Acting Your Dreams: Using Acting Techniques to Interpret Your Dreams (2 page)

This workbook
is not meant to replace any other form of dream interpretation book already
available. It is meant to guide you through the process of opening your
unanswered letters from God via the convention of the theater… the theater of
the mind. By opening these letters you will learn more about yourself, and sink
deeper into that mystical land called dreaming. This book looks at the dream as
if it were a screenplay.

Let me say another
word of caution here. It is my understanding that dreams don't show us only
what we want to see, or help us get only what we think we need from them. That
would mean that we control our dreams. Dreams have their own purpose that
cannot be fully controlled by us consciously. No matter how good we become at lucid
dreaming or dream incubation or any other form of guiding our dreams, we are
still not going to be able to control them, and to try would be unhealthy.

Dreams like to
poke fun at us when we attempt to master them. They like to remind us that our
sight is limited. They like to show us those troubling areas in our lives that
we would rather not see. Unlike a rearview mirror, they do not have a blind
spot. And if they sense that we have developed a blind spot, they will force us
into that blind spot. But they do this only so that they can build us up, since
they don’t have any interest in tearing us down. They come to promote health.
So no matter how frightening and horrific a dream may seem, it’s there with a
purpose, to correct some oversight… to open up that blind spot. So to try and
conquer such a creature consciously without first trying to understand it would
only set us up for capture.

It seems it is
the dream’s purpose is to eradicate any false images that we may hold of
ourselves… be they positive, or negative. As Carl Jung once pointed out… “The
thing that cures a neurosis must be as convincing as the neurosis.” If there is
anything off balance, you can bet that the dream will be there to help bring it
back into balance, using only as much convincing as is needed.

Often we will
try to superimpose meanings to characters or dream scenes. Dreams tend to
resist that too. No playwright likes to have his work tampered with and the
Dreamwright is no exception. Dreams want us to look at them for what they are,
and for each person that's going to be a little different. We must adjust
ourselves to the dream, not the dream to ourselves. We must look at the dream
from the dream’s point of view.

Don't get
frightened if you think you’re not ready. That mustn’t deter you. Your dreams
respect honesty, and if you're genuine in your search of them, they will gladly
offer you any leeway you may need. One noted dream researcher, Jeremy Taylor,
observed,

“The
most naïve and blundering work with dreams, undertaken with wholeheartedness
and openness, will be profoundly useful.”

Take heart from
those words because your dreaming mind isn’t interested in humiliating or
scorning you. It wants you to understand. Your dreams are for you and are meant
for you to hear and understand on your level.

With that in
mind, we approach this task with honesty, and if you find this is difficult,
don't worry… your dreams won't. If they believe you're not being honest enough,
they'll let you know. They will gently break down those barriers and show you
what really matters in this life. You can count on that.

But that
doesn’t mean it’s all serious business either. In order to glean the full value
of our dreams we must also approach them with fun and anticipation. Dreams are
not meant to overwhelm us or to frighten us (unless they can't get our
attention any other way). They want to break down the barriers that separate us
from each other, from the greater universe, and from the "bigger"
you.

I should also
point out that this book isn’t going to be about dreams as there are already
many fine books on the subject. I will recommend some of my favorites later on.
This workbook assumes you’re already convinced that your dreams have much to
show you and that you’re ready to open God’s letters.

This question
has been asked by just about everyone who has ever decided to keep track of their
dreams. In reality you have so many dreams during the night that you would lose
sleep if you tried to write them all down. And it isn’t practical to keep a
nightly journal of dreams either, unless you’ve got nothing else to do but
write out your dreams. Even if you do decide that you want to keep a nightly
journal, it would be nearly impossible to open each letter. The beauty of the
dream is that those letters are often understood on a subconscious level and
don’t necessarily need to be brought to a conscious level.

The ones to
watch are the ones that create a lot of emotion during their debut. If you wake
up feeling frightened, for example, then that is probably a very good letter to
open. Or if you experience the emotion of curiosity… if something happens in
the dream that has you puzzled or perplexed… it’s rare, but maybe you woke up
laughing one morning because your dream was funny… maybe you woke up with a
song in your head… any one of those suggests a letter to be opened. Sometimes
you meet characters that are so profound that their memory changes you forever.
When a dream stirs something inside you, and especially when that stirring is
conscious, that is a good place for you to start.

Sometimes
dreams will come very quickly and you won’t be able to keep up. Often dreams
will address a theme in your life so you may have many dreams dealing with the
same issue. Once you finally figure out one dream the others may stop. If not,
then it’s possible something else is going on, or the issue your dream wants to
address is multi-leveled. In which case, don’t be shy because this is something
your Superconscious feels is worth the effort.

Once you are
proficient with the techniques used in this book, dreams will become far less
intimidating and you may find that you are able to open and read those letters
with some rapidity. That doesn’t mean you should rush through every dream but
if the dream yields to you rather quickly, then there’s no need to play hide
and seek. Other dreams won’t be so forthcoming. They may puzzle you for days or
months. Don’t be intimidated by these. Like Joseph in the Bible, sometimes the
dream will bring you the answer long before you’re fully aware of the question.
The word for you here is persevere.

For now pick a
dream that has a strong emotional impact, one that you remember fairly clearly.
In this workbook I’m going to go through a dream with you but that’s only to
provide you an example of what the dream will look like as you work through it.
I won’t necessarily interpret the dream, but I’ll show you examples of what I’m
discussion. As I do, insert your own dream. As we learn about the different
elements of my dream, use those on your own dream. You can go through it as
quickly, or as slowly as you need to. Your subconscious will tell you how
you’re doing.

I also want to
add that I’m going to be giving you several techniques. In the course of the
workbook I’ll ask you to try each one of them, but as you do, you’re going to
find that some techniques work better for you than others. This is fine. You
needn’t use all of the techniques on each dream. Some dreams will yield with
one or two techniques while others will hold out, requiring more work. You
decide which techniques are going to work best on your dream.

Mission #1

1.
     
On a blank piece of paper, write down a
dream that you would like to understand in more depth. Don’t worry about format
just yet. We’ll go through that together in the chapter “Scripting the Dream.”

2.
     
Write down everything you can remember about
your dream: colors, feelings, and objects. They may all prove to be important
at some point in the dream.

Let's talk here
about the Dream Journal itself.

Uh-oh… here it
comes. I can already hear some of you. What? A journal? That means writing
doesn't it? Yes it does but don't panic. It is not going to be difficult. To
give your dreams the attention they deserve and to truly access a dream, you’ve
got to write it down along with any insights you may have gleaned while looking
into it. Remembering your dreams and writing them down honors the Dreamwright
(whom we’ll talk about more in the next chapter). Recording your dream is the
Dreamwright’s reward. It shows your appreciation for the Dreamwright’s efforts
to produce and direct such magnificent productions.

I recommend
using an artist's sketchbook as a journal. These are large and give you plenty
of room to work. They also don't have the lines across the pages that confine
dreamers, so they allow more freedom for your creativity. I also recommend that
you get a nice quality journal. After all, it's going to become your best friend
over the next few weeks and years. Make sure that it matches your personality.

Sometimes you
may run across a picture in a magazine, journal or newspaper that represents an
image you had in a dream. You can cut the picture out and paste that picture onto
a page of your Sketchbook and add any captions or descriptions that go with it.
Some images are so unique that the only way to communicate those images would
be to draw them. A sketchbook is perfect for that. Sometimes you dream colors,
or distortions of colors. By keeping a box of crayons on hand you can color the
images of your dream to bring more clarity.

Some people
tell me they can only use a pencil in their journals rather than a pen. I say
you should use whatever you're more comfortable using. Some people color-code
their dreams with colored pens or pencils; that's up to you. It's your journal
and you know what you like best. This is just a guideline to give you some
ideas.

Sometimes you
may wake up on the middle of the night with a very vivid dream, one that
obviously wants to be recorded. For those nights I recommend using a small tape
recorder, or even a digital recorder. With a small recorder you can speak
quickly and record what you remember. Sometimes by turning on a light, or
moving too fast, you will jar yourself awake and throw the dream away from
conscious recall. You will also wake yourself up and may not be able to get
back to sleep. If you do use the digital recorder be sure to enunciate when you
speak. If you mumble into the recorder you’ll be wondering what you said the
next morning while you’re trying to enter your dream into your diary.

If you chose
not to use a digital recorder, another option is a small lamp at the bedside
with a black or green or blue light. You will have just enough light to see as
you write, but not so much that you jar yourself into reality forcing the dream
from your consciousness. This will also come in handy if you’re not the only
one in your bed while you’re doing dream recall.

Moving around
can also dispel memories, so you will want to keep movement to a minimal by
keeping everything nearby. Once you get practice recording your dreams, you
will be able to write a few simple notes or keywords, and they will spark the
memory of the dream the next day when you enter the dream with all the details.

I use a digital
recorder to record my dreams, usually whenever I wake from them. I record the
dream careful to enunciate, and add as much detail as I can possibly remember,
even if it doesn’t always make sense. Later, I simply plug the digital recorder
into my computer, and then type out the dream as I told it during the night.
Fortunately I remembered to speak slowly, and I type pretty fast, so it’s a
relatively easy process.

Mission
#2

1.
     
Go out and get
yourself a journal. The type of journal is your choice, though I have made some
suggestions. As you search through journals in the bookstore, find one that
appeals to you. Look at it as if it’s going to be your closest friend.

2.
     
Pick up some crayons
and/or colored pens or pencils.

Even after
years of research little is known about the Dreamwright. Each of us has a
different way of describing this writer. To some the Dreamwright is the Superconscious,
or as Carl Jung termed, the Collective Conscious. To others the Dreamwright is
the subconscious looking for expression when the conscious mind relaxes for a
while and allows it to run free.

The Dreamwright
is from the dawn of time and maybe before. It is the combined awareness of all
that is and all that has ever been. It is the universe as a whole and each part
individually. This sounds a bit fluffy, but there’s no other way to explain it.
We’re dealing with something that is so far above and below us that there is no
easy way to explain it. Perhaps this is why dreams can be so confusing.

Any scientist
will attest that when they stare directly into the face of nature or gaze upon
the mass of the universe it is completely overwhelming. In our human form this
sensation threatens to destroy us. We see only how small and worthless we are
in the face of it all. But our very existence shows that we do, in fact, have
something to do with this greatness. This is what the Dreamwright is intent on
showing us through pictures and the language of dreams.

Every night
this Dreamwright creates stories and carefully directs them for us to watch and
listen and learn from. This tireless writer is unlike any in that it will
continue to write whether we listen to it or not. But it will not abide our ignorance
very long. This Dreamwright has a mission, and we’re it. If we don’t listen, it
will find a way to get our attention. Let's not forget, we are the
Dreamwright's captive audience.

Screenwriters
write because they have some message or idea they want to communicate. The same
is true with the Dreamwright. Directors and producers, such as Spike Lee, have
used stories to nudge society, and open our eyes to some of the prejudice that
still haunts our species. Steven Spielberg has used the medium to frighten and
thrill us. Movies have created powerful memories and have widened our worldview
of what is possible. They have given us insight into who and what we might
become. They have shown us our potential for good and for bad.

Our Dreamwright
is doing the same thing every night. As we sleep the Dreamwright parades in
front of our conscious mind an amazing array of colors and feelings and bizarre
characters, hoping to penetrate our awareness and show us life as it could be.
Our Dreamwright isn’t hampered by budgets, equipment, location or studio
politics. It is free to use any image, no matter how outrageous, and it can do
it in seconds without all the editing and special effects work that goes into
making a movie.

Our
Dreamwright, like a playwright deals with society as a whole, and particularly
with our part in that society. The purpose of the Dreamplay is to keep us
healthy and balanced. (The word Dreamplay will replace the word Screenplay for
our dream narrative.) Dreams come to show us what is, and what can be. They
come to inspire us, to challenge us, to change us, to lift us up. They will
attack our egos when they get too big and they will attack our insecurity when
it breaks down our sense of self worth. They will also show us who we could be
if we were living up to our potential.

Like a
playwright, the Dreamwright isn’t interested in showing us what we already know
consciously. What would be the point unless what we know requires some action
that we’re not taking? If this is the case you can count on a dream episode or
two addressing that issue.

The Dreamwright
writes for us using all the elements of great literature. The Dreamwright uses
the epic where the hero must descend into the depths of hell or evil and rescue
some lost and precious aspect of itself. The Dreamwright uses good versus evil,
the drama, comedy and tragedy. The Dreamwright seems to have been well versed
in myth, and relies heavily upon those elements. As the great Joseph Campbell
once said, “A myth is a public dream. A dream is a private myth.”

The Superconscious
is the Dreamwright, the subconscious is the cast and stage crew, and the
conscious is the audience… that’s you. Paradoxically, the Dreamwright is also
you. So are the subconscious and the conscious. Ironically, you are the
Dreamwright, you are the cast and crew, and you are the dreamer all at the same
time. Every element in the dream is you. You are the Egyptian mummy in a tutu.
You are the car that you can’t control. You are the narrator of your dream. You
are the monster attacking you in your nightmare. You are the dream itself.