice new connections that pop up, the tempo. Notice what point of view you see the action from.
"At this point you might throw up your hands in despair and say, "I can't cope with all this at the same time." In that case... Forget all the remarks I've made until now... In this work it is important to learn things and then forget them again so as not to hamper the faculty of spontaneous observation, through which you can discover your own strengths in working with dreams (p. 32)."
Tips to share with the dreamer:
• "tell the dream as much as possible from inside; that is, as though the dream were taking place right now (p. 31)"
• "let the dream speak (p . 32), without looking at the written text
Check in with yourself before you hear a dream told for the first time. What is your baseline? What body sensations are you aware of? What's your energy level? How's your mood? Any complexes acting up? Now you'll have something to compare against -- you'll be able recognize what changes as you're listening to the dream.
Ask to hear the dream twice. The first time through, Bosnak recommends that you keep half your attention for when your mind wanders and what it wanders to. What feelings, desires or images arise in you in response to the dream? If you get bored, "take it as a rule of thumb that resistances are present... on the part of the dreamer (p. 30)". If your mind wanders, "let that image sink in briefly and see whether an underlying parallel to the dream develops (p. 30)". Or say you realize you've been holding your breath - maybe the atmosphere of the dream is claustrophobic.
The second time through, keep your attention on the dream images you're hearing. Observe the dreamer as she tells her story. Be in the story with the dreamer. Notice new connections that pop up, the tempo. Notice what point of view you see the action from.
"At this point you might throw up your hands in despair and say, "I can't cope with all this at the same time." In that case... Forget all the remarks I've made until now... In this work it is important to learn things and then forget them again so as not to hamper the faculty of spontaneous observation, through which you can discover your own strengths in working with dreams (p. 32)."
Tips to share with the dreamer:
• "tell the dream as much as possible from inside; that is, as though the dream were taking place right now (p. 31)"
• "let the dream speak (p . 32), without looking at the written text