Creating Your Dream Yoga Commentaries

• Copy the Dream Yoga Template. In your word processor, type in the name of the dream, the date you had it, your name.
  
  
• Type the dream, preferably in first person, present tense, followed by whatever associations you have to the dream.
  
  
• Now write three life issues which you would like to have resolved. Answer the questions about them.

Creating Your Dream Sociogram

Now you'll need a blank Sociomatrix. Print it out.

• Write the name of the dream, the date you had it, the date you are now working on it, and your name in the top left corner of the sociomatrix.
  
  
• Underline no more than four dream characters that you want to interview. You may add more later once you learn the process. Always begin by interviewing yourself as you appear in the dream, Dream Self.
  
  
• List these characters horizontally, in the order that they appear in the dream, to the left of the rows of boxes. There should be one character for each consecutive row, though you will have fewer characters than you do rows.
  
  
• Now circle the actions in your dream narrative and bracket the feeling words.
  
  
• At the top of the grid, list the characters, actions, and feelings in the order they appear in the dream. If there are characters in the dream that you have not listed on the left, go ahead and include them in the order they appear in the dream. Put a dash in front of action elements and an asterisk in front of feeling elements. List one element for each column.
  
  
• Now imagine that you are back in the dream. Ask yourself, "How do I feel about myself in this dream?" Choose from among seven degrees of preference and write the corresponding numerical value in the box that intersects with Dream Self on the top row. This is the top left box in the grid.
  
  
• The seven degrees of preference and their values are: love (3), like a lot (2), like (1), don't care, (0), dislike (-1), dislike a lot (-2), and hate (-3). The negative values are usually written /1, /2, /3.
  
  
• There will be times when your feelings are mixed. You will feel both like and dislike. In that case, ust go ahead and place two scores in the appropriate box. It will look like this: (1/1) "I both like myself and dislike myself (or some element) in this dream;"(1/3), "I both like myself and hate myself in this dream;" (2/1), I both like myself a lot and dislike myself in this dream," and so forth.
  
  
• These degrees of preference serve two basic purposes. They help us to identify with the perspective and persona of a particular dream character.
  
  
• Under Sociogram Commentary in the Dream Yogan commentaries, write any associated feelings and thoughts about your preferences, first toward yourself in the dream, then toward the other dream characters, actions, and feelings.
  
  
• Proceed with noting Dream Self's numerical preferences toward the other dream elements, moving from left to right, noting the numerical value of the preference under the element's name in Dream Self's row and any explanatory elaborations in the Sociogram Commentary.
  
  
• Now become the second character listed to the left of the grid. As this character, how do you feel about Dream Self in this dream? Jot your numerical response to the right of the character name and below "Dream Self." Add any explanatory elaborations in the Sociogram Commentary. Continue across the row in this fashion.
  
  
• Repeat with your remaining dream group members, listed vertically to the left of the grid.
  
  
• Be sure and add your explanatory elaborations in the Sociogram Commentary. These will be important.
  
  
• Now add your scores both down and across. Adding by twos or threes, first positive values, then negative, will be easiest. You will arrive at a "raw" score, which is contains both positive and negative values. You will then subtract the smaller value from the larger to arrive at a total degree of preference.
  
  
• Values to the right of the grid indicate how accepting or rejecting a particular dream group member is of all dream group members, as a whole. These will be placed on the verticle "acceptance" axis of the dream sociogram (in blue).
  
  
• Values at the bottom of the grid indicate how much one particular dream element (character, action, feeling) is preferred or rejected by its fellows. These scores will be placed on the character "form" axis of the dream sociogram or the action "process" axis, or the feeling "affect" axis of the sociogram.
  
  
• You will transfer your scores to the Dream Sociogram after you finish filling out the Dream Yoga Commentaries.

• After each character elaboration in the Sociomatrix commentary, respond, as the appropriate character, to the following two questions: "What I like most about being in this dream is ..." "What I dislike most about being in this dream is ..."
  
  
• Now pause and think about what has been said so far. Have there been any surprises? If so, note them here, if not, that's fine too, because this process is much more about appliication than it is about insight.
  
  
• Now follow the instructions and fill out the Dream Summary Commentary for each character.
  
  
• Complete the Dream Commentary.
  
  
• If there is a consensus among all dream group members on recommended dream changes, you may copy the dream and then rewrite it based on those recommendations. Remember, respect for your internal dream sangha requires that no changes be imposed on any member that are not acceptable to that member. To do otherwise constitutes repression, creating more internal conflict.
  
  
• Most of the time you may find that you are unable to create a dreamage, but part of the challenge of this process is to watch that capability change as you make more and more aspects of yourself full partners in your life-change process.
  
  
• Complete the Waking Commentary.
  
  
• Complete the Life Issue Commentary.
  
  
• Review both the Waking Commentary and the Life Issue Commentary and write their life-change recommendations in the Action Plan under "Specific Recommendations."
  
  
• Complete the Spiritual Growth Commentary.
  
  
• Complete the section entitled, "What I am Saying to Myself Is..." By changing "you" statements into "I" statements you will feel more fully the impact of who you are and how you feel about yourself and your life, as expressed by this particular dream group. Study the example from "The Hanging Corpse" for help with syntax. The identities of dream group members comes from the explanation of personifications in the Dream Summary Commentary, for the most part.
  
  
• List the basic issues addressed by this dream group and answer the final questions. If you share your work with other Dream Yogans or friends, they may see issues that you have missed.
  
  

• Copy the blank Dream Sociogram. Print it out.
  
  
• Transfer the scores at the right, under "Acceptance Axis Totals" onto the verticle axis of your blank Dream Sociogram.
  
  
• If it is a positive value, say 10, count ten units up from the center of the dream sociogram and write the name of the character.
  
  
• If it is a negative value, say 7, count seven units down from the center of the dream sociogram and write the name of the character.
  
  
• Do the same first for the score for each character listed at the top of the grid. These scores are below each character's column. Write each score on the Form axis of the sociogram, counting out the appropriate units from the center. Note that positive scores are placed bottom-right and negative scores are placed top left.
  
  
• Repeat this process for each action element, placing each on the horizontal Process axis.
  
  
• Repeat for each feeling element, placing each on the Affect axis, with positive scores to the top right and negative values to the bottom left.

Some additional scoring and placing notations:

• If a character dislikes itself, circle the appropriate sociomatrix grid square. This is important information.
  
  
• Some totals are simple. A character is complerely accepting or completely rejecting. The total is the same as the raw score.
  
  
• Most totals are not so simple. The feelings that the choosing dream group member has toward the chosen are complex and in conflict. This conflict may be slight, reflected by a score such as 1/8, or it may be high, reflected by a score such as 6/8, or it may be maximum, reflected by a score of 8/8. The same holds true for totals at the bottom of the sociogram, indicating how much conflict the group as a whole feels toward one particular element in that group.
  
  
• Moderate to high conflict is indicated under "character ambivalence" by an M (for "moderate.") Maximum conflict is indicated by a D (for "direct.") These designations may be carried into the sociogram depiction by underlining elements receiving an "M" and placing an exponent above and to the right of elements in direct internal conflict. The exponent indicates the degree of conflict, with an "8" indicating greater internal conflict than a "4" assuming the size of the dream group is the same.
  
  
• You will also find that some characters are neutral in their preferences because they don't care, while others are neutral because they are beyond either caring or not caring. These are in the position of compassionate witness of the life drama being depicted. The context of the character's remarks in the dream sociomatrix commentary will clarify which of these is meant. If you prefer, you can write a "0" for "don't care" in the sociomatrix and leave the space empty to indicate to yourself a perspective that transcends preference. This is not done in "The Hanging Corpse."

Review the example in "The Hanging Corpse," then take a stab at writing your own. Get feedback from other members of your dream sangha.

Now that you have provided yourself with a rich store of data, you can move on to the most important part of your interaction with your dream sanghas: daily application.

Operationally define success. How will you know that you are succeeding in implementing some part of your action plan? What will be different? Will you be less self-critical? If so, how will you know it? You will probably have to first become aware of when you are becoming self-critical. That in itself is a major achievement. You could do so by simply counting the number of times in an hour or in a day that you discover yourself thinking self-critical thoughts. Then "becoming less self-critical" would mean reducing the number of times that you find yourself thinking self-critical thoughts.

1. Counting your behavior. Simple hatch marks on a piece of paper will
2. provide a data base so that you can tell if you are moving toward your
3. goal. You can graph your progress over time if you want [].
4. Making a weekly schedule and checking off daily actions as they occur.
5. Journalling. Noting progress toward your goals on a daily basis.

The purpose of the action plan is to support and further the dialogue between your waking identity and your dream sangha.

Return To Level II DREAM SOCIOMETRY

Dream Yoga Dream Sociometry Psychic Development Meditation Personal Integration Service To Your Fellow Man

Home | Sample Session | Counseling
Dream Sangha | Certification | Dr. Joseph Dillard
Testimonials | Stress Management | Feedback | Site Map
Products and Services