Incubation Instructions

·                     While lying in bed relaxed, think about the problem you wish to have answered. Even work on it a little in your mind. Try to figure out what it is you really want. What obstacles are stopping you? What has worked and what hasn't worked?

·                     Formulate a single, precise, clear question.

·                     Write the question on a piece of paper and place it under your pillow.

·                     As you are falling asleep, repeat the question to yourself and ask that it be answered in your dreams

·                     Record all your dreams that night in your dream journal immediately after each dream.

Aside from the above instructions, you may want to keep the following in mind.

·         Are you really ready to receive the answer?

·         Choose the right night. Make sure you're not too tired, have had no alcoholic beverages, and you will have time in the morning to take notes.

·         Make sure you fill in your dream journal completely before bed including daynotes, feelings, dream question.

You can use the above method for just about any purpose.

It has been proven that all of us dream.   Many people mistakenly insist that they do not because they have no recollection of dreaming.  There are several common reasons why dreams are not remembered:

• Especially traumatic dreams from childhood may block adult recollection of dreams.
• We don't want to acknowledge unpleasant aspects of ourselves or experience painful dream feelings.
• Very deep sleepers often have problems remembering dreams. This is because it takes these people a long time to become fully awake, and our most productive dreaming is done just before waking up. By the time they are awake enough to remember a dream, they can't.

The Recall Checklist

• Keep a dream journal by your bed
• Record the daily information before going to bed (date, daily occurrences, etc.)
• Upon awakening, write whatever is on your mind
• Write even brief segments of dreams, This may trigger more recall
• Concentrate on your feelings upon awakening
• Move slowly into the dream position to re-trigger the dream
• If you must use an alarm, use the alarm, not the radio
• Set the alarm for the middle of the night. It may wake you during or after a dream
• Drink a lot of water before bed. This may wake you in the night during a dream
• Stay relaxed, patient, and persistent
• Take a midday nap. You may dream during it.
• Use your dream journal every day to let your mind know you want to remember

The Incubation Method for Better Recall

During the hypnogogic state, that suggestible time between wakefulness and sleep, tell yourself repeatedly "I will remember my dreams when I wake up."

Also try:

• Setting your alarm 30 - 60 minutes early to catch those important dreams during that productive early-morning dreaming period.
• If you awake sensing you just had a dream, but can't remember what it is, go back to the position you were in when you had the dream, relax and drift back into a dream-like state. Try to immerse yourself in the feelings and images you had when you first awoke.
• Call up images of the important people in your life one by one. One of them might have been in your dream and will, hence, trigger a memory.
• If you are drowsy and relaxed, but still can't remember that dream, invent one while in this close-to-the-unconscious state. The dream exercises will also work with the made-up dream.

 If all of the above suggestions fail, stop trying for a while. Once you take the pressure to remember off yourself; you may be more successful. After a few weeks, try the incubation method again.

Freudian and Iroquois dream beliefs run surprisingly parallel - both were convinced that forbidden wishes were expressed in disguised form in dreams, and if those wishes weren't satisfied, the mind would punish the body through physical ailments (a.k.a., psychosomatic illness).

That is where Freudian and Iroquois beliefs diverge, however. The Iroquois were not satisfied with just dream interpretation - they advocated actually acting out your dream during your waking hours, no matter how bizarre or otherwise socially unacceptable that would be. For instance, if one lived in Iroquois Society, it would have been perfectly acceptable for a person to parade around nude with a pig tied to his back if he had a dream about it the night before. In our culture, such an enthusiast would reach Bellevue before a higher plane of self understanding.

Make Dreams Come True (Less the Strapped Swine)

Obviously, acting out a good portion of our dreams would land us in jail, or, at the very least, in hot water with our parents or spouses. However, when chosen selectively, certain dreams lend themselves very well to acting out.

A dream that offers an answer to a confounding predicament, or one in which you find your way around a blockage will bear constructive results when acted out. If you find acting out a dream is not as simple as it sounds, working with a group will often yield exceptional results.

Acting Out Dreams with a Group

When acting out dreams with a group, you must be even more cautious about which dreams to use. Good sense dictates that a dream should not be chosen if it could be harmful to another group member. While using other dreamwork therapies, it is often preferable to study dreams that feature great details and a good number of scenes. In this case, you will want to avoid dreams that have an innumerable number of characters.

1.                   The dreamer recounts the entire dream.

2.                   The group members take turns asking clarifying questions.

3.                   The dreamer assigns each group member a role as a character or element.

4.                   The dream is enacted with the dreamer as himself.

5.                   The dreamer has dialogue with the characters as he chooses, even changing the ending. After the dream has been acted out, everyone should discuss their feelings about the performance. In this way, the dreamer can glean new insights into his own dream.

1. Keep a dream journal

Keeping a dream journal will not only aid in recalling your dreams, but also gives you a log of dreams you have had and past interpretations. Just as important is its use in determining patterns and interpreting prophetic dreams (psychic dreaming). Dream journals are a crucial part of dream interpretation. It doesn't have to be anything fancy; just a notebook next to your bed is fine.

Keep a space in the back of the notebook for an alphabetical listing of your associations for future reference. This listing is called a symbol dictionary and may not always be the same associations, but if they change, you can see how one can make use of that information.  You can also see all the dreams where that symbol showed up.

2. Recall your dreams

You can not interpret your dreams accurately without first recalling your dreams. Keeping a journal is a good step but there are other tricks you can use as well. When you wake up, try to think about how you are feeling. Sometimes recalling the overall mood of a dream will bring it back into focus. If you feel yourself waking up from a dream, don't resist. Stay in the position you woke up in. Try to recall as much as you can, writing it in your journal. Usually, recording parts of your dream will bring back most of it as you are writing. If you don't think you dream at all, set an alarm for the middle of the night. Sometimes waking up "off balance" will aid in triggering a recall response.

3. Rely on your own interpretations

Unless you are honestly stuck on part of your dream, do NOT use a dream dictionary. Most symbols can not be universal. Suppose you are dreaming of riding a horse naked down a beach? What would that mean to you? What if you are afraid of horses? What if you love horses? What if it was a town, not a beach, or suppose a dark forest? What if the horse was blood red?

Interpretation is a personal thing. Symbols are based on what YOU think they are, not what others think. What means one thing for one person, can mean something else for another. The setting or mood of the scene also plays a part. Keep this in mind when doing your interpretation. Use a dream dictionary sparingly.

4. Incubate a dream

The incubation of dreams is a very important part of dreamworking. What good is a random dream? Wouldn't it be great to dream about a solution to a problem or nagging question? Similar to prayer, dream incubation can give you the answer you are looking for. When some pray, they do not know how to "receive" the answer from God. Incubating a dream can do this. The Bible says in Job 33:14-16: "For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night when deep sleep falleth upon men slumbering upon their bed, then He openth their ears and sealeth in their instructions."

It is beyond the scope of this article to give detailed instructions for incubating a dream. In brief, go to bed thinking of the question. It should be a single, precise and clear question. Write it down and place it under your pillow. Repeat the question as you are falling asleep.
 

5. Act out your dreams

Acting out your dreams with a group of people is a great way to get a feeling of the dream. Discuss the dream with the other participants. Ask how each felt in their role. See if you can gain new insight from the "play." This can be best done in a dream group environment.

If you don't have others to involve in re-enacting your dream, you can use sandplay. Using a sandtable or similar device, find objects around the home to represent the characters and symbols in your dream. Then, act out the dream using these objects with you acting out all the parts. This may give you more insight from within yourself, but it leaves out others' perspectives.

6. Interpret your dream

Using one of many methods, you now need to interpret your dream. Associate each character and object in the dream. Could this part of the dream be showing you a side of yourself? Has that side been showing up a lot lately? How can you relate to the associations? Decide what the dream is trying to communicate to you. Is it advising you to do something?

7. Perform a ritual and complete the dreamwork

The whole purpose of dreamworking is to help you change your detrimental everyday habits. If you merely interpret your dream, then say, "Oh, that's interesting." but do nothing, you have wasted your time. You need to perform a ritual that shows you have understood the dream and you are acting on the information given to you to better yourself. Sometimes what to do is obvious, other times not. If not, do something symbolic like light a candle or say a prayer until you come up with what you need to do. If a dream is not complete when you awake, complete it yourself with a desirable outcome. If the outcome wasn't what you wanted, rescript it. Rescripting works great with nightmares.

The above steps are only a short guide. It takes a while to truly start to understand your dreams to the point where they can guide your life and help you understand yourself. No one can interpret your dreams accurately for you, but they can help you to interpret your own dreams. Done correctly, dreamworking will enhance your life, and possibly even help predict your future, or create a new one.

John Vercelletto, MCHt. Mr. Vercelletto is a Master Certified Hypnotist and Certified DreamWorker. He has been a member of and certified by the International Association of Counselors and Therapists (IACT) and the Hypnodyne Foundation. He is listed with the Hypnosis International Board of Registry and has been trained by Steven LaVelle and Vincent Lauria, among others. John was honored with the IACT award for Hypno-Innovation for his work combining hypnosis and dreamworking. His workshops and newsletter on the topic of dreamworking should not be missed. As a dream guide, he will help uncover the exact meanings of your dreams, and show you how to utilize your dreams to improve your life. John has a private practice for hypnosis, past life regression, and dreamworking in Long Island, NY. But for those that can't make it to NY, he offers worldwide workshops and online newsletters, education resources, and dreamworking services. Visit his site at http://www.dreamworkers.org.

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