Throughout history, people have attempted to decode the meaning of dreams. Beyond the multiple orientations, the consensus today is that dreams are loaded with elements typical of the dreamer’s subjectivity. The Psychosynthesis approach to dream work is to help the dreamer reclaim those parts of themselves or of their history that are acted out in the dream.

To guide us in this process it helps to remember that dream figures lend themselves to various levels of interpretation, which can be a rich source of information and guidance for the dreamer. Different interpretations are often interlinked and complementary. For example, the image of a rabid dog could represent:

• an aggressive and angry part of us (subpersonality);
• a significant angry person from our past (the parent or other substitute figures);
• a significant angry person in our present (spouse, employer, friends…);
• some aggressive collective instance (when the dream stages contents of the collective unconscious);
• and, finally, it may represent our actual dog that is, in fact, quite aggressive.

Psychosynthesis is also particularly interested in discerning the possible appearance of higher unconscious aspects within dreams, as it may sometimes happen that authentic self-actualising aspirations make themselves felt through this expressive channel.

PRACTICAL TIPS

There are countless ways to work with dreams. In addition to mentally recalling and telling a dream, we can:

• complete an unfinished dream, if necessary
• create variations of a dream by inventing a different ending, eliminating or inserting other elements
• compare it with other dreams, observing similarities and differences etc.
• draw or illustrate the dream contents in various ways
• make a three-dimensional model of the dream (using clay, etc.)
• turn the dream into a fairy tale
• pick up some cues for games and make-believe
• turn it into a poem
• make a synthesis of the dream, maybe by drawing a mandala with all its characters etc.
• use it to acquire new imaginative skills
• playact the different dream characters and imitate them
• transform the characters into masks and wear them
• create a tableau vivant of the dream, casting different people in the various roles
• dramatize the dream or a part of it

These and more activities are charmingly described by the psychosynthesist Renzo Rossin in his beautiful book, Crescere sognando (La Meridiana 2009) – which could be translated as Inner growth through dreaming.

For more:

• Know, Love, Transform yourself (Vol. I), Psychosynthesis books (pp. 175-185) – Buy now
• Know, Love, Transform yourself (Vol. II) – Buy now