Dream Series Research Articles

Music in the “Barb Sanders” dream series.

Music in the “Barb Sanders” dream series.

Church Dreams in a Long Dream Series of a Benedictine Nun

Church Dreams in a Long Dream Series of a Benedictine Nun

Clocks in Dreams: Analysis of a Long Dream Series.

Many dream content analytic studies focus on dream characters, animals, social interactions and so on, but they rarely analyze the frequency of everyday objects in dreams. In the present paper, the frequency and phenomenology of clock dreams in a dream series of 12,476 dreams of a single male dreamer was analyzed. The clock dreams (0.74% of all dreams) show a variety of contexts not only related to the time management of the dreamer within the dream. Interestingly, clocks that belong to the dreamer in waking life occurred very rarely in his dreams. Given that keeping time schedules and appointments in waking life is of importance to almost everyone, the low frequency of clock dreams might be explained by novelty, that is, waking-life experiences that repeat themselves regularly do not show up in dreams that often. Thus, studying everyday objects such as clocks in dreams might help refine the current models describing the continuity between waking and dreaming.

Analysis of a dream series by the Dream Coding System developed by Ulrich Moser.

This paper serves psychotherapeutic process research and shows the process of change in a psychodynamic, individual psychological psychotherapy by means of a theory-based content analysis of the dreams reported in this therapy. The analysis of the patient’s dreams is carried out according to the dream coding method by Ulrich Moser and Vera Hortig (2019). The guiding question is about changes in positioning and interactions of the dream elements, how can they be determined and how (within the framework of the underlying dream generation theory) the influence of these changes on the patient’s ability to regulate affect can be assessed. Dream coding according to Moser and Hortig uses only the manifest dream and can be regarded as a research tool that rests, among other things, on psychoanalytic concepts, while at the same time taking into account more recent findings in dream and affect research. Its focus is on the coding of the present dream experience and the transformation of dream elements both within individual dreams and in the course of an entire dream series. It allows, without knowledge of the biographical anamnesis and without using psychoanalytic interpretation methods, to recognize changes in the dream structure and the affect regulation produced by it. The coding system thus also offers the possibility of making comparisons regarding the therapeutic changes achieved and thus (at least potentially) the effectiveness of different treatment methods (cf. Leuzinger-Bohleber, 2008, p. 7 f.). The coding of several dreams, i.e. the manifest dream content as a dream series highlighted the patient’s inner psychic change process: while the safety principle dominated the beginning, involvement increased and the use of the elements was more flexible and the interactions more mixed, to approach the initial dream again towards the end of the dream series. The coding indicates that the patient was able to increase her self-efficacy due to better containment of the emergent (dysfunctional) affects. This coding procedure serves as a promising empirical process assessment for carrying out single case studies.

The percentage of male and female dream characters in a long dream series

Previous research based on many dream studies including children, adolescents, students, and adults in different cultures reported a “ubiquitous” sex difference in dreams: Whereas male dream characters are more prominent in men’s dreams compared to female dream characters, women tend to dream equally often about males and females. The present findings of 52% in a series of 3828 dreams recorded by a middle-aged male individual indicate that this gender difference might not be “ubiquitous” but depends on the pattern of waking-life social contacts. Studying the ratio of male and female dream characters might help to understand how social life is reflected in dreams.

“Breaking the law” in dreams: Analysis of a long dream series

Nightmares in which the dreamer performs a criminal act and is terrified of being punished have been reported in the literature. Systematic studies of “breaking the law” within dreams, however, are still lacking. Within a long dream series of N = 11,808 dreams, 0.80% of the dreams included some criminal activity often associated with the fear of being arrested; rarely with the feeling of remorse. Studying this dream type offers an opportunity to shed light on the options concerning how dreams might be related to waking-life: thematic continuity, e.g., being dishonest in waking-life and being dishonest in dreams; emotional continuity, e.g., the fear of being found out in the dreams is related to waking-life worries about possible negative evaluations by others; and/or metaphorical continuity, “killing” as a metaphor for ending relationships. Thus, this pilot study provided hypotheses for more in-depth analyses of larger dream samples.

Does global warming affect dream content? Analyzing a 30-yr. dream series

The continuity hypothesis of dreaming postulates that dreams reflect waking life, e.g. preoccupations, experiences, thoughts; however, other topics like seasonal changes have been studied very rarely. A long dream series recorded between 1984 and 2015 (over 30 years) including 11,808 dreams showed that “cold” elements like snow, ice, and hail occurred less often over time and, thus, indicates that dreams might provide clues regarding global changes. Using modern tools for digital dream content analysis might enable researchers to validate this preliminary finding using other large data sets.

“It’s raining again” – Bad weather in a long dream series

The cognitive theory of dreams, proposed by Calvin Hall in 1953, postulated that dream images serve to picture conceptions the dreamer has in his or her waking life. Dream settings, like stormy weather, might reflect the dreamer’s emotionally influenced conception of the world. In a long series (N = 11,777 dreams) rain dreams (about 1.40% of the dreams) were analyzed to study how rain in dreams affect the dream ego. Although rain had an effect on the dreamer in two thirds of the dreams and is often not accompanied by explicitly mentioned emotions, the negative emotions (48 dreams) outweighed the positive ones (4 dreams) indicating that rain dreams may picture negative conceptions of the world, i.e., the emotionally negative perceptions of their world experiences. However, the large variety of topics in rain dreams also support the idea that rain in dreams might depict a variety of different world-conceptions, from obstacles in waking life to “real” danger. Future research could link rain dreams to waking life events of the dreamer, e.g., loss of a friend (cf. the song “It’s raining again” by Supertramp) and provide empirical evidence of a representative continuity – in addition to the confirmative findings regarding a thematic continuity between waking and dreaming.

Pilot study on geometrical movement in lucid dreams

In this pilot study a group of volunteer lucid dreamers were recruited to trace out specific simple symmetrical geometric structures, whilst lucid in their dreams. The experiment was a joint effort between the Dream Research Institute (DRI) in London, and Robert Waggoner, co-editor of the Lucid Dreaming Experience magazine (LDE). The purpose was to explore a hypothetical observation by psychotherapist Nigel Hamilton that psychotherapy clients who ultimately completed a balanced geometric movement in their non-lucid dream series, then experienced greater psychological balance and progress in therapy (Hamilton 2014). This novel pilot study sought to find whether tracing out simple symmetrical geometrical figures in the lucid dream produced any significant effect on or within the dream space. Two analytical methods, including a contents analysis revealed the significance of light/colour emerging in the dream imagery during the completion of the lucid dream exercises, as well as the addition of symbols of symmetry in the lucid dream imagery. By contrast, obstacles and a relative lack of colour/light appearing during the exercise tended to be associated with a lack of symmetry in the imagery and a greater difficulty in completing the geometric figures. Results also suggest that the lucid dreamer does not control the lucid dream, instead they influence the dream and frequently relate to unconscious activity in response.

From adolescence to young adulthood in two dream series: The consistency and continuity of characters and major personal interests.

From adolescence to young adulthood in two dream series: The consistency and continuity of characters and major personal interests.

“Baby, you can drive my car” – Means of transportation in a long dream series

Using transportation means like cars, public transportation is an important part of modern life style. Thus, it is not unexpected that transportation also plays a significant role in dreams. In a long series (N = 11,463 dreams) of one dreamer (single-case study) about 16% of the dreams included some form of transportation. The dreamer who is driving cars very rarely, dreamed more often about being a co-driver than a driver – in contrast to persons who drive a car regularly, supporting the continuity hypothesis of dreaming. On the other hand, several dreams were “creative”, i.e., don’t reflect any actual waking-life experiences of the dreamer, for example, traveling in a spaceship or submarine. Car trouble dreams were frequent (40% of the car driving dreams) even though the dreamer never experienced car trouble in waking life, e.g., malfunctioning brakes. This supports the idea of Patricia Garfield that this dream type is metaphorically linked to feelings of not being in control in waking life. Very interesting topics for future research would be studying the relationship of “creative” dreams, i.e., dreams that did not reflect directly the actual waking-life experience of the dreamer, and his or her waking life and the possible metaphoric link between car trouble dreams and waking-life stress.

Jungian theory of dreaming and contemporary dream research - findings from the research project 'Structural Dream Analysis'.

The research method 'Structural Dream Analysis' (SDA) is described which allows for systematic and objective analysis of the meaning of dreams produced by patients in Jungian psychotherapies. The method focuses especially on the relationship between the dream ego and other figures in the dream and the extent of activity of the dream ego. Five major dream patterns were identified which accounted for the majority of the dreams. The clients' dream series were dominated by one or two repetitive patterns which were closely connected to the psychological problems of the dreamers. Additionally, typical changes in the dream series' patterns could be identified which corresponded with therapeutic change. These findings support Jung's theory of dreams as providing a holistic image of the dreamer's psyche, including unconscious aspects. The implications for different psychoanalytic theories of dreaming and dream interpretation are discussed as well as implications for the continuity hypothesis.

Dreaming under fire: the psyche in times of continuous stress.

Continuous stress and trauma are manifested in dreams, the study of which can expand our knowledge concerning unconscious reactions to trauma and efforts of coping with continuous traumatic situations. In our research we asked people living under continuous threat of rocket attacks to record their dreams and their associations to them during four consecutive weeks. We collected 609 dreams from 44 women and 18 men (age range 14-62). The dreams submitted were analysed according to the Jungian approach in the light of the information and associations presented by the subjects. Full dream series of dreamers from each group were analysed in an attempt to capture the depth-psychological experience of living and dreaming under fire. The most frequent themes found were: 'concrete vs. symbolic', 'togetherness', 'active ego', 'fear and anxiety', 'shadow' and 'personal issue'. The subjects were divided into three age groups. Differences between the occurrences of themes were examined. On the unconscious level our results showed that the adolescents group seemed to be the most vulnerable to the stress situation (preponderance of concrete dreams), the mature adults group was the least influenced by it (preponderance of symbolic dreams and of the 'personal issue' theme) and the young adults group made the greatest psychological efforts for coping (preponderance of 'active ego' theme). We noted few anima figures appearing in the men's dreams, while animus figures appeared in the women's dreams. In another study undertaken immediately after one of the recent wars in Gaza we collected dreams of Israelis living in the south of Israel who were under heavy daily rocket attacks, and dreams of Palestinians living in the West Bank. The most significant difference we found between the groups was a preponderance of symbolic dreams among the Palestinians, as opposed to a preponderance of concrete trauma dreams among the Israeli group living on the Gaza border. In both groups we found archetypal symbols of evil. In conclusion, dreams can help us detect emotional distress, even when subjects seem 'ok'. Early detection and working with dreams can help prevent the severity of delayed PTSD.

Olfactory perception in dreams: Analysis of a long dream series

The present study analyzed the frequency of olfactory perceptions in a long dream series (N = 11,180 dreams) reported by a single participant. Overall, about 0.30% of the dreams included references to olfactory perceptions with unpleasant odors outweighing positive ones. Moreover, most of the olfactory perceptions are uncommon with regard to typical everyday life. To expand these findings, it would be very interesting to study larger samples using a diary paradigm including explicit questions about type, quality, and commonness of the dream odors.

With or without you? Dreaming about the romantic partner – A case study

Romantic relations do not only play a major role in pop songs like the U2 song “With or without you” but also in “real” life. Empirical data support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming as romantic partners are quite prominent in dreams; however, content analytic studies of partner dreams are quite scarce. The present dream series over a four-year time period (included a romantic relationship) of a female dreamer included 132 dream reports. Partner-related activities (sexuality, friendly interactions) are more prominent in dreams with the partner compared to dreams without the partner. After separation, the friendly interactions in partner dreams decreased and negative emotions increased. This single-case study might stimulate research to take a closer look on ex-partner dreams and test whether they are helpful – also within a clinical context (psychotherapy) – in coping with the separation.

Who Keeps a Dream Journal? Sociodemographic and Personality Factors

A fascinating area of dream research is the analysis of long dream series. However, research regarding differences between long-term journalists and normal persons is lacking. The present online su...

Dreams of a geographer : A long dream and waking life series of geographic locations

Several studies have shown that daytime geographic locations are more frequently incorporated into the dreams of the next two nights, but also after a 7 days delay. We analyzed the dream locations in 680 dream reports longer than 20 words recorded over a calendar year in a single geographer subject, and compared them with the exhaustive, concomitant daytime log of the 122 cities he visited during the same year. Among the dream reports, 24.4% (from 38% of the nights) named the geographic location in dreams. There were 107 cities visited in dreams and 122 visited during daytime: only 30 locations were common to dream and daytime life. Dream reports were longer when they indicated a location (90 ± 92 vs. 70 ± 67 words/dream, p = 0.008). In contrast, 72% (77/107) of locations visited in dreams had not been visited during the same year and 20 (18.7%) dreamt locations had never been visited during the entire life. In the 139 nights including a dreamt location, there was a timely (same night) concordance of 32.5% between the location visited the day before and the location in dream. Another 13.5% dreamt locations corresponded to locations visited within 10 days prior to target nights (without any peak at the 7th day), whereas 11.5% dreamt locations were locations to be visited the next day(s) (anticipation effect). This within-subject, large single longitudinal dream series, concomitant with an exhaustive log of visited geographic locations, confirms the continuity hypothesis for incorporation of recently visited locations in dreams, does not confirm the 7th day delay in incorporating location sources, and shows a small but interesting anticipation effect in dreams of future visited locations.

Dream content corresponds with dreamer’s psychological problems and personality structure and with improvement in psychotherapy: A typology of dream patterns in dream series of patients in analytical psychotherapy.

Dream content corresponds with dreamer’s psychological problems and personality structure and with improvement in psychotherapy: A typology of dream patterns in dream series of patients in analytical psychotherapy.

Structural Dream Analysis: a narrative research method for investigating the meaning of dream series in analytical psychotherapies

Patient dreams in psychotherapy can be seen as narratives pointing to underlying conflicts as well as to potential solutions for overcoming mental health problems. Conceptualizations of the dream and its potential in the psychoanalytic tradition meanwhile are well supported by empirical dream research, which has moved dream interpretation from a Freudian perspective towards CG Jung’s theory of dreaming. Nevertheless there is a strong need for more research connecting the meaning conveyed by the dream with the psychopathology of the patient and with process in psychotherapy. Structural Dream Analysis (SDA) as a method to investigate the meaning conveyed in dream series from analytical psychotherapies is introduced. It combines earlier methods of narrative analysis with psychoanalytic ways of interpreting symbols into a coherent and manualised interpretive method; the application of the method is demonstrated with a case example.

The feral boy: archetypal image of pathos in a dream series

ABSTRACTThe figure of a half-human, half-feline boy appearing in a dream series of a middle-aged businessman suffering from job burnout is investigated from a Jungian perspective, noting its relevance to Jung’s concept of eros as a relatedness principle as well as an example of the puer aeternus or eternal child archetype. Further investigation into the feral boy figure reveals its compensatory function: a reaction to the dreamer’s regression to a more primitive state of self-identity and forced alienation from his business profession and his private life. Additional references to the feral boy from the Mesoamerican Olmec civilization provide evidence of the figure’s identity as an archetypal image of pathos, arousing sympathetic pity that leads to reconnecting the dreamer with his societal and familial responsibilities.