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Dreams - Dream Interpretation With James Harvey Stout
Introduction
This is a how-to book. It gives instructions for techniques which have
worked for many people (including me). The book also explores the
theoretical aspects of dreaming, from the perspectives of psychology
and religion. In the second half of the book, we will examine lucid
dreaming -- being conscious while we are dreaming, such that we can
willfully control our dreams.
This book contains recurring themes which are particularly
important.
- Our natural state is conscious awareness, not the unconsciousness
of deep sleep nor the semi-consciousness of non-lucid dreaming. Our
goal can be to sustain full awareness 24 hours per day (even while the
body sleeps); some people have attained this goal.
- Dreams are part of the overall fabric of "who we are." They are
not isolated into brief moments of our sleep; rather, they play a role
in our wakeful life, just as our wakeful life reciprocally influences
them. Their emotions, functions, and dynamics are as real and vital as
anything which we do during wakefulness.
- During dreams, every situation is founded upon an archetype, just
as it is during wakefulness. As explained in the chapter regarding
archetypal fields (in The Human Handbook), we respond to
archetypes by generating thoughts, images, energy tones (e.g.,
emotions and feelings), and actions; a record of these "elements"
remains in the archetypal field (which is analogous to the magnetic
field which surrounds a magnet). Then, in each subsequent encounter
with that archetype, we automatically refer to those records to
determine "how do I usually respond to this archetype?" -- and we tend
to generate similar elements. In dreams, we are encountering
the same archetypes which we encounter during wakefulness. Therefore:
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Our particular dreams are expressions of the elements of
our archetypal fields; for example, during wakefulness, if we have
had fearful thoughts regarding an upcoming job interview, the
energetic charge of that fear is likely to generate a dream
pertaining to the interview (although the topic might be veiled in
symbolism). Thus, our wakeful activities affect our dreams. |
| - | Our dreams affect our wakeful activities. During dreams, we
generate new elements when we encounter archetypes. Those elements
will remain there as references when we encounter those same
archetypes during subsequent wakefulness. |
| - | In lucid dreams, we are conscious, so we can perform the same
types of "archetypal field-work," which we can perform while awake.
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The research for this book. The research included dozens of
books, newsletters, questionnaires, personal letters from dreamers, and
my own experiences. Frequently, I encountered the same ideas -- in
different words, and from different perspectives. The international
community of dream researchers (both professional and amateur) is
sharing a common pool of information, so some of this material will be
familiar to the people who are immersed in dream study, but I have added
my own experiences, observations, and theories.
We are oneironauts. As oneironauts (oh-NIE-ro-nots, i.e.,
dream pioneers), we can each become a new Columbus or Magellan. We have
developed techniques and knowledge which allow us to enter the
dreamscape consciously to look face-to-face at our own psyche (including
the unconscious mind), and to visit realms which are as vast as our
imagination. In a previous era, I might have wished you the blessings of
Hypnos (the god of sleep), or Oneiros or Morpheus (the gods of dreams)
-- but in this modern time, I can offer, instead, the research of
scientists and amateur explorers, and the belief that you will find your
way into this exhilarating world of dreams and lucid dreams.
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