Dream interpretation goes back thousands of years. Dreams are even mentioned in the Bible as being messages from God. DreamWorking is the art of working with your dreams, even beyond interpretation. What good is the information you receive and interpret if you don't use it? Native Americans use dreamworking frequently as do many other spiritual peoples around the world. Below are the 7 steps you need to know if you want to begin the art of dreamworking.

1. Keep a dream journal

Keeping a dream journal will not only aid in recalling your dreams, but also gives you a log of dreams you have had and past interpretations. Just as important is its use in determining patterns and interpreting prophetic dreams (psychic dreaming). Dream journals are a crucial part of dream interpretation. It doesn't have to be anything fancy; just a notebook next to your bed is fine.

Keep a space in the back of the notebook for an alphabetical listing of your associations for future reference. This listing is called a symbol dictionary and may not always be the same associations, but if they change, you can see how one can make use of that information.  You can also see all the dreams where that symbol showed up.

2. Recall your dreams

You can not interpret your dreams accurately without first recalling your dreams. Keeping a journal is a good step but there are other tricks you can use as well. When you wake up, try to think about how you are feeling. Sometimes recalling the overall mood of a dream will bring it back into focus. If you feel yourself waking up from a dream, don't resist. Stay in the position you woke up in. Try to recall as much as you can, writing it in your journal. Usually, recording parts of your dream will bring back most of it as you are writing. If you don't think you dream at all, set an alarm for the middle of the night. Sometimes waking up "off balance" will aid in triggering a recall response.

3. Rely on your own interpretations

Unless you are honestly stuck on part of your dream, do NOT use a dream dictionary. Most symbols can not be universal. Suppose you are dreaming of riding a horse naked down a beach? What would that mean to you? What if you are afraid of horses? What if you love horses? What if it was a town, not a beach, or suppose a dark forest? What if the horse was blood red?

Interpretation is a personal thing. Symbols are based on what YOU think they are, not what others think. What means one thing for one person, can mean something else for another. The setting or mood of the scene also plays a part. Keep this in mind when doing your interpretation. Use a dream dictionary sparingly.

4. Incubate a dream

The incubation of dreams is a very important part of dreamworking. What good is a random dream? Wouldn't it be great to dream about a solution to a problem or nagging question? Similar to prayer, dream incubation can give you the answer you are looking for. When some pray, they do not know how to "receive" the answer from God. Incubating a dream can do this. The Bible says in Job 33:14-16: "For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night when deep sleep falleth upon men slumbering upon their bed, then He openth their ears and sealeth in their instructions."

It is beyond the scope of this article to give detailed instructions for incubating a dream. In brief, go to bed thinking of the question. It should be a single, precise and clear question. Write it down and place it under your pillow. Repeat the question as you are falling asleep.
 

5. Act out your dreams

Acting out your dreams with a group of people is a great way to get a feeling of the dream. Discuss the dream with the other participants. Ask how each felt in their role. See if you can gain new insight from the "play." This can be best done in a dream group environment.

If you don't have others to involve in re-enacting your dream, you can use sandplay. Using a sandtable or similar device, find objects around the home to represent the characters and symbols in your dream. Then, act out the dream using these objects with you acting out all the parts. This may give you more insight from within yourself, but it leaves out others' perspectives.

6. Interpret your dream

Using one of many methods, you now need to interpret your dream. Associate each character and object in the dream. Could this part of the dream be showing you a side of yourself? Has that side been showing up a lot lately? How can you relate to the associations? Decide what the dream is trying to communicate to you. Is it advising you to do something?

7. Perform a ritual and complete the dreamwork

The whole purpose of dreamworking is to help you change your detrimental everyday habits. If you merely interpret your dream, then say, "Oh, that's interesting." but do nothing, you have wasted your time. You need to perform a ritual that shows you have understood the dream and you are acting on the information given to you to better yourself. Sometimes what to do is obvious, other times not. If not, do something symbolic like light a candle or say a prayer until you come up with what you need to do. If a dream is not complete when you awake, complete it yourself with a desirable outcome. If the outcome wasn't what you wanted, rescript it. Rescripting works great with nightmares.

The above steps are only a short guide. It takes a while to truly start to understand your dreams to the point where they can guide your life and help you understand yourself. No one can interpret your dreams accurately for you, but they can help you to interpret your own dreams. Done correctly, dreamworking will enhance your life, and possibly even help predict your future, or create a new one.

John Vercelletto, MCHt. Mr. Vercelletto is a Master Certified Hypnotist and Certified DreamWorker. He has been a member of and certified by the International Association of Counselors and Therapists (IACT) and the Hypnodyne Foundation. He is listed with the Hypnosis International Board of Registry and has been trained by Steven LaVelle and Vincent Lauria, among others. John was honored with the IACT award for Hypno-Innovation for his work combining hypnosis and dreamworking. His workshops and newsletter on the topic of dreamworking should not be missed. As a dream guide, he will help uncover the exact meanings of your dreams, and show you how to utilize your dreams to improve your life. John has a private practice for hypnosis, past life regression, and dreamworking in Long Island, NY. But for those that can't make it to NY, he offers worldwide workshops and online newsletters, education resources, and dreamworking services. Visit his site at http://www.dreamworkers.org.

http://www.dreamworkers.org