The explanation of night dreams is an occupation known to mankind since antiquity. But modern methods allow you to make the interpretation more accurate and more individual. Our journalist visited the training and talked with the author of a new technique by which you can decipher dreams on your own.
I went to training for the first time in my life. Maybe that’s why so many things seemed surprising to me. Telling a dream to a stranger, for example, required a lot more openness than I was used to, and started with pairs reminiscing about dreams we had at different times. And sometimes old dreams were brighter than those that were dreamed just yesterday. Then each chose one dream to analyze in detail.
The host, Anton Vorobyov, explained how to do it: among the characters of the dream, we singled out the main ones, drew them (a new experience for me!), Asked questions according to the list and answered, finding ourselves in the place of one or another hero.
And again I was surprised: all my previous understanding of sleep floated. Those who seemed unimportant took on the main roles, and their lines sounded unexpected every now and then, although I seemed to have composed them myself. Perhaps this is more like “hearing” than “inventing” … In four hours we received a scheme for independent work with dreams. There are only a few questions left.
Psychologies: What is the difference between popular dream books and professional interpretation?
Anton Vorobyov: Dream Interpretations give the general meaning of symbols without taking into account your personal experience. That is, if you dream of a kitten, then this is a nuisance, regardless of what you associate kittens with. Sometimes this interpretation makes sense, but more often it turns out to be dubious.
In modern psychology, the interpretation of symbols on the basis of cultural and historical meaning is considered only as an additional method. Jung himself said that each patient must be treated individually. It is important what the symbol means to you, what experiences it is associated with.
How is your dream practice different from others?
Usually dreams are considered as something whole and indivisible, and the main attention is directed to the plot. My method proposes to single out the main characters: the dreamer, the background, those characters that seem significant to you, and communicate with them.
If you’re being chased by a monster, closet, or unknown «it,» ask why they’re doing it. If you are surrounded by houses or woods, ask them: “Why exactly are you here?” And most importantly, ask what they want to tell you.
Pay attention to the fact that the background and its details are also actors and, perhaps, have information that is useful to the dreamer. Another difference is that this technique was created for independent work.
What gives the understanding of their dreams?
Understanding yourself. Dreams are a clear reflection of what is happening in the unconscious. The more we work with dreams, the faster we move from vague guesses about their meaning to the fact that the unconscious becomes a wise mentor, telling us how to improve our lives. Many of the decisions I have made in my life are unconscious clues that come from dreams.
Are all dreams worthy of interpretation, or are they useless?
All dreams have their own meaning, but it is useful to pay special attention to those that «cling». If a dream is spinning in your head for several days, it arouses interest — it means it’s hooked. Such dreams usually contain clues about what excites you in life: choosing a career, achieving goals, creating a family.
And dreams that are not remembered, not catchy, are more associated with the remnants of daytime events.
Is it worth worrying for those who do not see dreams at all?
You shouldn’t worry. Everyone dreams, just in different numbers, and some do not remember them. Those who remember some catchy dream episodes can work with them.
Experience shows that the more often we turn to our dreams, analyze them, the more often they dream. And for those who do not remember dreams at all, there are other ways of self-knowledge, for example, the study of fantasies.
Is your technique suitable for the analysis of fantasies?
Yes, because fantasy is something like a background dream in the waking state. It is directly connected with the imagination, and therefore with the unconscious.
Sometimes there are several dreams during the night. Do they need to be separated or can they be analyzed together?
At least at first it is better to separate. So you can concentrate on the aspect that interests you, do not get lost, moving from one dream to another, understand the technique and master all its steps.
However, if another dream captures, if the desire to go to it does not let go, feel free to interpret it! When working, you will notice associative chains: memories of daytime events or other dreams. This will help in interpretation.
I am for people to show some creativity in adapting the methodology. You can, for example, change the list of questions, add or even remove any stages. The methodology that is currently available is the results of my experience and my vision of work. I tested its effectiveness on myself, on clients, on training participants. After mastering it, you can customize it for yourself.
Is it worth analyzing nightmares?
I wouldn’t recommend starting with nightmares. There is a risk of facing old psychological traumas, fears and falling into unpleasant states, and then support from the outside is required. With everything related to nightmares, recurring dreams and dreams that cause a strong emotional response, I recommend contacting specialists, and not training on your own.
What do we risk if we analyze dreams on our own, and how can we avoid the risk?
The main risk is to find out the truth about yourself. It cannot and should not be avoided, since the truth about oneself is useful, it is the goal of our work. It helps to be in contact with oneself, the inner and outer world, to clearly see what is important in life and what is secondary.
But meeting her can be unpleasant, especially if we have lived apart from ourselves for a long time. Because the truth destroys old ideas about ourselves, and because we are used to them, this can hurt. In these cases, I suggest contacting specialists: they will offer additional ways to work through and emotional support.
In general, the sooner we begin to engage in self-knowledge, the better for us. Psychologists know that one of the most common regrets is about wasted time. We lose it because we did not pay attention to the signals that the inner world sent us.
When is it better to start dream analysis: immediately after waking up, after a few hours, days?
Whenever. Dreams have no expiration date. If you are interested in a dream, it means that it has a connection with actual experiences.
The book in which you present the methodology has a funny title…
«How I tore my dream book.» This is because to understand dreams, you need not ready-made meanings, as in a dream dictionary, but an algorithm for searching for individual meanings. The book has three chapters.
The first is about how to separate mystical and psychological interpretation: this is a necessary theoretical preparation. The second is examples of how to come from an incomprehensible plot to a specific meaning. The third chapter is answers to questions about both the technique and dreams.
And there is also a notebook for self-interpretation. You can work with it like a manual: you don’t have to go back to the book if you forgot something, just follow the step-by-step instructions.