Analysis of Client’s Dreams

The following is a dream I received from Paul. The analysis technique I used was Dream Interviewing. You can find this technique discussed in more detail on the Dream Resource Pages on this site. In this technique I interviewed the dreamer (Paul in this case) asking what each symbol and image means to him. For example I asked Paul what is a piano? I said to Paul “assume that I am from another planet and I have never seen a piano, tell me about it. What function does it have in your world?” I asked if the dream relates to anything that is going on in the dreamers daily life. This interpretation technique allows the dreamer to retain ownership of their dream and their dream images and symbols.

There are several other techniques that I teach and use. Each is discussed under the section Dream Resources elsewhere on this site. I feel it is important that the dreamer always maintain ownership of their dream images and symbols. My interpretation of a dream is just that, my interpretation. If I interpret the dream then the interpretation says more about my psychological process than it does about the dreamers process. If I interpret the dream then in effect, it becomes my dream. It is more empowering if I simply act as a guide, a resource in the interpretation process.

There are images and symbols that are part of the collective unconscious and appear in dreams from every culture. A man, a woman, a snake, a fish, a bird, a dwelling, etc. are examples of collective images and symbols. Images and symbols that are cross cultural maintain the same meaning from one group to the next. Other than those cross cultural definitions, I feel that you can only go so far with fixed definitions from a dream dictionary. These definitions may help give you an initial insight into the personal meaning of an image or symbol. However, they were defined from within the context of the world view of the person who created the dictionary and accordingly carry a complex of limitations.

If you allow the ego to interpret the dreams images then they will usually be taken at face value, missing a deeper and possibly more cryptic meaning. Ultimately the meaning of the images and symbols comes from within the dreamers subconscious mind, because that is where they were struck into being. Therefore the images and symbols that are ascribed to the dream have a personal meaning only to the dreamer. To uncover the personal meaning the images must be interpreted in a non rational state, an intuitive or alpha state, similar to when they were formed. It is from this intuitive state that we experience the a ha! That moment of enlightenment when we experience the meaning from a greater place within ourselves. It is that intuitive knowing that jumps, takes a leap, makes a connection, beyond the limitations of the rational mind.

Paul’s Dream:

I had a great dream last night. I was looking at Pianos to put in the house since I have it to myself now. They were all ornate and unlike any piano I had ever really seen. They were very decorative with woodwork that went higher than the piano in all sorts of curves. Hard to explain but like a thick branch of wood that curved up like half a heart or half an eight and coming out in a set of four. Like an upside down table where the legs stem from the center. But really ornate and grooved or sculpted. It was almost like they doubled as tables in the dream though the table would be upside down sticking off the piano. But in the dream they were some modern thing only they did not look of modern style. And they were more square instead of longer. Then I remembered Ray (my sponsor and father figure from AA who died in 1994 friends since 1986) had a piano and he had moved and left the piano in his house. So I was going to go buy and see if I could pick it up if the new tenants did not want it. Or I was wondering if I should call Ray and ask him about it. Then I saw Ray in my dream and I think I was by the beach laying down and reaching towards him as he appeared and said something like you are beautiful or you are wonderful.

When I woke up from the dream about 7:00 AM I was really thirsty. So I went to get a drink of water (which I never do while sleeping) and as I was in the kitchen drinking I suddenly realized Ray had not moved as I thought in the dream but he had passed on and I got a chill as if he had just died because he was so alive in my dream. I was thinking I should call him as I woke up.
When I got back in bed and started writing I realized I was so thirsty because I was really hot. Like boiling without sweating. A very dry heat unlike when I have nightmares and sweat. I am glad I started writing then because the vivid details in the beginning started fading and I could not remember for sure exactly what he said. Very strange and so much to learn
from.

One thing I think I know for sure is Ray did not die. He just moved and I do not know where he moved to, except part of me thinks he moved Everywhere. Because in my dream this happened while talking to AL and suddenly Al turned into Ray and we were no longer at Al’s but on the beach and Ray lived by the beach and loved the beach. Ray probably represents a father energy in this dream but I also suspect it really was Ray. I used to want to talk to him and Mike so badly after they died and I was afraid to. Now I have had dreams about them both recently and maybe they are now able to talk to me. Ray also is like my grandma. Very loving and nurturing and supportive of all my endeavors.

The piano and wanting it in my house I think represents artisticness and creativeness and the fact that it was also like a table and of very nice quality and decorated – well we use tables to eat off of and this being a nice table maybe it represents a higher quality of life that I am
taking in and who I am taking it in with. I am sure there is much more than this but it is what I have come up with so far. Al is also a father figure and lives in my dads front house and he talks to me like I would like my dad and me to talk. He is also artistic and plays piano and paints.

The thing I am not sure of is why I woke up so hot. I think it is like when working with energy we get heated up and maybe the connection to Ray and the state I was in, in my dream caused this.

Any insights appreciated.

Paul

Reply to Paul from Karl:

In real life Paul’s roommate recently left and Paul now has the house to himself. The image of the piano that Paul presents is very feminine in nature, with all of the curves and the ornate nature. It also has a male quality with the square shape and the four legs. There is balance in the image.

I asked Paul what a piano was. He replied a musical instrument. I replied yes and have you ever noticed that in all of the old classic films there is always a piano in the house. At some point everyone in the house gathers around the piano while someone entertains. Often in the middle of a party everyone will stop their activity and focus around the piano. Prior to television and radio the piano was the focus of life in many homes. This ornate piano is not your common everyday piano. It is of fine quality and would probably be found in a finely furnished home. A finely furnished home may be an image for a healthy and integrated psyche.

The piano has additional features. It can also be a table. A table is a common symbol in dreams and occurs in most cultures in dreams. It is significant that the legs are in a set of four. Four is the number of logic and reason and of structures and of the mind. The table is a staging area for the constructions of the mind in a sense. It is of the physical dimension and created by man. It is a platform from which we express our creativity. It is a platform upon which we place our books for learning and a place where we gather as a family or a community and partake in the fruits of life. A place where we dine and a place where we grieve. A table can also be another significant gathering place for the family.

Ray seems to represent someone in Paul’s life that was a father figure or an initiatory and validating energy. The carrier of an energy of creativity and unconditional love that may not have been struck by his parents. Ray and Paul are next on the beach. The beach represents a transition zone from the unconscious process’s signified by the water and the unexplored lands that lie beyond, a metaphor for other psychological dimensions or terrain. He says, “you are beautiful!,” something that Paul takes in, merges with and realizes for the first time.

The intense heat is the result of an energetic opening and balancing. In a sense it is the result of the flames of purification. An alchemical process where the flames of spirit and consciousness transmute lead into gold. The lead of judgment, the weight of duality, melts and transmutes to gold, the refinement offers up pure awareness, resulting in freedom from the judgments of the past and the experience of that field beyond duality.

Ray and Al were clearly both significant initiators for Paul in his life. They each helped him see his own inner beauty and creative range. What he saw in them first had to exist within him or he would not have been able to see it. The dream shows us that Paul maybe for the first time in his life is owning the qualities in himself that he first saw and admired in others.

The following is the response that I received from Paul, after I the interview process and a joint interpretation of the symbols and images contained within his dream.

Dream notes from Paul

First and foremost in my mind is that Ray, my beloved friend who past on is with me now more than ever before. The unconditional love he gave to me I am now allowing myself to feel for myself. I am integrating his fatherly love into myself and into my home and I am beginning to feel self love instead of understanding it as a concept. All his creative wisdom and talent are a part of me and everything thing I see, hear, feel, taste and touch are a part of him and at the same time a part of of me. And all these parts of me including the parts of me I did not recognize in me but recognized in him are blooming in me now and they are beautiful.

I did not mention this before in my dream notes but as I am on the beach reaching for Ray and he tells me I am beautiful, it was as if I was David reaching for God in the painting on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel.

I was reaching for him from the same position in the same way. Ray was also a spiritual guide for me. So it is as if I reached out to touch God. Not only the God in Ray but the God in myself. This is such an exciting dream for me. I am flooded with emotion as I write this in such a beautiful way.

It’s like having found God and truly realizing he is within me and within everyone & everything and I am within everything as well. I cannot explain it, but it feels wonderful, but it is a calm wonderful. Even now as I write I see all this energy between me and the computer. As I watched people today it was interesting to note that the most interesting people were just overflowing with energy.

The piano helps bring all these parts of me together. Just as people have gathered around a piano to sing and have fun together in a creative way, I am coming together with myself. Learning to have fun with myself. To be creative within myself. All the parts of me can now come together around the piano and co-exist peacefully as we sing, play, and laugh. The ornateness of the piano has a very feminine quality, further symbolizing the creative energies balancing with my masculine energies.

The duality of it being a piano and a table seems to represent several things: The legs being strong and the piano being square seem to represent this will be a good foundation to build upon. A rational foundation for all my creative energies to interact safely. It’s ornateness also seems to represent a higher quality of life to build upon.

The table is also a place we gather around to nourish ourselves with food. Food for our bodies but also food for our souls as we gather with our loved ones nourishing ourselves and each other. A table is also a place for us to do things from. If we are reading we put the book on the table. Everything in our lives seems to be set on tables. So it is a beautiful foundation to celebrate around, to build upon, and to grow from as I experience God by experiencing myself.

The heat I experienced in my body upon awakening feels like I have achieved some higher state of consciousness and this seems evident in my life. I feel more centered and real the last two days. I also seem to see and feel more around me. Focusing on peoples energy takes less concentration and with more concentration I see more than before.

It seems as I am integrating I am becoming more conscious and collapsing old belief systems down takes less effort. I feel like I could write a novel on this but I will stop there for now.

Tagged as: dream