Welcome Message
Welcome to the Dream Class! Over the next six weeks, students who want to achieve their wildest dreams will have a lot of fun! Please work one assignment per week, and put "dreamclass Assignment #" in the subject line, so I can distinguish your email from all the spam and other junk mail I receive. Let's get right to the first assignment.
Materials You will need a notebook, journal, or note pad to record your dreams. Keep this at your bedside and write down all the dreams you can remember every morning when you wake up. If you are unable to recall your dreams, or forget them before you get to the notebook, please write down any fragments, thoughts or feelings you had when you woke up (we'll discuss methods for recalling dreams later in this course).
Textbook You will need a dream dictionary for this class. You can choose one of the textbooks on the list below, or substitute any other book that catalogs dream symbols in alphabetical order. Here are two on the internet:
Dream Lover's Dream Dictionary
This is a Jungian dictionary and offers psychological interpretations for symbols.
Sleeps.com's Dream Dictionary
This is a gypsy fortune telling dictionary, that treats dream symbols as omens of good or ill fortune to come. This style of dream interpretation is sometimes misleading. It is more productive to treat dream symbols as parts of the subconscious. Sometimes the fortune telling dictionaries can cause unnecessary fear through superstition. But use your own judgment here.
Here are some more dictionaries and other good dream links:
Petrix
DreamMoods
Dream Dictionary
Oxygen
South Beach
Online Dictionary
Practical Dream Work
Dream Doctor
I have listed examples of dream dictionaries from Amazon.com. Most of these are Jungian-based interpretations.
The Dream Book: Symbols for Self-Understanding, Betty Bethards, Element Press, $10.00 Order it now from Amazon for $8 (+s&h) (This is the one we keep on our bookshelf these days.)
The Complete Book of Dreams, Edwin Raphael, Foulshom Publishing, $12.00 Order it now from Amazon for $9.56 (+s&h)
The Dream Dictionary: 1,000 Dream Symbols from A-Z, Jo Jean Boushahla, Berkeley Books, $11.00 Order it now from Amazon for $9.56 (+s&h)
The Dictionary of Dream Interpretation : Including a Glossary of Dream Symbols by Gerald Schoenewolf, $60 Order it now from Amazon for $48 (+s&h)
A Dictionary of Dream Symbols, Eric Ackroyd, Blanford Press, $10.00 Order it now from Amazon for $8.76 (+s&h)
Assignment One
Create a personal dream profile by answering the following questions in the front pages of your dream journal. Later we will learn how to use this information to help you interpret your dreams. Send a copy of your dream profile for your first assignment.
1. Your name, age, gender, and a brief, general paragraph about how your semester is going so far.
2. Have you ever kept a dream journal? If so, when and for how long? Do you easily recall dreams upon awakening? Do you have a reoccurring dream? If yes, briefly describe.
3. Is there one dream that stands out in your mind, even if it took place a long time ago?
4. List the ten most important events that shaped your life.
5. List the ten people who have been most important in your life (living or dead).
6. Recently, I was interviewed by "Writing for Publication" student Nandini Garud. We talked about why people dream and how dreams can affect our waking lives. If you have not already done so, please read this short article. What questions do you have about dreams after reading the interview? Do you have any observations you would like to share with the class? Briefly describe what you hope to learn.
Study Group Topics
Here is a list of topics for discussion:
symbols
archetypes
lucid dreaming
synchronicity
reoccurring dreams / nightmares
dream journaling/ remembering dreams
controlling / influencing dreams
improving sleep patterns
writing / drawing from dreams
studying the work of writers / artists who use dream images
If this is a large class, I strongly recommend getting involved in a study group discussion at the bulletin board. If you have nightmares or reoccurring dreams you would be willing to discuss, please get involved at the bulletin board. If you're interested in lucid dreaming or influencing your dreams--or if you have experiences you can share--please join that discussion. Joining a study group will help you get more of what you want out of the class.
Dream 8/6/93: I run and run but the bus takes off without me.
