Journal of Mental imagery, 1995, 19182) 43-66 Dream-Centered Dream Study: The Pursuit of Prolucidity JERRY L. JENNINGS Liberty Healthcare Corporation Following a theoretical discussion of the problems of dream interpretation, the author presents ‘a methodology for studying dreams ina “prolucid” state (Ahsen, 1988). Using several simple prin- ‘ples and techniques, the therapist aids the client in reliving the dream experience and maintain- Ing focused attention on is imagery elements, An annotated transcript of an actual dream analysis ilustvates the “dream-centered” methodology and the valuable results ofthe prlucid dream expe- rience. The Inadequacy of Verbal Dream Reports With their dramatic, mysterious, and seemingly absurd images, dreams have always held a great fascination for people throughout history. The uncanny realism and enigmatic quality of dreams has often led people to regard them as a source of insight, inspiration, self-understanding, and even prophecy. Yet, from both a folk and scientific stance, the problem has always been how to “make sense” of dreams. Reactions range from those who disregard dreams as nonsense to those who employ dreams as a guide to daily living, Ahsen (1988) recently tackled the age-old mystery of dreams in new attempt to penetrate this elusive realm. By combining techniques from imagery research and lucid dreaming research, Ahsen developed an innovative methodology to make it possible to study dreams as part of the full continuum of mental experiences. While describing the experiential state he calls “prolucidity,” Ahsen (1988) has done an outstanding job of clarifying the basic inadequacy of traditional approaches to dream analy- sis. Basically, verbal description and interpretation of dream material sim- ply fails to capture the realism and intensity of feelings and images within the immediate dream experience. On the contrary, verbal analysis of dreams commonly results in a “somewhat frozen state of imagery” (Ahsen, 1988, p. 39). This is sadly true. Oftentimes, traditional dream analysis is like the comedian's famous warning: “If you try to analyze why something is funny, it ceases to be funny!” Likewise, the very act of analyzing a dream ‘Authors address: Liberty Healtcare Corporat Pennsylvania 19004, 401 Cily Avenue, Suite 620, Bala Cynwood, ce44 LL Jenings somehow violates and diminishes the pure experience of the dream. Absen (1988) outlines a variety of ways that verhal reports are inade- quate to express (and may even distort the original dream experience. First, as recollections, verbal reports “add something to the reported image which may not exist at the experiential levels and thus do not exactly report the experienced image” (Ahsen, 1986, p. 43). In other words, the verbal analysis may add to, delete from, o” alter the original imagery. Second, ver- bal reports are unable to distinguish which of the many possible imagery arrangements in the dream is intended. Third, verbal reports cannot capture the concrete effects of the original intended dream reality. Thus, verbal descriptions often lack the substance, detail and vividness of the dream reality, and the dreamer has a poor grasp of the dream images. Fourth, ‘Ahsen (1988) argues that ambiguity and vagueness play an important role in dream cognition, whereas words, by nature, function to clarify and to dispel uncertainty. fifth problem is that verbal report data is in the form of a recollection of prior imagery rather than an immediate reliving of the dream images. Lastly, “dream data in the form of words is not... even the proper experiential data, if we are proposing to deal with pure experience as such” (Ahsen, 1988, p. 5), Consequently, to overcome the many shortcomings of traditional verbal dream reports, Ahsen developed a brilliant new technology, which com- bined the manipulation of images in waking con imagery tasks such as Marks’ (1973) “VVIQ"] with the manipulation of Parental images used as “activating filters” [using the “Eidetic Parents” technique (Ahsen, 1972, 1985)]. Ahsen’s procedure is designed to approx- imate the natural processes appearing in so-called “lucid dreams” by cre- ating a dreamlike cognitive state, which he calls “prolucid dreaming,” Ahsen (1988) has made a significant contribution in his recognition of the importance of lucid dreaming as a “bridge” state in the continuum from waking cognition to sleep.’ “Lucid dreams” are a special subcategory of dreams (Hearne, 1987; LaBerge, 1985) in which the dreamer, during sleep, is “as conscious as when awake, and can examine the scenery and events with full critical awareness” (Hearne, 1987, p. 70). Thus, in the lucid dream, the dreamer is aware of hinvherself struggling with the dream situ- ation within the dream itself, and may even fight the dream’s mind with his/her own mind. " "During prolucid dreaming the person experiences reactivation ofa process very similar or close to the dreaming process but the event takes place in full consciousness, giving usa vital brig forthe study of normal cognition, drear, and dreaming in one single context” (sen, 1986, p. 8) Dream-Centered Dream Analysts 45, Ahsen's (1988, p. 19) method to induce “prolucid dreaming” is actually quite simple: “The subject is first asked to report the dream and then inter- pret it according to his/her usual conscious views. Then the subject is asked to experience the dream imagery again by keeping one of the parents in mind, thus entering the prolucid state. . Following these prolucid dream experiences, the subject is asked to interpret all the dreams while still in a prolucid state.” ‘Ahsen consistently finds that the initial straightforward description of the dream typically results in the “frozen imagery” problem. The dreamer feels stuck, ideas are not easily forthcoming, and the dream images seem stiff and resistant to exploration. However, when Ahsen’s (1988) “parental fil- ter” is employed (i.e., keeping one parent in mind while looking at the dream), there is a heightened vividness to the dream images. The images become more fluid, lively and open, and new perspectives readily emerge. This “prolucid’” state approximates the state of the lucid dreamer in that the person can now wrestle with the dream material in a more or less con- scious “lucid dream” state. “This paper proposes the method of “dream-centered dream analysis" Jennings, 1986), which is complimentary to Ahsen's “prolucid” aims. Iti, a means of helping the conscious person re-enter the dream state and expe- rience the dream in a “prolucid” manner without introducing an interme- diary stimulus (i.e., the parental filte), which induces its own particular effects.? This method keeps the original dream experience intact while revisiting and reliving the dream in its original vividness, Although this technique was first cast as a rigorously Rogerian method, Jennings (1986) takes it one step further, saying, “this person-centered approach to dream meaning may be more accurately termed “dream-centered dream analy- sis.” Thus, in effect, it becomes a way of establishing the Rogerian condi- tions of (a) “unconditional positive regard” for the dream (as client) and (b) “empathic understanding” for the dream (as client) wherein the therapist endeavors to “be with” and understand the dream experience in terms of the dream’s own unique perspective, Dream-Centered Dream Study ‘The basic problem with traditional content analyses of dreams is a sin- gle underlying (and largely unexamined) presumption that dreams need to 2 The parental iter technique yields the impression that all dreams ae “developmentally motivated,” that i, determined by erly childhood experiences and complexes. Without the use ofthe parent act ‘vatng files, this “lawful and motivated” characteristic of dreams (Ahsen, 1988, p. 61) may often be rel- evant to or implied inthe dream but may not be preeminent.46H Jennings be analyzed to be understood and meaningful. In other words, itis assumed that dreams need to be translated into a form that can be grasped by the conscious mind—namely, verbal reports using conscious logic. However, as Ahsen (1988) has wisely shown, traditional verbal report data results in frozen, stilted images that lack the vividness and power of the pure dream experience. Dream material can remain vivid and lively as long as one respects the integrity of the dream itself. The key is to allow the dream to stand by itself and express itself in its own unique “logic” and “language” — without the harsh and inhibiting judgment of conscious logic. Dream interpretations often fall flat because the dreamer (or the dreamer and ther- apist together) are trying to analyze the dream using conscious verbal logic. ‘An entirely different result occurs when the dream is allowed to express itself in its own imagery “logic.” ‘As we have seen, the poor accessibility of dreams (the poor “lucidity,” if you will) is an artifact resulting from application of the wrong method to the study of dreams. Nearly every type of dream analysis (whether it is Freudian, Jungian, Hall’s content analysis, gestalt therapy, and so on) is based on the traditional approach in which “the content of the dream is approached in a narrowly cognitive way, which means looking at the dream images, analyzing them and interpreting them” (Ahsen, 1988, p. 40). At its worst, some schools of dream analysis do not even give the dreamer the privilege of being the best interpreter of his or her own dream, and the dreamer’s dream is subject to the particular theoretical structure of the given therapist. Coming from an existential approach, Boss (1958) is one of the very few scholars to insist that dream life is valuable as a special mode of experience complete and meaningful in its own right, and it does not require interpretation, Ahsen (1988, p. 53, italics added) affirms a similar Position when he asserts that, “the imagery during sleep has its own world nature.” Likewise, Haskell (1986, p. 134) argues that the irrational realm ie., dream experience) must be studied on its own ground as a valid cog- nitive experience. Jennings (1986) argues that dreams do not need conscious interpretation at all, drawing an analogy with the appreciation of art. Paintings have their own “world nature” and express themselves in their own unique medium ‘or language. To translate a painting into the medium of words (in order to make sense of the painting) is fundamentally absurd and ultimately does a disservice to the painting, Picasso's “Violins and Grapes" presents itself in its own way. The beholder does not need an art critic to “explain” the effect of the painting. The effect precedes any explanation. The explanation can Dresm-Cenered Dream Anais 47 be useful in helping to unfold the richness of the effect and thereby enhance its effect, but the painting's “meaning” is already there: “In a sense, any given dream analysis isa sort of “translation” into the language and symbols of waking life because the dream analysis employs ideas and concepts to carry forward the mean- ing of the dream. However, unlike the interpretative approach, this method concentrates on letting the dream image itself be more and more felt by the client. Although words and concepts obviously are used, the key is the process of “feeling into” dream elements and fully experiencing their special qualities, which is ‘occurring during the dream analysis” Jennings, 1986, p. 318) les and Techniques of Dream-Centered Dream Study Jennings’ (1986) approach involves re-entering the feeling experience of the dream state in order to appreciate its importance. Along these lines, Ahsen (1988, p. 64) has asked precisely the right question: “Can waking cognition drop its defenses, become itself sleepy and ‘mythic’ and ‘poetic’ enough, to become a valid instrument of research for the dream material?" The answer is yes, and it can be done directly, as the following “dream- tered” method of dream study demonstrates. (For a more detailed descr tion of the procedures and methods of dream-centered dream study, the reader is referred to Jennings, 1986. For the present purposes, the main principles and experiential techniques are briefly summarized and slightly amended as noted.) Principles 1. A dream is best understood in its chronological order of events. Jennings (1986, p. 315) argues that the “chronology of the dream estab- lishes the context within which all the dream events and images constitute and convey their special meaning.” Therefore, every dream must be stud- ied from its beginning to its end, and in that order only. 2. Analyze the dream into smaller parts or elements, including as much detail as possible. As a rule, the dream under study must be very “fresh” (ideally, taken from the previous night). The word “analysis” is used strictly in the sense of identifying and separating discrete elements within the dream in order to focus attention upon them 3. “The dream is the dream is the dream.” The dreamer (and more exact- ly, the dream itsel) is the best interpreter of the dream. Only the dreamer knows the correct fit between words, concepts and the dream experience. 4, Never break exclusive attention on the dream during the dream48 14 Jenings study? During the re-experiencing of a dream, it often seems irresistible to pursue important “leads” that relate dream elements to waking life issues. This strong tendency must be resisted for three reasons: First, it capitulates to the false presumption that a dream gains meaning only from translating its elements into equivalent representative waking life events. Second, digressions from the dream violate the integrity of the dream experience in terms of the chronology, flow, and salience of images within the dream: Third, it can be overwhelming to perform two endeavors at once (i.e., re- experiencing the dream and conducting “therapy” using the dream), espe- cially when the two endeavors involve radically different experiential processes. As Ahsen (1988, pp. 60-67) has shown, the conscious logic of waking life is radically different from dream cognition. Techniques These techniques help the client stay focused on the dream in order to vividly re-experience its emotions and images. 1. Physical description. This technique consists of asking the client to give a physical description of the dream element. What does it look like, sound like, feel like, etc? 2. “What does mean to you?” This technique is used to bypass. the most obvious and common meaning of a given dream element in order to reach its particular idiosyncratic personal meaning for the dreamer. A fre- ‘quent variation is to ask, “What do you think of when you think of__?" Other variations of this technique include asking, “What stands out about 2” or "What is notable abou__?” 3. Repeating the client’s words (echoing). Echoing is a simple technique of repeating the client’ last few words to help maintain focus on the dream elements. 4. Reviewing preceding dream events. Based on the chronology princi- ple, this “summarizing” technique helps the client to re-enter the sequence of dream events and thereby reveal the thematic direction of the dream. 5. “Dictionary” definition. By asking the client to “look up the definition” of a dream word or element (as if consulting a dictionary), the therapist can sometimes help reveal the essential defining characteristic of a given dream element. A variation is to ask, "What is the function of__?” or "What is the purpose of_ ” ©. What is the fitst thing that comes to mind when you think of___? > This fourth principle was certainly implied In Jennings (1986) orignal ance, but here Is made flly explicit. ‘Dream-Centered Dream Analysis 49, This technique is excellent for gaining an instantaneous, or uncensored emotional reaction to a particular dream image, which may help to yield its primary or special personal meaning to the dreamer, 7. Letting the dream element “talk.” This gestalt therapy technique uses the simple prompt, “lf a_could talk, what would it say?" It gives a voice to the dream element to tell the dreamer what it means, desires, or per- ceives. 8. Contrasting: In the “contrasting” technique, the therapist tries to dis- tinguish or discriminate the special significance of a given dream element by contrasting the image with alternatives from the same category. For example, in the following session, the therapist asks, “How are white build- ings notable? How are they different from brick buildings, or skyscrapers, or log cabins, or rowhouses. . these white stucco, old-looking buildings?” The act of contrasting can help to illuminate the meaning of a dream ele- ment that may be too obvious or too concrete for the client to grasp and appreciate, 9, Simple reflection. This is by far the most frequently used technique in Jennings’ dream-centered dream analysis. It is the classic client-centered technique of reflecting the essential emotion or meaning contained in the client’s communication of the dream experience. The aim is to help the dream see itself more clearly. Transcript of a Dream-Centered Dream Study Following the dream study session, the dreamer was presented with a transcripted copy and invited to make comments, In particular, she was asked to identify any points in the study where she felt that the therapist had introduced meanings or interpretations that were nat her own or not true to her dream experience. These points are identified in the transcript with an asterisk. The application of specific techniques and principles are also noted in italics. The Client’s Dream. So I'm driving in a red car through the country, and I'm not sure if it's day or night, and it goes off and on, and | come to this. place where it all snowy. And I'm not sure if it was snow all along or what, but | didn’t notice any snow until | came to this one part of the road where it was really really snow, deep snow, snow drifts all along the edges. The snow was like, you know, like packed all over the road and everything. And I drove over it, and noticed, as | was driving, there were dead people in ski “This sa new dream study technique that has been developed since Jennings (1986) original publ cation50 Jennings clothes, like buried in the snow, like the head, the face, one face would stick out, or a, part of legs would siick out. In ski, in brightly colored ski out- fits. And | thought to myself, “oh, well, it doesn’t matter, they're dead any- way, so Ill just drive on.” So I drove. And they were in the road so [ had to drive over them in the car. But it just didn’t seem important, like, "well, if they're dead anyway, then what's the difference if| drive over them or not.” ‘And it just didn’t seem very important. So then | was going to this place, which is just totally hard to describe. But it was sort of like a, almost sort of like a camp, or a school, of a nurs- ing home, some place where there's like an institutional type of dining room and people being served their meals at round tables. And Mary Z is there. And she has this fake job. She hates it here. And her job is just, like she just runs around looking busy, and uhm, telling people, or like, being sort of social with people, sort of like that’s her job, But it’s not a real job. | mean she doesn’t actually do anything productive. I's just that she’s sup- posed to look busy. Like she’s supposed to pretend like she's doing some- thing. And uhm, I'm sort of there for some reason. So uhm, I'm there for a while. And then I decide to leave, and it’s night- time. So now instead of driving my car, for some reason I'm on this little red bicycle, like a child’s bike, driving back down the country roads, and | drive through this small town. I'm trying to remember how to get home, and I know there’s several turns | have to make to remember, And I'm driving to this, through this town, where | have to, there's sort of like aT in the road and | have to make a, a turn. And so | make this left tum, sort of like, I think it’s Route 110. And then I drive along and have to turn onto Route 240. And then I'm driving along Route 240, and it's nighttime, but | was sort of on this bike, but now I'm sort of in the car again. But it was sort of scary because I'm out there all by myself and I’m not sure of the way home. ‘And I drive down the same road and I drive again over the dead people. ‘And then when I, as soon as I drive over them, I start to feel guilty, like, “oh, | really should have done something about that, like stopped and told somebody they were there.” But when | had driven over them before, | sort of assumed, “oh well, somebody certainly would have seen them by now and sent the police.” When | drove by the second time, and they're there in the same place, | thought, “oh, nobody found them, so | better do, tell somebody.” So | stopped the car and went back to a gas station, a Mini- Mart type place, and told the people to call the police and send them to that spot where the dead people were. And then... But I didn’t want to wait because | wanted to get home. So | just got back in the car and, sort of had an image that I saw the police coming to that spot, And | just drove away because | was trying to go home. And that was it. . ‘Oream-Centered Dream Analyss $1 Therapist: Your dream ended there? Client: Yeah. Therapist: So, going back to the begi again? [chronology principle] Client: I'm driving down a road, a country road, in the car, in the red car. Therapist: So, what stands out about a country road? Why not a city street or some other kind of highway. Why a country road? (What does it mean to you? and contrasting techniquel Client: i'm surrounded by open spaces. And it’s a litle bit scary because it’s all alone out in the middle of the road. And I’m not sure where I'm going maybe, and there's nobody around, you know. Therapist: So then you're like lacking direction, like you're lost. [reflec tion) Client: Not exactly totally lost, but afraid I'll get lost. Or if | do get lost, ‘what will happen to me. Or if | need help and theres nobody around, of... ‘Something like that. Therapist: So you're alone and feeling vulnerable to being lost. [reflec- tion) Client: Uhm hmm, yeah, uhm hmm, ‘Therapist: And you're in your red car? What's the significance of your red car? (What does it mean to you] Client: Uhmm. Well, it's the only car | have, but. .. But it sort of feels like a. . . In the country, on a country road, the red, the car feels like my secu- rity. Like i's uhmm, you know, it drives pretty well and it seems, you know, like keeps me safe and gives me protection from something. Therapist: Uhm hmm, So the red car is familiarity. That everyday kind of, thing, [reflection] Client: Its sort of my, my, oh what's the word, you know, my shell, my, my protection from what's outside there. Therapist: OK. So, here when you're facing the uncertainties, you have this little protective shell. *[Even though the therapist used the client’s own words “shell” and “protection” in making this reflection, the client later identified this as an external interpretation of her dream). Client: Yeah. Therapist: And then what happens? [chronology principle] Client: Then I come to the part where there's lots of snow, and snow drifts, and see the dead people that I drive over, Therapist: So, what do you think of when you think of snow? (What's it mean to yout Client: Hmm. | don’t know. Cold, winter. Therapist: How about driving in the snow? ing, what was the opening scene52 LL Jennings Client: Uhm... Driving in the snow is kind of... sot, and quiet, and you have to sort of slaw down and everything, but it’s sort of peaceful, almost. Therapist: I's sort of a deceptive peacefulness. Client: Deceptive? Therapist: Well, i’s actually dangerous Client: Yeah, it’s dangerous. . . Therapist: . . but it has the illusion of being soft and safe and peaceful. (reflection) Client: | guess so. I've never been that scared of driving in the snow. Its sort of like, just go slow and it'll be okay. It’s not like it was icy, it was just snow. Therapist: So it doesn’t seem to imply any great danger, just the idea of being a little bit more cautious than usual. [reflection] Client: Yeah. Therapist: It's almost pleasant in its novelty? Client: Uhm hmm, uhm hmm. Therapist: And then what happens? (chronology principle] Client: Well, I'm seeing these people sticking out of the snowdrifs. | see a face, and like a red and blue sk’ jacket, and somebody else has on some kind of ski pants. | don’t know how many, two or three, two maybe. People. Therapist: So why the bright ski clothes? [What does it mean to yout] Client: | don’t know. Therapist: What's the first thing you think of when you see bright ski clothes? [Whats the first thing you think of Client: Umm. Ski slopes, mountains, snow. Like a, rich people in ski lodges in Switzerland and. .. (laughs). Therapist: How are ski clothes different than other clothes? What’ it say about the people that wear them? [contrasting and letting the dream ele- ment “talk”| Client: They're protected from the cold and the snow. And, they're kind of sporty. And they‘te bright colored, but that’s sort of, | don’t know, because they're ski clothes. Therapist: So then ski clothes sand out, they're noticeable. [reflection] Client: Normally, yeah, right, they stand out. Therapist: They stand out against the snow. . . [echoing] Client: Yeah, uhm hmm. Therapist: They stand out in a way that attracts you? They stand out in a way that makes you curious? (contrasting] Client: 1 had no curiosity in the dream. But, uhmm, i, it attracts atten- tion, yeah. | mean | wouldn’t have noticed ordinary clothes really. But | iced ski clothes. ‘ream-Centered Dream Analysis 53 Therapist: So they're dead and almost imperceptible except for their ski clothes that draw your attention. {reflection} Client: Well, faces, faces sticking out. | think the face I can remember is a woman, just a young woman, a young girl, face, with her eyes shut, you know, dead. Therapist: Peaceful? Tragic? [contrasting] Client: Yeah, peaceful. Just totaly, like sleeping or something. Therapist: How young? Client: Hmm, I don’t know, young, twenty, twenty-five. Therapist: And they're all dead, three or four people. Client: | don’t know how many, but yeah, Therapist: Covered with snow. . Client: Mostly, except for limbs sticking out, Therapist: Why are they half covered with snow? Why limbs, why not chests, or feet, or hands? [contrasting] Client: They're just, | don’t know, they're buried, ‘Therapist: They're buried. . . (echoing) Client: They're mostly under a lot of snow. ‘Therapist: And they're sort of peacefully dead? No sadness, no. .. Client: Not really. Therapist: They're frozen? Client: They don't look frozen, Therapist: They look almost alive? Client: Yeah. ‘Therapist: Hmm. So you start off the dream on this country road, and you're uncertain where you're going, You're feeling sort of awkward being alone, setting out on your own, with no one to guide you. And then the atti- tude is one of sort of caution, because it's snowy. But it’s not like terrifying, it’s almost kind of soft and pleasant. And the first people you encounter are sort of, pleasantly dead. There's a young girl, who's, she’s not alive. She's dressed colorfully but yet they're sort of dead, there's nothing there. [Reviewing preceding dream events) Client: She is dead Therapist: But their, their personalities, there's no, there’s nothing there, They’re dressed flamboyantly, but they're just sort of dead. *[The client later objected to the introduction of the notion of “personalities” as an outside interpretation of her dream] Client: Yes. Uhm hmm. What are you getting at? ‘Therapist: Well, just that. . . That's the first thing you run into on your search, And then what happens? *[The client later objected to the intro- duction of the concept of a “search” as an external interpretation of her56 LL Jennings dream.) Client: On my search? For what? ‘Therapist: In the dream, What's next in the dream? [chronology principle} Client: Well | drive over them. ‘Therapist: So what's that like, driving over them? [physical description] Client: All| think to myself is, well, they’re dead anyway. Infact, a phrase | remember from a haunted house movie: “They're dead, they're dead now.” Like it doesn’t matter. It sort of reminds me of that. Therapist: So again, sort of feeling like “nothing lost”? {reflection} Client: Yeah, it doesn’t make any difference, Therapist: Just sort of manikins of people. So you drive over them, and then what happens? [reflection and chronology principle} Client: Well | just sort of get to this place ’'m going. | just remember this dining room kind of place, like a big common room with round tables with an institutional type of dining room. Therapist: And what do you think of when you think of dining halls? [What's it mean to you?) Client: Well, it reminds me a litle of camp when | was a kid. We didn’t cook out, we went to a dining hall for food. And also reminds me of like a nursing home dining room too. But | don’t know what itis. | can’t place i ‘Therapist: Okay. And then what's going on in the dining hall? [physical description} Client: Nothing important. Its sort of okay. Therapist: Are they laughing and joking? Client: There’s noise and bustle, and hustle and bustle, but it’s alright. Its sort of packed. ‘Therapist: So what's your sense of being in this big room full of people all busy doing what they're doing, [physical description} Client: | don’t play any part in what's going on there. Its just, I'm just there. Therapist: Uhm hmm. So again it’s a continuation of that feeling of being alone that began the dream, But now you're alone amidst people. [reflec- tion and reviewing preceding dream events| Client: Yeah, | guess Mary Z must have said something to me, but... Therapist: In the dream. . . And what's Mary Z mean to you? What do you think of when you think of Mary? [The client later complained that the therapist had “cut her off” at this point, which caused the dreamer to lose her focus. The therapist used the “What does it mean to you?" technique] Client: | don’t know, sort of. . Uhmm. . . Therapist: What kind of person is she? [physical description] Client: Well, a nice person, who wants to help people. Uhmm. But Dream-Centred Dream Analysis 55 someone who | don’t see, uhmm, | don’t see her in action, | don’t see her ‘ever do anything. | know she does things, but | don’t see her do it. | don’t know. Its sort of like | see her around but | don’t necessarily know for sure that she’s doing anything. | mean I know she does but. . . Therapist: Uhm hmm. So its a person who makes a good appearance of being productive. Yet it’s sort of a mystery how, how, the way she is. [reflec tion) Client: Yeah, and she, that’s what she states in the dream, or says some- thing about. “I have this fake job, and I hate it.” She hated it. Therapist: So she symbolizes a person who's caught playing a fake role. Something that’s not really her, but she presents so well that it looks like its done well. But it's meaningful even though it isn't. [reflection] Client: Right. ‘Therapist: So here you're amidst all these people in a fake role. And then what happens? [reviewing preceding dream events and chronology principle} Client: And i'm, it's time to leave and I'm, instead of in my car, it’s night- time, and it's late at night too. Therapist: And it wasn’t before? When you were on the road? Client: 'm not sure, | think it was daylight. Therapist: How is daytime different than dark time, nighttime? [contrast- ing] And now you're on a bicycle? (The therapist failed to allow time for the client to explore the day/night imagery before proceeding to the next chronological dream event] Client: Yeah, a little red bike, like a little kid’s bike. Therapist: And are you comfortable on that litle bike? [physical descrip- tion) Client: | guess i'm okay but | know it's gonna be a long way home. It’s gonna take forever to get home that way. Therapist: So what does a little kid's bike signify? [What does it mean to youl Client: (pause) Hmm. Somebody's firs, first uhm, means of transporta- tion, kind of being independent, to go ride somewhere by yourself. The color of the bike is the same color red as my car. [Both the client and the therapist failed to explore the significance of the color red and the fact that her adult and childhood vehicles shared the same color red.) Therapist: Uhm hmm. So now, now you're traveling again, again in a familiar sort of shell, familiar vehicle, literally, yet it’s a child’s vehicle, i’s a beginning vehicle, a beginner's vehicle. *[Subsequently, the client dis- liked the “shell” concept as an externally imposed interpretation, but the feeling of a “beginner's vehicle” felt true to her dream experience] Client: And it doesn’t have any protection around it like a car.56 LL fenniogs Therapist It still means the freedom to go, and go where you wish, but it's not as... Client: I's not as effective as a car. Therapist: I's slow, it’s sort of awkward, but it gets you there. [reflection Client: Yeah, so I'm feeling nervous because I'm not sure of the way home. I'm not really that scared of, specifically about, you know, being out in the dark by myself. But | guess 'm nervous, in general, about taking this trip back by myself. And I'm gonna get lost or whatever. Therapist: Uhm hmm. . . So, again, you're still, after dealing with false roles, you start anew, But you're still not quite sure how or when you're going to get home, to find that place, but not knowing where to go or how to do it. And having the only means available being this beginner's means. *{Subsequently, the client rejected the notion of “alse roles” although the therapist had thought that Mary Z was the embodiment of “false roles” for the client. Here the therapist uses the “reviewing preceding dream events” technique but fails to pick up on the client's twice-expressed “nervousness” at this point in the dream, Client: Well | do sort of know. I'm just, and in the dream, I'm trying to remember the different roads to take, and | think | remember it right, so | start off the way I think i's supposed to be. Therapist: Uhm hmm. So you're trying to trust your instincts. You're going back to basics, going back to the most primitive. And then what hap- pened? Are you peddling quickly? *{The client later objected to the exter- nally imposed concept of “going back to the most primitive” and its impli- cation of childhood involvement] Client: Well, medium. And then I get to this town and I'm driving down the road and there's like a dead end into aT. So I have to either turn right or left, so. And that’s route 110, And I have to remember which way did | come from, the right or the left, Therapist: So a T in the road is very different from an intersection or a curve or a. I's a T. What happens with aT? (contrasting) Client: You have to make a decision to go one way or the other. Therapist: So your decision, it’s, there are clear alternatives. (reflection] Client: In front of. .. When | get to that T, there’s like white buildings across the street. ‘Therapist: Yeah? How are white buildings notable? [physical description) Client: They/te kind of old and sort of stucco or white-washed looking. Uhmm. Therapist: How are they different from brick buildings, or skyscrapers, or log cabins, or rowhouses. . . These white stucco old-looking buildings? not as safe, it's not as secure, Oream-Centrad Dream Analysis 57 What do they mean to [youl]? [contrasting and What does it mean to you?| Client: Sort of, you know, out in the country, kind of old-fashioned, uhmm, quaint looking. . Therapist: Is it an attractive quaint? Client: Yeah, yeah. Very very nice. ‘Therapist: So do you go right or left? Client: Left. Therapist: And how is left different than right? If someone goes left, what's that mean, versus someone turning right? [contrasting] Client: | don’t know. ‘Therapist: What way, what way would you normally turn? Client: | guess | usually turn right, if|, | mean, since I'm right-handed. . don't know. ‘Therapist: But in the dream you turn left. So turning left is trying some- thing out of the ordinary. [reflection] Client: Well, | think that | remember that’s which way to, that’s the way | came from, so | go that way. ‘Therapist: So you trust, again you trust your instincts in the dream to go that way. And then what? [reviewing preceding dream events and chronol- ogy principle] Client: Then, after being on 110 for a short distance, | make a right turn ‘onto 240. [In retrospect, the client later emphasized the importance to her that, “the route was really clear in my mind: a left at the T, then a right, then the dead people place.” Therapist: Okay, so what's interesting about the number 110? [What's it ‘mean to you? Client: I'm not sure. It’s sort of a beginner number like one, and ten. Its ‘one, one, zero. So it's like the beginning numbers of the numbers. ‘Therapist: And then you come up to two. . 2 Client: 240. That's just a little bit further up the number scale. They're even numbers, which | always associated to be like, benevolent, positive nice numbers. (laughs) Therapist: So again you're following the benevolence of what always instinctively struck you as the right thing. The white, the white old fash- ioned houses, route 110, route 240, the little red bike. And then what hap- pened? [Reviewing preceding dream events and chronology principle] Client: Then I'm sort of. . . Umm. Well, before I get anywhere else, I'm, | just have an image of myself in the dark room. But then by this time, it feels like I'm in the car again. Therapist: Is it still nighttime? Client: Uhm hmm, And then | kind of get to the dead people's spot, and58 LL fennings that's in the car, ‘Therapist: So there's a point where somehow it turns from a bike to a car, where you go from a child transport to an adult transport? Client: After I turn onto 240. ‘Therapist: Uhm hmm, so you start at 110 and advance to 240, you advance to adulthood, and then you're back to that same juncture you Were at earlier in the dream. *{The client considered the therapist's inter- pretation of an “advance to adulthood” (based on the idea of going “from a child transport to an adult transport”) to be premature and presumptive. Client: And before, right before | get to the dead people's spot, there's a, | notice there's a gas station, and at some point, a little store or something on the right. And it's lit up. And that’s the place that | go back to right after I stop the car and report the dead people. Therapist: Okay. So you take note of the gas station? And the gas station is not, noton the left, its on the right. What do you think about that? (pause) Why wouldn't it be on the left? Why wouldn't it be up on a hill or down in the valley? Why is it there? [het does it mean to you? and contrasting] Client: ItS really close to the road. It’s just at the place where | normally want it to be, I guess. It was actually totally conveniently located right near to where I needed some place to be. And I really didn’t notice it on the way, ‘on the way down the road before. Therapist: So there’s a support there. There's a good thing that you don’t give much attention to, but it’s sort of, you know it’s there when you need it. You can always see a safety spot. And you didn’t give it much thought, ‘you just sort of know it’s there. And then you're back to the dead spot, in the snow again? And now it’s nighttime, instead of day? Client: Yeah. And I'm driving over them. . . Therapist: Do you stop? Do you drive? What happens? [physical descrip- tion] Client: First 1 drive over them again, and as I'm driving over them, | notice that they're in exactly the same positions and they look the same as they did before, which makes me think, “oh, that means nobody's come along to do anything about this.” And | assumed that someone else would have done something before, long before this. And nobody has. So then, | start to think, “oh, | should get out and do something, tell somebody.” Therapist: So I need to awaken these stuck things. I need! to, I need to do something to, | need to do something. It just can’t stay like this, stay stag- nant like this forever. It's my responsibility now. No one else is there. (Subsequently, the client sharply rejected the therapist's interpretive notion of “awakening stuck things” as alien to her dream experience. In retrospect, Dream-Centered Dream Analysis 59 the client clarified the important distinction between “responsibility” and “action” in the dream: “Its not that at all. It was less the idea of responsi- bility, but more the point of not taking any action and then having to go back.” In fact, she felt that lack of personal action was one of the preemi- nent features of the dream.) Client: Yeah, | sort of let it go, hoping somebody else would do it, But | ‘came back and nobody had done anything, Therapist: So again you're faced with taking responsibility. . . Responsibility for. . . this sort of pleasant uhh. . . [As noted above, the ther- apist would have been more precise to the clients dream experience by using the term “action” rather than “responsibility.” Client: They're things that | haven't. . Therapist: .. they're not dead, they're like unliving, Client: Yeah, | guess so. They're not dead in the sense of being sad or horrified or anything like that. Therapist: They’re just lifeless. (reflection) Client: Yeah, but they're also things that | didn’t put there. | didn‘, I'm not responsible for them being dead and being in the road. Therapist: You're responsible to do something about them? What about this lifelessness? You didn’t cause it, you didn’t do it, but it’s your responsi- bility to do something. .. [reflection] Client: Not about the lifelessness, but about just getting them removed and, put uhmm, you know, dealt with the way they should be, dead peo- ple, dead people should be dealt with. Therapist: Uhm hmm. Then you go back to the gas station? And do you feel good about calling the police or whatever? [chronology principle) Client: Yeah, | don’t do that. | tell the guy there, “there's dead people out there, call the police.” And he's, and he does, Then, but I'm saying some- thing like, “but I’m not going to hang around, | want to get home.” But I just want to make sure that somebody knows about this. ‘Therapist: Then what happened? (chronology principle} nt: Then | leave. Then I think | have an image of seeing police cars coming along, to the site of the dead people. Therapist: And that’s soothing, or satisfying? Client: Yeah, yeah, and then I'm driving up the road, I guess. (sighs) Therapist: So that’s the whole dream? So if you summarize it, it starts off with uncertainty, a sense of going somewhere, looking for something. . [At this point, the therapist begins what might be considered the second level of re-experiencing the dream. Having systematically relived each of