The Act of Dreaming

Abstract

In psychotherapy we generally regard the dream as a kind of production. There it is scrawled on a scrap of paper or perhaps calligraphed into a beautifully bound journal. Maybe we are moved or encouraged to draw or paint an image from the dream. Analytical interpreters will be inclined to see their favourite theories illustrated in the imagery. Gestaltists may try to lay conscious claim to the content of the dream by getting under the surface of an image and speaking from the ‘I’ position. In all these cases the dream is seen as a kind of mystery which is inviting work to be performed upon it in order to discover its meaning. This work is often called dreamwork'. The ancient Jewish book of wisdom, the Talmud, says that 'a dream which has not been interpreted is like a letter which has not been opened'. Many dream orientated psychotherapists would surely agree. The dream is like a letter, or a book of mysterious words and pictures, or perhaps a personal inner cinema or theatre. The dream is a kind of show ...