Retreat

[stcyrwm]

Just got back from helping lead a three day dream work retreat in northern Vermont. Was a great time both in terms of my own work with my dreams and in witnessing the work of others. My own work was oriented around a dream where I was sitting at a huge table with a bunch of other kids eating a feast. This was a new type of dream for me - to feel such belonging and it brought up a lot of sadness at how little I have felt this in my life. It was a treat to have the space at the retreat to stay with these feelings and to dive deeper into the feeling of the dream.
Also got to help lead and witness a process called string work where we lay someone's dream out and have other participants step into parts of the dream. It is an amazing thing to see what comes up for folks in this process.
I was curious whether there were others here who do group process around there dreams beyond the work here on the web?
Anyway this is my first post. Glad to find this site. We can tend to get a little isolated up here in the north woods.
Bill

[Wolfjk]

Originally Posted by stcyrwm

Just got back from helping lead a three day dream work retreat in northern Vermont. Was a great time both in terms of my own work with my dreams and in witnessing the work of others. My own work was oriented around a dream where I was sitting at a huge table with a bunch of other kids eating a feast. This was a new type of dream for me - to feel such belonging and it brought up a lot of sadness at how little I have felt this in my life. It was a treat to have the space at the retreat to stay with these feelings and to dive deeper into the feeling of the dream.
Also got to help lead and witness a process called string work where we lay someone's dream out and have other participants step into parts of the dream. It is an amazing thing to see what comes up for folks in this process.
I was curious whether there were others here who do group process around there dreams beyond the work here on the web?
Anyway this is my first post. Glad to find this site. We can tend to get a little isolated up here in the north woods.
Bill

Hi,
I amglad you enjoyed your Dream weekend. It is always nice to have people with same interests around you
I wonder where you got your handle from! stcyrwm It would be more appropriate for a Welsh vizzard or a crowned Eistedfodd Bard!! Does it mean singing on top of Mount Snowdon?
Cheers Wolfjk

[stcyrwm]

Hi, Ha, just had a dream about guys singing from the top of a mountain. But no my handle is far simpler than that. It comes from my name. Last name St.Cyr and first name William or as my English teacher used to call me - wm. Not sure why I put it together the way I did but there it is.
Bill

Originally Posted by Wolfjk

Hi,
I amglad you enjoyed your Dream weekend. It is always nice to have people with same interests around you
I wonder where you got your handle from! stcyrwm It would be more appropriate for a Welsh vizzard or a crowned Eistedfodd Bard!! Does it mean singing on top of Mount Snowdon?
Cheers Wolfjk

[Jennings]

Bill, while it is interesting what you say there are a couple of points that need clarification. For example, how can one feel isolated when the Internet is international? You also make mention of a 'three day dream work retreat' and I am immediately questioning how can this help and how does it work? I can see how psychoanalysis works and how others could learn from the process but how could groups (described by you as 'strings') possibly assist when dreams are individual and personal? Surely, by the intervention of any other in-put the dream changes and becomes a public drama so it no longer can be deemed to be personal nor relevant to the dreamer? You have me intrigued.

In the dream you mentioned, on sitting at a table with children feasting (you omitted to say whether you saw yourself as an adult or being one of the children which could be important) but, on the basis of what you described, it would indicate the need to be popular which in turn reflects the element of loneliness to your life. You described this as 'belonging' and 'sadness' both which are equally apt descriptions. One could 'funnel' deeper into those feelings to reguritate more sensitivity but by doing so there is a shift into the field of psychoanalysis which, as you will appreciate, is a different skill and a different arena to dream interpretation and there is a departure from it. To cherish this feeling of warmth, as you described it, for a time while at the retreat, how then, is this seen to be of any help to resolving your social problem of feeling alienated or isolated?

On this site a type of group processing does occur in that dreams often receive a number of interpretations but you seem to be suggesting another type of feature which hopefully you might be able to describe.

Many questions in search of answers; are you up to meeting this requirement?

[stcyrwm]

You also make mention of a 'three day dream work retreat' and I am immediately questioning how can this help and how does it work? I can see how psychoanalysis works and how others could learn from the process but how could groups (described by you as 'strings') possibly assist when dreams are individual and personal? Surely, by the intervention of any other in-put the dream changes and becomes a public drama so it no longer can be deemed to be personal nor relevant to the dreamer? You have me intrigued.

It is amazing in a way that the group work does not become a "public drama". It remains deeply personal for the person who's dream is being worked. Partly this has to do with the leadership that is involved in setting up and facilitating this work. More importantly the dream itself creates a context that in the right conditions allows the unconscious to come up in ways that still surprise me. We do not act out the dreams but more try to find the place in ourselves that the dream touches and then let the unconscious flow through. It helps also of course that almost everyone involved is doing one on one therapy work which creates a foundation for the work that is done. It is a remarkable process to witness.

In the dream you mentioned, on sitting at a table with children feasting (you omitted to say whether you saw yourself as an adult or being one of the children which could be important) but, on the basis of what you described, it would indicate the need to be popular which in turn reflects the element of loneliness to your life. You described this as 'belonging' and 'sadness' both which are equally apt descriptions. One could 'funnel' deeper into those feelings to reguritate more sensitivity but by doing so there is a shift into the field of psychoanalysis which, as you will appreciate, is a different skill and a different arena to dream interpretation and there is a departure from it. To cherish this feeling of warmth, as you described it, for a time while at the retreat, how then, is this seen to be of any help to resolving your social problem of feeling alienated or isolated?

What we are doing is a type of psychoanalysis. We use the homework from a dream session to help stay clear about what is happening in our lives and not look to the outside world to fill a need that often needs to be found internally. Most of the isolation I have had and what I find in others has to do with this attempt to find something in the outer world that really can only be found on a more spiritual level inside of oneself. The dreams offer a guide on how to do this.

Bill

[Jennings]

Bill, I suspected the 'dream work retreat' to be a form of psychoanalysis. I may be wrong but I gain the impression that analysis is not welcomed on this site (and I am not implying that you are about to bring it with you) nor indeed does it seem to be appropriate, although the occasional analyst does pop-in to display his/her wares. It will be interesting to hear from you how, if at all, the readings of your dreams transpire to be of personal benefit. it is nice to note your interest.

[stcyrwm]

Originally Posted by Jennings

Bill, I suspected the 'dream work retreat' to be a form of psychoanalysis. I may be wrong but I gain the impression that analysis is not welcomed on this site (and I am not implying that you are about to bring it with you) nor indeed does it seem to be appropriate, although the occasional analyst does pop-in to display his/her wares. It will be interesting to hear from you how, if at all, the readings of your dreams transpire to be of personal benefit. it is nice to note your interest.

I see the dilemma of having analysis on the site. I guess it is a bit confusing for me because I see dreams as part of the psyche so any discussion of them becomes a type of analysis. Maybe I am wrong about this, but that is my belief. I came to the site out of curiosity about how others are working with their dreams. I am in the profession so maybe it is inappropriate for me to be here. If that is the case then I apologize. I do understand that sites like these can become full of spammers of different types if this is not moderated. Maybe a moderator could clarify this for us.
Bill

[Jennings]

There is little doubt that any discussion of dreams is a form of analysis. The forum appears to be accommodating of all views but professional analysts tend to become focussed on their teachings often to the exclusion of their own observations and perceptions and always fade-out sooner rather than later or alternatively become selective in their choosing and there is no restriction to this feature. Now that a little more is known of you, the dream you mentioned in your first posting becomes more apparent, and the children of the dream are the laity to whom you are ministering and you are enjoying the prestige of this position of authority and the adoration that goes with it, and this little piece of analysis comes to you gratuitiously from an amateur enthusiast. I look forward veritably to your contribution.

[Wolfjk]

Originally Posted by stcyrwm

I see the dilemma of having analysis on the site. I guess it is a bit confusing for me because I see dreams as part of the psyche so any discussion of them becomes a type of analysis. Maybe I am wrong about this, but that is my belief. I came to the site out of curiosity about how others are working with their dreams. I am in the profession so maybe it is inappropriate for me to be here. If that is the case then I apologize. I do understand that sites like these can become full of spammers of different types if this is not moderated. Maybe a moderator could clarify this for us.
Bill

Hi Bill,
Welcome to the forum!
Perhaps the best way to get acquainted with the people on here is to post one of your dreams and see how the natives respond!
I could not respond to your dream fragment:

My own work was oriented around a dream where I was sitting at a huge table with a bunch of other kids eating a feast.

My take on dreams is that they do their work while they are being dreamt. The text of the dream may indicate its cause and the character of the dreamer.
Cheers Wolfjk