Dream Work

[Ollie]

... I am rereading a book I have read before with little interest, now beginning to have more sense, it is The message of dreams by Gayle M. V. Delaney, the original English version is Living your dreams.

Just in the process of reading this book, thanks Ana. ...

There is just the interpretation interview to do, and I think that I've got the main message already. Smiley

I've completed this interpretation interview now, and the process is great. I can thoroughly recommend this book for dream interpretation, it allows you to look at the dream from many perspectives to arrive at several possible solutions. Since setting a 'seed' to dream one night ((see Ark's notes earlier) and the process described in the book), I experienced three dreams that night, and recalled them all by writing them down immediately - going backwards works too - then re-seeing the dream later when a full dream scenario emerged. Also, I have had dreams each night since, even without starting a 'seed'. This is for someone who rarely dreamed in the past. The dream interpretation process is excellent, along with getting further insights as I walk about during the day. It pays to keep an open mind even after the interpretation, for further insights.

 

[theos]

I've not been having much luck after the first couple attempts. I'm still in the process of reading the book and I've been following the instructions. But, ironically, since doing so I can't remember my dreams well at all. I know I've dreamed but I can't recall any details except that last night I dreamt about rubbing DMSO on a friends backside I guess I should examine that further.

I will persist, however. :)

 

[thevenusian]

I just want to concur with others who have been getting results in dream understanding from reading 'Living You Dreams' by Gayle Delaney.
The book is an easy read, and the tips she imparts are easy to employ. (I found a used copy in great shape through Albris Books for 99 cents!)

My own experience has been similar to Trevrizent's. Using the approach outlined in the book, I have been able to tease apart meaning in some dreams which would have entirely eluded me in the past, and whether I like it or not, it has offered me an honest look at some of my own strengths, weaknesses and insight into my life. Ever since starting the EE program last year, my dream life has really come alive and having some tools to make sense of it and use it for insight is an exciting development. Thank you all for sharing this find.

 

[Al Today]

I dunno... I feel full of noise and I gotta state that my dreams are becoming too many, vivid & real. Something is coming and I ain't no prophet. My dreams of attacks, searches, calamities & destructions, and sure some good times. All I care to say is that tis good to voice with observant people who care, for themselves and humanity. Things seem to be coming to a point and I can't speak as to what. Just something is building around us. I feel the planet and as the C's say, I think the human experiential cycle is becoming critical mass. I need a vacation. Sit on top of the mountains, listen to the breezes, and breath deeply. I'm probably just having one of those emotional outbursts again.

 

[Mona]

I dunno... I feel full of noise and I gotta state that my dreams are becoming too many, vivid & real. Something is coming and I ain't no prophet. My dreams of attacks, searches, calamities & destructions, and sure some good times. All I care to say is that tis good to voice with observant people who care, for themselves and humanity. Things seem to be coming to a point and I can't speak as to what. Just something is building around us. I feel the planet and as the C's say, I think the human experiential cycle is becoming critical mass. I need a vacation. Sit on top of the mountains, listen to the breezes, and breath deeply. I'm probably just having one of those emotional outbursts again.

Al Today, we all have those emotional outbursts, I guess it is part of the journey. As long as they don't last long and don't drain me physically then I am OK to have them.

By the way, for those who are having some difficulty getting more vivid/meaningful dreams during the night, I have been experimenting a bit, and I find that before going to sleep I meditate for 5-10 minutes. I kind of talk to my subconscious mind and I ask her to reveal in my dream whatever I need to understand in my life, either something that had happened to me in the past and is still bothering me or something that I need to understand right now in the present time or whatever the subsconscious mind wants to reveal to me. Then, I say "The prayer of the Soul" quietly a number of times after the meditaion is over. I also ask that I remember the details of that dream when I wake up. Wow, I have been getting these amazing, unexpected dreams. In some dreams I end up acting with certain individuals that I have not seen in years.

The dreams can be very vivid and especially the strange ones need a little thinking on my part so that I can make a connection to my own situation in my life. I have also been keeping a journal. I find that I don't need a book to interpret my dreams at all now. I think that we can all become our own interpretors of our own dreams, besides our souls probably are unique in their own way and have their own way of being creative symbolically.

 

[Gaby]

I've been adding an exercise to my dreamwork and EE program explained in "Views from the Real World" by Gurdjieff. It is an exercise with the words "I wish to remember myself." It helps me to concentrate and make things more "lively/vivid." The exercise has a special meaning to me, as I used to practice it in the past when I was feeling pretty anxious. It was my special tool for getting things into perspective. Then, along the way I stopped practicing it until this month or so. I guess I forgot myself! Here is a small quote about it:

When you pronounce the word "I" you will have a purely subjective sensation in the head, the chest, the back, according to the state you are in at the moment. I must not say "I"merely mechanically, as a word, but I must note in myself its resonance. This means that in saying "I" you must listen carefully to the inner sensation and watch so as never once to say the word "I" automatically, no matter how often you say it.

The second word is "wish." Sense with your whole body the vibration which occurs in you. "To remember." Every man, when he remembers, has p
barely perceptible process in the middle of the chest. "Myself." When I say "myself," I mean the whole of myself. Usually, when I say the word "myself," I am accustomed to mean either thought, or feeling or body. Now we must take the whole, the atmosphere, the body and all that is in it.

All the four words, each one by itself, has its own nature and its own place of resonance. If all the four words were to resound in one and the same place, it would never be possible for all four to resound with equal intensity. Our centers are like galvanic batteries from which current flows for a certain time if a button is pressed. Then it stops and the button has to be released to enable the galvanic battery to refill itself with electricity. But in our centers the expenditure of energy is still quicker than in a galvanic battery. These centers of ours, which produce a resonance when we pronounce each of the four words, must be given rest in turn, if they are to be able to respond. Each of the bells possesses-its own battery. While I am saying "I," one bell answers; "wish," another bell; "to remember," a third bell; "myself," the general bell.

Some time ago it was said that each center has its own accumulator. At the same time our machine has a general accumulator, independent of the accumulators belonging to the centers. The energy in this general accumulator is generated only when all accumulators work one after another in a certain definite combination. By this means the general accumulator is charged. In this case, the general accumulator becomes an accumulator in the full sense of the word, for reserve energy is collected and stored there during the moments when a certain energy is not being spent.

A feature common to us all is that the accumulators of our centers are refilled with energy only insofar as it is being spent, so that no energy remains in them beyond the amount being expended.

To prolong the memory of self-remembering is possible by making the energy stored in us last longer, if we are able to manufacture a store of this energy.

NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 22, 1924

There is more background to the quote, but I don't have it at hand.

It can sound pretty abstract, but after reading Gurdjieff's and Ouspensky's books it took a special meaning for me. Even though my mind was pretty scattered, I found myself practicing this exercise and remembering every darn detail of my inner state and my environment or focus of attention. Everything else after or before the exercise is vague, like I was not there, in myself. It is not always that way, but it sure helps at least as a "mantra."

So I added that feature to my dreamwork and I started to have all kinds of dreams, resolutions to events of the past, food for thought, dreams with people that I totally forgot I met, etc. Dreams fully charged of emotions. I will think of a problem, and even when I'm very tired and got little sleep, I still end up dreaming of something significant to what I had in my thoughts.

It really has made the difference in my meditations and dreamwork, things are much more intense. It makes it easier to do the EE program. It is to say as well, that I tend have a very busy mind, I tend to dissociate, and trying to meditate is always extremely difficult. I either have to have a very difficult task in order to engage my mind, otherwise, it will just wander off because it gets "bored", I start to think of all kinds of things and it won't "shut off." I don't know if somebody can understand when I say that I can do EE, the "I wish to remember myself" exercise and some dreamwork at the same time! It is easier this way, because my mind doesn't have a chance to wander off.

Perhaps somebody is familiar with this exercise, or has the same problems or tendency to dissociate that I do. I thought I'll mention it FWIW.

Also, it always helps to read and journal before going to bed as well.

 

[Ollie]

It really has made the difference in my meditations and dreamwork, things are much more intense. It makes it easier to do the EE program. It is to say as well, that I tend have a very busy mind, I tend to dissociate, and trying to meditate is always extremely difficult. I either have to have a very difficult task in order to engage my mind, otherwise, it will just wander off because it gets "bored", I start to think of all kinds of things and it won't "shut off." I don't know if somebody can understand when I say that I can do EE, the "I wish to remember myself" exercise and some dreamwork at the same time! It is easier this way, because my mind doesn't have a chance to wander off.

Perhaps somebody is familiar with this exercise, or has the same problems or tendency to dissociate that I do. I thought I'll mention it FWIW.

Also, it always helps to read and journal before going to bed as well.

Thanks for the post Psyche, as bolded, I empathise with you. My recent dream work has been a revelation, as well as causing some pain! :) The exercise you describe above may help even more; I’ll certainly work on it.

I found myself practicing this exercise and remembering every darn detail of my inner state and my environment or focus of attention. Everything else after or before the exercise is vague, like I was not there, in myself. It is not always that way, but it sure helps at least as a "mantra."
So I added that feature to my dreamwork and I started to have all kinds of dreams, resolutions to events of the past, food for thought, dreams with people that I totally forgot I met, etc. Dreams fully charged of emotions. I will think of a problem, and even when I'm very tired and got little sleep, I still end up dreaming of something significant to what I had in my thoughts.

That sure sounds quite a trick! And a useful one at that! :)

 

[Ollie]

Hi Psyche

There is more background to the quote, but I don’t have it to hand.

The preceeding part of the chapter is here:

PRIEURE, JANUARY 20, 1923

[…]

For primary exercises in self-remembering the participation of all three centers is necessary, and we begin to speak of the difference between feelings and sensations because it is necessary to have simultaneously both feeling and sensation.

We can come to this exercise only with the participation of thought. The first thing is thought. We already know this. We desire, we wish; therefore our thoughts can be more or less easily adapted to this work, because we have already had practical experience of them.

At the beginning all three need to be evoked artificially. In the case of our thoughts the means of artificially evoking them is conversations, lectures and so on. For example, if nothing is said, nothing is evoked. Readings, talks have served as an artificial shock. I call it artificial because I was not born with these desires, they are not natural, they are not an organic necessity. These desires are artificial and their consequences will be equally artificial.

And if thoughts are artificial, then I can create in myself for this purpose sensations which are also artificial.

I repeat: artificial things are necessary only in the beginning. The fullness of what we desire cannot be attained artificially, but, for the beginning, this is necessary.

I take the easiest, most simple thing: I wish to start trying with what is simplest. In my thoughts I already have a certain number of associations for self-remembering, especially thanks to the fact that here we have suitable conditions ad a suitable place, and are surrounded by people who have the same aims. Owing to all this, in addition to the associations I already have, I shall continue to form new ones. Consequently I am more or less assured that on this side I shall have reminders and shocks, and therefore I shall pay little attention to thoughts, but shall chiefly concern myself with the other parts and shall devote all my time to them.

The simplest, most accessible sensation, for the beginning, can be got through uncomfortable postures. Now I am sitting as I never sat before. For a time it is all right, but after a while I develop an ache; a strange, unaccustomed sensation starts in my legs. In the first place I am convinced that the ache is not harmful and will lead to no harmful consequences, but is merely an unaccustomed and therefore unpleasant sensation.

In order better to understand the sensations I am going to speak about, I think it would be best if from this moment you all assumed some uncomfortable position.

I have all the time an urge to shift about, to move my legs in order to change the uncomfortable position. But I have for the present undertaken the task to bear it, to keep a “stop” of the whole body, except my head.

For the moment I wish to forget about self-remembering. Now I wish temporarily to concentrate all my attention, all my thoughts, on not allowing myself automatically, unconsciously, to change my position.

Let us direct our attention to the following: at first the legs begin to ache, the this sensation begins to rise higher and higher, so the region of pain widens. Let the attention pass on to the back. Is there a place where a special sensation is localized? Only he can sense this who has indeed assumed an uncomfortable, unaccustomed position.

Now, when an unpleasant sensation in the body, especially in certain places, has already resulted, I begin to think in my mind: “I wish. I wish very much to be able often to recollect, in order to remember that it is necessary to remember myself. I wish! You – it is me, it is my body.” I say to my body: “You. You- me. You are also me. I wish!”

These sensations which my body is now experiencing – and every similar sensation – I wish to remind me. “I wish! You are me. I wish! I wish to recollect as often as possible that I wish to remember, that I wish to remember myself.”

My legs have gone to sleep. I get up.

“I wish to remember.”

Let those who also wish get up. “I wish to remember often.”

All these sensations will remind me.

Now our sensations will begin to change in different degrees. Let each degree, each change in these sensations remind me of self-remembering. Think, walk. Walk about, and think. My uncomfortable state has now gone.

I assume another position.

First: I 2nd: wish 3rd: to remember 4th: myself.

I-simply “I” mentally.

Wish – I feel. Remember how the vibrations which occur in your body when you set yourself a task for the next day. A sensation similar to the one which will occur tomorrow when you are performing your task should take place in you now in a lesser degree. I wish to remember the sensation. For instance, I wish to go and lie down. I experience this pleasant sensation with my thought about it. At this moment I experience this pleasant experience in my whole body, in a lesser degree. If one pays attention, it is possible clearly to see this vibration in oneself. For this, one has to pay attention to what kinds of sensations arise in the body. At the present moment we need to understand the taste of the sensation of mental wishing.

When you pronounce these four words - …

Thank you Psyche for this opportunity to research this – the preceding extract (quoted above), especially at the beginning about ‘artificial’ - it is most opportune advice given now for me now to apply in another context now. The universe does indeed work in mysterious ways. It has hit all the right buttons!

 

[Gaby]

Thank you Psyche for this opportunity to research this – the preceding extract (quoted above), especially at the beginning about ‘artificial’ - it is most opportune advice given now for me now to apply in another context now. The universe does indeed work in mysterious ways. It has hit all the right buttons!

I'm glad you find it useful. :)

Since it sounds rather abstract, I'll try to clarify how it has helped me a bit more, FWIW.

I read the book in Italian, which is not my native language. In Italian the exercise is "Io voglio ricordare me stessa". Voglio is wish. But in my multi-language brain, voglio means WILL as well. So the word itself along with the exercise hit a note in my being, like making a statement of WILL.

I've used this statement of WILL also to remember emotional content that I dissociated myself from for obvious reasons. But I figured that practicing it along EE will give me just the right amount that I can deal with, my higher self will be wise to know how much that is. Initially I was trying to remember a particular feeling which was very painful but at the same time relieving. In a way, like trying to recreate artificially an emotional scene, "I wish to remember myself". Then, as I did EE while working in a particular problem and its emotional content, I would fall asleep and ended up having amazing dreams. The first one was symbolical, I was riding a horse (emotions). My emotions were very alive and it was very relieving. It was the most amazing horse riding ever. I waked up still with the feeling in my chest. Then on consecutive nights, I was having very emotional dreams with resolutions to the past, some were positive feelings. Also resolutions to past events that were painful, an experience of the past which I totally forgot I had, but there was a voice in my dream explaining why the experience was so important and the feeling accompanying all of this was painful and yet relieving. This voice (my higher self?) was all wise and could see through my life and what I needed in order to learn and in order to take the next step and the next.

That is one way I've been using the exercise. The other way, is just to be more present in myself, to self-remember and to help me not to run away in my mind. To be present in order to deal with reality. That is why I find it so helpful during EE. There were times when I practiced this exercise during the day, where it had produced so much presence, that I can remember everything, like seen through a burst of light if that makes sense. Most often, it is really more like a useful mantra. Now I combine it with pipe breathing.

Upwards and onwards. :)

 

[seek10]

It really has made the difference in my meditations and dreamwork, things are much more intense. It makes it easier to do the EE program. It is to say as well, that I tend have a very busy mind, I tend to dissociate, and trying to meditate is always extremely difficult. I either have to have a very difficult task in order to engage my mind, otherwise, it will just wander off because it gets "bored", I start to think of all kinds of things and it won't "shut off." I don't know if somebody can understand when I say that I can do EE, the "I wish to remember myself" exercise and some dreamwork at the same time! It is easier this way, because my mind doesn't have a chance to wander off.

Thanks for the post Psyche, as bolded, I empathise with you. My recent dream work has been a revelation, as well as causing some pain! :) The exercise you describe above may help even more; I’ll certainly work on it.

I found myself practicing this exercise and remembering every darn detail of my inner state and my environment or focus of attention. Everything else after or before the exercise is vague, like I was not there, in myself. It is not always that way, but it sure helps at least as a "mantra."
So I added that feature to my dreamwork and I started to have all kinds of dreams, resolutions to events of the past, food for thought, dreams with people that I totally forgot I met, etc. Dreams fully charged of emotions. I will think of a problem, and even when I'm very tired and got little sleep, I still end up dreaming of something significant to what I had in my thoughts.

That sure sounds quite a trick! And a useful one at that! :)

Thank you Psyche for this opportunity to research this – the preceding extract (quoted above), especially at the beginning about ‘artificial’ - it is most opportune advice given now for me now to apply in another context now. The universe does indeed work in mysterious ways. It has hit all the right buttons!

I'm glad you find it useful. :)

this is how I feel about the disassociation , running off mind.

The word that comes to my mind with respect to your explanation for the word "WISH" is INTEND. Bringers of the dawn and some other books gives lot of importance to the word INTEND. of course, it not meant to be YCYOW.

You come into these physical bodies and take them over, and you intend, through the power of your spiritual identity, to change the physical body.

The task you have before you is to consciously command, intend, and will the evolvement of your DNA. Commanding and willing and asking for this is not easv, for you must move through many identities. From the historical perspective of your multidimensional existence or essence or soul, you have been all kinds of characters, and some of these experiences have been painful. They have been challenging and difficult.

One of the primary things we ask each of you to do from this moment forward is to not base any of your future experiences on your past. All of you love to drag the past in as an excuse for what might happen in the future. You are famous for it. But you must act as if you are newly beamed down, innocent as a babe, and ready to step forward into the circumstances of your daily life. As you awaken each morning and step forward each day, state with clarity what you intend to experience that day.

Some how the word INTEND seems to have lot of power. when I intend, the day seems to be some what more conscious than the day I forget about (now a days I forget about that most of the time though )

 

[Galaxia2002]

I've been doing Dreamwork and there is something that I consider relevant to their future analysis.

In one of my dreams which I had a good record was a surreal world and basically it was a dream of persecution. I could not get anything out of it because despite being strong I didn't see anything relevant in it. The next day I was watching music videos on youtube and had put the automatic player. It started the song "total eclipse of the heart" and when I pay attention into the video it was too close to the dream I had, to the scenes I witnessed. It happens to me a lot that I have dreams that foreshadow events to come and then when that action is being developed I can recognize the dream associated. Well this brings me the same thing. I began to analyze symbolically and what caught my attention was the title of the video that for me was the message that the dream wanted to send me. The fact was that this title worried me something and I interpreted it as a emotional condemnation or the dead of my emotional center or danger of it. I was thinking about all day long and the truth is that I found it rather strange because I felt that my emotional center is starting to improve from their previous situation, especially with the practice of EE. I was to sleep a little worried and think in the problem to clarify further the significance of this dream and I actually asked for an explanation to the universe and the answer came immediately while I meditated in that. It's was SABOTAGE, a misleading dream. Then I remembered that the C's said that there are dreams of disinformation used by 4D SAS. Then I think we must be aware of that to make this dreamwork better. If dreams can give us some benefical for sure they could be used by negative forces to avoid that. OSIT.
Edit: spelling

 

[Lucius]

From some time I'm practice dream work, have lots of dream about problem "predator" mind and other problem that I have Just realize that I have ..
In dream "answer" are so obvious and Strong that hit me "Whay i dont think about THIS in THAT perspective "

last past dream are so strong that I'm have it in my mind for all long day.

Greeting
Lucas

 

[HowToBe]

I've wanted to know what the messages in dreams were since I was a child. So, I recently got "Living Your Dreams" as well as another book by Gayle Delaney called "All About Dreams: Everything You Need To Know About *Why We Have Them *What They Mean *and How To Put Them To Work for You". The second book is much more recent, so the information is more up-to-date and seems to have benefitted from her years of experience in the meantime. It gives more detailed instructions on the "dream interview" process for interpreting dreams. They are both exciting to me, because they give information on how to gain insights from dreams and apply those insights to waking life. On the other hand, Gale seems to believe that all dreams are meant to be helpful, which means she doesn't provide tools for weeding out disinfo, which concerns me.

Therefore, I think it's important that this be linked here:
"Laura Answers Questions from Readers:
Dreams and Disinformation"
Part 1: http://www.cassiopaea.org/cass/dreams_disinformation.htm
Part 2: http://www.cassiopaea.org/cass/dreams_disinformation_2.htm

I'm still in the process of reading those. I'm eager to begin dream work now that I have a method for doing so!

I have also been finding journaling before bed to be very helpful. It seems to clarify my thinking while I write, and lets me analyze my feelings, thoughts, actions, and possible options in a way that I just can't manage in ordinary thought. It also serves as a reminder for The Work, because there is only one purpose for my journal: Know Myself.

 

[HowToBe]

I've wanted to know what the messages in dreams were since I was a child. So, I recently got "Living Your Dreams" as well as another book by Gayle Delaney called "All About Dreams: Everything You Need To Know About *Why We Have Them *What They Mean *and How To Put Them To Work for You". The second book is much more recent, so the information is more up-to-date and seems to have benefitted from her years of experience in the meantime. It gives more detailed instructions on the "dream interview" process for interpreting dreams. They are both exciting to me, because they give information on how to gain insights from dreams and apply those insights to waking life. On the other hand, Gale seems to believe that all dreams are meant to be helpful, which means she doesn't provide tools for weeding out disinfo, which concerns me.

Therefore, I think it's important that this be linked here:
"Laura Answers Questions from Readers:
Dreams and Disinformation"
Part 1: http://www.cassiopaea.org/cass/dreams_disinformation.htm
Part 2: http://www.cassiopaea.org/cass/dreams_disinformation_2.htm

I'm still in the process of reading those. I'm eager to begin dream work now that I have a method for doing so!

I have also been finding journaling before bed to be very helpful. It seems to clarify my thinking while I write, and lets me analyze my feelings, thoughts, actions, and possible options in a way that I just can't manage in ordinary thought. It also serves as a reminder for The Work, because there is only one purpose for my journal: Know Myself.

EDIT: A comment I forgot to make is that it seems to me that dream work, if one can separate truth from lies in the dreams, is potentially useful for providing insights that can be used to "Redirect" the adaptive unconscious. At the beginning of "Strangers to Ourselves", Timothy Wilson mentions how nice it would be to have a "true self detector" or some-such, which could tell us our true desires and our true thoughts about things and people. He says that sadly no such machine exists, and our unconscious remains invisible to us.

But maybe dream incubation (thinking about our life situations and asking questions before sleep) combined with a good interpretation strategy (Mrs. Delaney's "dream interviews" seem like a great way to elicit the meaning of the dream for the dreamer), combined with EE to keep oneself calm yet aware and centered on learning, as well as networking to verify that one isn't being "taken for a ride" - maybe all these things together could give a person a method of "true self detecting", or at least discovering unconscious feelings/information so as to make more informed decisions.

One big question for me is this: Laura recommends that "big" list of books to be read (and understood) before one even considers to take on a ouija board/channeling experiment; so, What about dream interpretation? After all, both dreams and ouija may be doorways to the unconscious, but also to a host of other things helpful, harmful, or neutral. Are there any special "contraindications" to dream work, sort of like "for your health, do not do this if ____ or ____"?

 

[HowToBe]

Here's a podcast I found from 2012, an interview of Gayle Delaney. It's about 45 minutes long. Some of what she discusses reminds me a lot of the narcissism books I've been reading recently.

annehill.org/2012/04/30/dr-gayle-delaney-on-dreams-and-problem-solving/

She discusses the phenomenon of people being attracted to others who are like their parents and says some interesting things there (in the latter half). She also talks about the clearly ponerized situation where Jungian therapists take advantage of patients by having sex with them as part of "therapy", and speaks out against this.

I found it interesting. FWIW.