UNDERSTANDING DREAMS AS AN INTERACTIVE PROCESS

Introduction to Module Two

In this module, you will explore the central premise of co-creative dream theory—that the dream is not a fixed, predetermined experience, but indeterminate from the outset and co-created through the interactive exchanges between two interacting structures: the dream ego and the emergent content. This concept grows naturally out of accepting the idea that the dream ego exhibits self-reflectiveness and volition to some extent in virtually all dreams and is independent of the dream content.

So, if the dreamer is aware and capable of responding to the dream content—and the content responds and mutates according to the dream ego's stance—then the dream experience is an interactive, reciprocal process that can unfold in a number of different directions, and result in a number of outcomes. From this standpoint, in order to understand what a dream means, we must first track the dreamer's responses over the course of the dream narrative and assess their impact on the dream outcome. Then, and only then, can the meaning of a dream be discerned.

Early in Dr. Sparrow’s dream studies, he conceived of dreaming as a process of initiation, in which the dreamer is exposed to unresolved and/or unintegrated elements of one's past or emergent self and given the opportunity to respond in ways that either facilitate or retard further development. So virtually every dream can be seen as a test, or an initiation, that will determine if the individual moves forward toward greater integration and wholeness, or remain stuck in habitual, reactive patterns toward the old and the new. Obviously, full lucidity greatly enhances the dreamer's capacity to respond to the dream content in flexible and fearless ways, but the quality of the dreamer's response does not depend on becoming fully lucid beforehand.

In this module, you will…

—Learn to view dreams as experiences that challenge the ego's status quo and provide opportunities to integrate unfinished business and unintegrated potentials, as well.

—Learn to view dreams through the lens of systems theory, in which the dream is a relational event comprised of reciprocal exchanges between the responsive dream ego and the responsive and malleable dream imagery.

—Learn to assess four dimensions of dreams, all of which represent aspects of potential dreamer change and development.

—Respond to discussion questions in the module forum.

—Participate in a live interactive online module-specific meeting. (Recording emailed)

—Complete the Module Two Quiz.

Objectives:

—Be able to define "initiation" from the standpoint of co-creative dream theory

—Be able to define "circular causality" or "reciprocity" as it relates to the interactive aspect of dreaming.

—Be able to explain the "integrative model" of dreaming and how it differs from other models of understanding dreams.

—Be able to list four qualities in dreams that one can assess as a measure of dreamer development toward integration and wholeness and rate a dream according to these four criteria.

Module Two Contact Hours: 4