Dream Tending Continued and Working in a Dream Kiva

DreamTending– Theory

More Dream Tending Techniques:

Language-Before presenting a dream

1)Write it in the present tense.

2) Change verbs to ing ending- I am walking to store.

3) Take out all articles- “a”, “an” and “the”.

The bear becomes bear. The store becomes store.

1. Use capital letters when writing the names of primary characters- bear is Bear.

As in Delaney’s work, for those of you who have attended, general studies, we move through the dream

sequentially, from beginning to end- but the three stages in Aizenstat’s personal dreamwork are:

Setting the stage, Enacting the Drama- Resolving or Failing to Resolve the Drama

Notice each character and creature of the dream one at a time, as an actual though imaginal being. Notice details. Is the figure familiar or unfamiliar with your waking life?

If familiar, is there some way it seems different?

Are some figures louder than others?

Within the life of the dream, watch the activity of each, and how they interact with each other.

Look for repetitions, contrasts and similarities.

Do any characters remind you of characters from other dreams? Do you have repetitive characters or themes inside this particular dream?

I.E. all female characters? The setting is mostly blue

and yellow.

Are there contrasts or polarities between dream figures- i.e. water and earth, day and night.

Listen poetically. The psyche speaks like a poet or in riddle. Watch for puns and metaphors.

What does this character want? – What is he doing and to whom is he doing it?

Does the activity in the dream remind you of anything?

Be mercurial when working with the dream- do not interrogate- more the fool- Columbo than Sherlock Holmes.

Don’t threaten the images. Let them unfold on their

own.

Always pay attention to your 5 senses- what are you smelling, hearing, seeing, tasting, feeling? The dream may give clues about which sense is most important- i.e. a rabbit dream with big ears, may suggest hearing.

Always pay attention to your own body and emotions. How is the dream figure affecting you?

If an animal appears in a dream- Always follow the animal.

Be patient. Even when a figure leaves, give it time to come back, or notice where it goes, or when it goes.

Working With Living Images–
When tending living images we can take the role of a host, while interviewing. We seek to find the needs of our guest. We imagine what they might want and try to provide for them. Try to provide a nice atmosphere for the guest. Also, we might ask her about herself so that she gets to talk about what interests her. This can be true of a spaceship, couch, animal or person.

Exercise:
Hosting a Guest.
Sustaining Relationship by Using the Senses.
It is one thing to entertain a guest one time and to sustain a relationship. The idea of dream tending is to create ongoing access and dialogue. Opening our senses to the figure brings them into our lives in a more meaningful way.
If we work with dog we view its eyes, smell its dogginess, feel its coat, and hear its voice, or inner voice.
We look at it with particularity. How is this dream dog different from any we have seen before? We do not interpret what this means, only see it for what it is.
If the image was an ocean, we could feel it, taste it, notice its color and mood- (windy, calm, etc.)
What do you notice about your own body reacts to the image?

Portals of the Soul–
In this work, eyes are extremely important. If the figure wants to face you, ask silent permission to look into its eyes. Know this is its portal to the soul. Don’t go in with the need to find an answer. Feel received and allow yourself to go deep inside. What do you notice, what greet you here? What feelings are evoked in you?
Thank the being you have spent time with.

The Intelligent Image–
The intelligence of the dream is inside the image itself. IF we rush in too quickly with a pre-existing idea we rob it of its intelligence, and overlay it with our own. Great discoveries like Einstein’s theory of relativity came through a dream images. Occasionally a dream holds great brilliance and new ideas- as if it comes from some other plane of existence.
According to Aizenstat images are a hugely unrecognized, mostly untapped well of knowledge. When they come to life they give us much perspective and insight.
Exercise:
The Intelligent Image.
It is also true that images change and evolve. It can transform in shape, character or mood. This happens even more quickly, and often more positively, if we are in relationship with the image. When it shifts it affects us. Aizenstat feels some images carry ancestral intelligence and have an especially deep effect on us. He suggests sketching the images as they transform and noticing the physical, emotional and attitudinal differences. Pay attention to how you feel about these differences. How is this affecting how you are perceiving and becoming?
He feels some of the images evolve to the point of being able to tend to us. They take on a life of their own and we just need observe.

When Working With Dreams Issues, To Ponder & Consider-

Always stick with the images. Which one pops?

The body is always dreaming. Watch jaws, eyes, breath etc., while telling the dream.

Look without judgment.

Be silent.

As soon as you feel insecure as a dream interpreter imagine the ego is being displaced in search of a deeper experience.

The intelligence is in the dream.

Create the atmosphere, so the intelligence of the field can present.

Use present tense to describe the images.

Notice the particularity of the image, size, colors, shapes, markings and other details.

Use your sense of hearing, smelling and touching to experience the image as an embodied presence.

Notice how the image takes on a life of its own and sometimes changes into another form.

Now I will explain the Idea of a Dream Kiva and How to Have one.

Today you will work in a Kiva. This is a smaller group than the dream circle and you will go deeper into each dream.

Dream Kivas

Objective–

To work with 2 or ideally 3 people in a group to explore a dream. You will have ________minutes, divide minutes by group members, equally to try kiva work. Then come back to the group at 2:15 to tell us how it went.

Dream kiva work is more in-depth than group work and each dreamer gets more time to connect with their dream.

Provide a safe, respectful atmosphere to explore the dream.

Divide the time up equally among participants, so that each individual can play each role, if time permits.

 

Roles–

If there are 3 participants, each one gets a role for each dream. The roles rotate, as different members are interviewed. The Interviewer may ask the scribe for further questions if the dream feels stuck.

If there are two participants, the interviewer is also the scribe.

 

The Dreamer–

Tells the dream in present tense. Omits articles, such as the, and a.

The Bear, just becomes Bear.

The dreamer attunes to the dream and answers questions asked by the interviewer.

Mentions what feels important to them about the dream, or what they most notice.

It is the dreamer’s responsibility to open to the dream.

 

The Interviewer–

Attunes to the dream.

Asks questions about the dream.

Is respectful to the dream and dreamer, understanding the dreamer is the ultimate authority of the dream.

Notices what seems important about the dream.

Pays attention to anything peculiar about the dream.

Uses the senses to help unpack it-feel, sight, touch, taste, sound.

But, the Interviewer also needs to push a little bit at times, as dreamers have resistance toward dreams and will often evade.

Interviewers then need to come back to what was not unpacked in sometimes different ways, if the dream is not opening.

Acts as a scribe & records the dream & provides a copy to the dreamer after the dream, if a scribe is unavailable.

 

The Scribe–

Writes down what the dreamer says, and the questions that were asked.

They also attune to the dream and may be asked to help come up with questions to help the images open.

They read back parts of the dream, when asked.

They provide the dreamer with a legible copy of what transpired, in a timely fashion.

Dream Kiva- You can explore the questions you were given in your hand out Under Dream Kiva for this exercise. It will take time to get familiar with these and become fluent in this language. Allow yourself to be clumsy. When you get lost always go back to the image for clarity.

Proceed Chronologically through the dream.

Notice what is out of the ordinary or peculiar after the client tells the dream?

Or go directly to the wound- what image is most intolerable, difficult, disturbing.

Nurse the wound with patience and caring. Witness it. Be curious about the dream. What is fascinating.

Possible Questions–

For each main image– (people, animals, objects) which seem important.

Always ask this at the beginning-

1. What Dream Brings You Here?
2. What do you make of it?
3. What does this mean to you?
4. Was there anything like this in childhood?
5.  Ask the image- Who are you?
6.  Who brought you here?What is he/she/it (the image doing)?

Asking what is happening here, evokes curiosity. When we get curious about the dream, the dream figure gets interested.

More Questions–

Who is visiting now?

What is happening here?

Other ideas for questioning are:

Which of these images resonate with you?

What is the image about?

What does she know?

What does she say?

How in your life is this manifesting?

What response does it ask of you?

What feeling do you have as you look at, or talk to the image?

What part of your body is touched by this?

What does this part of your body feel?

What does the image say to you?

What do you say to the image?

Repeat these last two questions, until the conversation between the two beings comes to a natural conclusion.

 

How to Attend to a Peculiar Image

1. What does this person, place etc.(that is different), look like in the dream?
2. What is unusual about this?
3. How did you experience this image?
4. When you work with this image————(what ever was not ordinary), what feeling gets evoked for you? (Grief)

Take the quality that is evoked, (grief, sadness, fear etc) and ask….

Feelings–

1. When you ________(grieve, are scared, shocked), what happens for you? _i.e. compassion. Look for the GIFT here.eg. It reminds me of my mom. She never takes care of herself.
2. Where in your body do you feel this?
3. What is the deeper issue being revealed__________ security, $, self-value, trust, etc. (Look for the deeper personal reason.

You may summarize with the questions earlier, what do you say to the dream image and what does it say to you, or you may use this technique.

 Another way to wrap things up at the end of the dream.

1. What have you noticed from this dream?
2. What else opens for you?
3. In this dream when_______ shows up do you have this feeling— of compassion?
4. What else is this dream telling you_____?
5. If it were my dream I might notice___________, summarize what you think the main message of the dream is.
6. If there is a scribe- ask them- If this were your dream, what might you see as the main message?
7. Back to the dreamer- Is there any way any of these dream figures might like to continue a dialogue
8. When and how will you commit to meeting them?
9. Is there anything else you would like to say about the dream?
10. Is there any other action this dream might like you to take?