Dream Yoga

All of us possess two types of spiritual communities, an internal Dream Sangha, which is comprised of your dream group members, and an external Dream Sangha, comprised of your fellow Dream Yogans. Ultimately, both groups include all facets of yourself, as sooner or later every category of thought, feeling, behavior or role makes a guest appearance in a dream. Similarly, everyone dreams, and every night their dream groups are pointing the way toward greater self-integration.

Your internal Dream Sangha is also called your "intrasocial" Sangha, because it is a spiritual community which exists within you.

You will benefit from developing an ongoing relationship with your internal dream sangha if you want to:

become your own best friend.

rely on internal direction first and foremost in your life.

discover how and why you keep yourself from being happier.

enhance your creativity.

find inner support and direction in healing your life.

How do you get to know your internal Dream Sangha? It's easy! By...

dialoguing with your own dream group members on an ongoing basis.
developing a waking action plan based on consensus recommendations of your dream group members.
acting on that action plan in your waking life.

By regularly practicing these three simple steps you form a bond in consciousness with others doing the same, wherever they may be in the world. Your Dream Sangha becomes your spiritual support community, made up both of other spiritual seekers and by your own internal dream group members.

You will benefit from developing an ongoing relationship with your external dream sangha if you want to:

share your dreamwork with others who have similar interests.
help others apply the guidance that they receive in their daily life.
receive help from others in applying the guidance that you receive in your daily life.
build the dream sangha and share Dream Yoga with others.
work toward certification.

How do you get to know other dreamers who are members of your Dream Sangha? By...

sharing with others about Dream Yoga (by phone or e-mail)
meditating, and including your Dream Sanghas in the meditation in some way
moving forward in your life with a plan based on an internal consensus of your dream group members
expanding your spiritual community of Dream Yogans as each consults his or her internal Sanghas, moving forward by community consensus.

You will benefit from developing an ongoing relationship with your internal dream sangha if you want to:

become your own best friend.
rely on internal direction first and foremost in your life.
discover how and why you keep yourself from being happier.
enhance your creativity.
find inner support and direction in healing your life.

SOME GUIDELINES FOR DREAMWORK

As you connect with others familiar with these techniques, you may choose to experiment with these methods on your own. Here are some general guidelines to help you along that path:

You help the dreamer most when you help her listen to herself - not to you! Your need to be heard is not as important as her need to hear herself.

Practically speaking, it is wise to assume that dream characters are aspects of the dreamer and that the dream is first and foremost about the dreamer.

It is helpful and wise for the dreamer to take responsibility for all dream actions, feelings, and attitudes, regardless of how repugnant they may be.

Dreams themselves are not symbolic. Only when we awake do we assume they represent something other than they are. Although it can be helpful and useful, dream symbology is still waking projection and bias.

Knowledge of dream symbols is very helpful in forming an hypothesis about a dream which is then used to guide questioning of dream characters.

Dreams don't require interpretation. Listen to the characters and they will tell you why they are in the dream and what they want.

If you ask the right questions of the characters in a dream, the dream will explain itself.

We never work with a dream but only with a dreamer's memory of a dream. Consequently, we never can know what a dream "means" but only what the memories mean for the dreamer, dream self, and the other dream group members.

Remember that dream awareness is polyvalent - containing multiple meanings, purposes, uses. Don't try to force a dream to mean just one thing.

A group of dream workers may be understood as an external mirror of the internal social grouping we call a dream group. When we look at others, we see ourselves.

As we do to others so we do to that part of ourselves which they represent.

In your dreamwork, emphasize usefulness of the dreamwork to waking life application. Don't be content to just stop with insight.

SUGGESTIONS FOR HELPING SOMEONE UNDERSTAND A DREAM

Assume that the dream is about the dreamer.
Assume that the dreamer already knows on some level why she had the dream; she simply needs help in getting in touch with those parts of herself that know.
Don't ever assume that you know what a dream means, especially another persons' dream. This is an invasive and grandiose assumption.
Ask the dreamer if there is any current life issue that they would like help with from the dream.
Ask the dreamer what their best guess is about why they had the dream.
Have the dreamer tell the dream in first person, present tense: "I am chasing a butterfly across a meadow..." This helps to get them out of their waking perspective and back into the perspective they were in when they had the dream.
Listen to the dream as if it were your own. As you listen, ask yourself, "What am I feeling as I experience this dream?" Resist the temptation to analyze it!
From your experiencing of the dream, form a working hypothesis about the dream. Don't tell the dreamer what it is. Use your hypothesis to guide your exploration of the dream.
List the major characters in the dream as the dreamer shares her dream. Don't forget inanimate objects like doorknobs, clouds, and pavement.
Ask the dreamer who he would like to hear from first.
Ask the dreamer to imaginatively identify with the character of their choice. They are to pretend or imagine that they are back in the dream as that particular character, looking out at the dream from its perspective.
Ask the character orienting questions: "Where are you at the beginning of the dream?' "What colors/sounds/smells do you see/hear/smell?" etc. Write the answers.
Next, ask the character questions to enhance self awareness: "How do you feel about being in this dream?" "How do you feel when you do _____ in this dream?" "What do you like best/least about how you are in this dream?" Write the answers.
Next, ask the character questions of relationship: "How do you feel when you do ______ to _______ (character)?" "How do you feel when ____ (character) says/does ______?" "Why do you think they did that?" Write the answers.
Next, ask the character, "If you could change this dream in any way that you wanted, would you change it? "If so, how?" Write the answers.
Next, ask the character, "If you were the dreamer in his/her waking life, what, if anything would you do/think/feel differently?" Write the answers.
Next, ask the character, "What would you do about the life issue that concerns the dreamer if you were they and had that concern?" Write the answer.
Next, ask the character, "Why do you think that you are in this dream?" "Why do you think the dreamer had this dream?" Write the answers.
Ask the dreamer if they would like to discuss what they have learned or if they would prefer to interview another character. Repeat the above with a character of the dreamer's choice, if that is the dreamer's preference.
If not, ask, "At this point, why do you think that you had this dream?"
Listen carefully to the dreamer. Ask clarifying questions.
Ask the dreamer if there is anything they want to do differently in their waking life based on the feedback they have received from the dream characters. If they do, help them develop an action plan.
Ask the dreamer if they would like feedback. Then share what the experience was like for you: what your hypothesis was and how the questioning changed your understanding of the dream.
It is also helpful to go on to discuss what both of you have learned about dreams in general and what you would like to do differently the next time that you work on a dream together.

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