Dear blog friends,

We have been away from this blog too long and we often thought we should publish a little note to explain our prolonged absence.  Now that we have a bit more time, we want to share with you the latest news concerning our work with dreams.

Christiane’s comments

“ My conference this year at the symposium of the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD), required a huge amount of time for preparation from November 2010 on.

The first task, accomplished by Judith, was the translation of the French conference. I had to cut out many details of the text because I speak slower in English and I had to respect the allotted time. But the most arduous work for me was to correct my thick French accent.

Going over the text numerous times with Judith, my English teacher, finally helped me to manage it. 

As all the required prepations before the Congress worried me a lot, I was comforted by a dream which told me that everything was OK.

The symposium took place on the last week of June in Rolduc, Netherlands, near the German border. The magnificent building is an old abbey which has been converted into a hotel and congress center

The four day symposium was a real success thanks to IASD’s admirable organizing committee.

There were approximately 200 presenters and co-presenters, who together with the attendees represented 30 countries from around the world.  This year’s theme being “Dreams and Cultural Diversity”, every attendee could choose according to his own interests among the presentations from so many different cultures.

I had the pleasure of meeting with the American researcher Dr Scott Sparrow, whose work guided me 35 years ago when I first started working with dreams.

Among so many interesting dream lovers I met Layne Dalfen, a Canadian analyst, who, like me, explains dreams on her blog.

It was also the ideal occasion to meet with Europeans who share the same passion for dreams. Here are only some of them.

We will get together to pursue our common goal and spread the work with the dreams.  As members of the European chapter of the IASD, we have decided to initiate some activities: exchanges through Internet and a yearly meeting.  Harry Bosma, from Holland is our coordinator and he has created the site for our exchanges.

As for me, every morning from 8 to 9, I animated a dream group.  Working with a participant’s dream, I showed how to use the interview technique to find the meaning of the images.

As to my conference “Loving and Sexual Scenarios in Dreams”, some people said : “ Interesting and funny !” I hope I invalidated some frequent prejudices linked to the interpretation of these images.

The congress closed with its traditional ball and the costume contest.”

After those intensive days I had more work waiting for me upon my return.

(Oh my computer is bold... !)

 “ On the 8^th of July I had been invited by a local radio network to participate in a night program from midnight to 6 in the morning.  You heard me right.

I spoke about dreams and I interpreted live twelve submitted to me by the listeners. I withstood it for 41/2 hours and then went home…rather tired.  It took me two days to recuperate!

That night, while driving my car, guided by my GPS, I remembered with emotion a sentence I had heard in Rolduc :

“The most comprehensive TomTom navigating system and Internet explorer are found within yourself !” That sentence was spoken by the business man Jan H.Kieft in his remarkable conference “The Road to Enlightenment according to my Dream”.

And I ask : Where is it within yourself ? In your dreams, of course.

Then in the following two weeks I prepared the intensive five day dream interpretation training seminar for my students. It has just ended.

So now I am free to pursue the studies on the blog!”

Next time, we will resume the studies on dream incubation where we left off.

Christiane and Judith

Illustrations

IASD logo : link on the left in the blue part of the blog

Painting : Dream and cultural diversity, by the artist Willem Fermont, Manager in the Netherlands Conference committee

Dr Scott Sparrow, pioneer in lucid dream and dream analysis, professor at the University of Texas

Layne Dalfen from Canada

Tony Hawkins from England “ Rooted in Reality, Informed by dreams, Born of the Infinite”

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Anita Leuthold from Swizerland, dream analyst

Anne Marie Gabella from Switzerland leads dream groups

Judith with Ghazaal Bosorgmehr from Iran, specialist of dreams in Iran literature with Jung’s psychological approach.

Harry Bosma, developing the dream research and exchanges on Internet

Sakira Lanting and Mark Thuring, psychologists in Netherlands, attending Christiane’s dream group

Christiane during the morning dream group

Christiane during her conference

Christiane and Judith, after the conference

Christiane and Brenda Ferrimani, American artist

Moon-Brenda and Sun in pleasant company

Richard Wilkerson, IASD web and office Manager

Curtis Hoffman, Professor of Anthroplogy and Archeology, also animates dream groups.

- Curtis disguised in baby

- Curtis looks like a Greek god

As you have seen in the preceding text, seeking advice from one’s dreams has been a universal practice. With Irina’s dreams I have given you examples of answers given by dreams. However it happens sometimes that the answer is ambiguous or that the dream gives no answer at all.

This is what happened to Helena. Here is the dream she received last week. Helena will soon be turning forty, she is a mother and since a few days she knows she is pregnant. She is wondering whether she’ll keep the baby or not. She wants to and she doesn’t want to.

On the one hand she feels a motherly desire, she loves children and family.

But on the other hand she feels like a woman who, arriving at mid-life, would like to realize another type of project in view of self-realization. She feels like going out, living for herself a bit, finding new, pleasant activities and meeting friends.

She is torn between accepting this pregnancy or not.

Once it is yes, and then it is no.

 She is tormented and decides to ask her dream if she should keep the baby or not.

 A very serious question, an oppressive task for the interpreter…….courageous. Let us see the dream.

Sarkozy’s son   

I have a son, his father is Sarkozy, the president of France. My son is a young man, strong and sturdy, very interesting and very reasonable.

Between us there is a great understanding and a respectful complicity.

He asks me if I have accomplished what I wanted in my life.

I answer :

- No, it’s not easy. I add that it’s never too late and that maybe I…

He smiles at me and tells me that I can share my thoughts with him.

I feel great strength, a real support emanating from him.  I wake up feeling happy.

Interpretation

Here are Helena’s answers during the interview.

I have a strong, sturdy, interesting and reasonable son. 

Helena doesn’t have such a son in reality, so this one represents a strength, a way to assert oneself that she has developed over the years.  She possesses the qualities underlined by the dream.

He is Sarkozy’s son      

It would be ridiculous, absurd to think that Helena fantasizes about the President, no, the dream indicates that this inner strength was the result of adopting the same values as him, as a way of living.

About Sarkozy

We are talking about Helena’s Sarkozy, of the personal image that she has of this man. This is not political, it concerns an interior dynamism of hers. So we must ask her the “interview” question :

- Helena, what is Sarkozy for you, what is he like?                                                      

- I love what Sarkozy says, we share the same values : order, work. I appreciate the fact he wants to sanction the trouble makers. I love his strength and his humanity, he has the courage to say out loud what others think but never express.

So this description defines an aspect of Helena’s nature which has common points with Sarkozy, as she sees him.

He asks me if I have accomplished what I wanted in my life.

Crucial question ! By this the dream asks the young woman to question herself on the meaning of her life and to take stock of it. Following this she could look inside and decide whether or not she will keep the baby.

I answer no, it’s not easy.  I add that it’s never too late and that maybe I…

Helena doesn’t complete her sentence, she keeps the rest to herself. This attitude shows that there are aspects in her that she doesn’t want to admit to herself, that she doesn’t want to look at.

 My son smiles at me and tells me that I can share my thoughts with him.

This strength which is part of her and also larger than her invites her to be authentic, to do like his father Sarkozy, to “have the courage to say out loud what others think but don’t express.”

What is the dream doing?  It’s asking her to dare to be truly herself.                    

Is that a direct answer to her question? 

No, the dream doesn’t answer, it leaves Helena with her own decision, it allows her the freedom of choice.  The answer concerning the decision of keeping the baby or not will spring up when she dares to be herself.

I feel great strength, a real support emanating from him.

The dream shows that, whatever the solution, Helena will have the needed strength to face up to it.

I wake up feeling happy.

She feels happy because now she knows that she is free, that whatever the outcome she will live as she wants because she knows that this inner strength will not fail her.

Conclusion

So this dream is an example of the limits of incubation.  Yes, the unconscious is benevolent but we must not expect everything from it.  We must exercise our own judgment, our will power and our freedom. If we asked the unconscious to dictate our behavior, we would be like machines. To expect all the answers from our dreams would be infantile abdication of our responsibility for our own life.  The unconscious guides us toward our independence, it encourages us to exercise our freedom of choice and to live the experiences that our choices have brought forth. Practicing incubation profusely won’t lead to maturity, on the contrary.

Illustrations

I thank the  French artist Mrs Anne Marie Volodos who permits me to illustrate our blog with her paintings.

http://mapage.noos.fr/anne-marie.volodos

Clotho :

Lachesis

Penelope

Jason Lewis : Tecmix.aufeminin. com

Sarkozy : backchich.info

Jason Lewis : instyle.com

Jason Lewis : people.plurielles.fr

Le grand Bleu by Mme Anne Marie Volodos