toward  empathizing   with   the  metaphorical,  symbolic
world  view   of  the  higher  Self.   Also,  the  focus  was
placed  on  the dreamer,  rather than  on  the dream itself.
Another  aspect  of  this  approach  was  to  discover  the
values  operative  in  the  dreamer's life,  and to compare
those  values  with  the  implied  values  portrayed  in the
dreams.  Finally, the most important aspect of the dream
interpretation  work   was  the  requirement   to  test  and
apply    any   hypothesis   gained   from   a   dream.   Such
application  was  believed  to  be  crucial in developing a
reality-based, as opposed to purely speculative, relation-
ship  with   the  dreams,   and   encouraging   even   more
responsive dreams.
     The  four  meditations  for  inspirational  writing were
designed  to apply these abstract theoretical notions into
concrete practices. The use of journal writing seemed to
provide   an  appropriate  means   for  dream  study  on  a
personal basis,  as it is a convenient and powerful means
of   fostering  self-understanding   and   creative   insight.
Working  with  me  on  designing   the   meditations  was
Thomas Verner,  a  graduate student with the Humanistic
Psychology  Institute.   Tom   had  studied  the  Intensive
Journal   with    Ira   Progoff,    and   had   become   quite
proficient  in  the creative use of a personal journal. Our
task   in  collaboration  was  to combine  the methods of
inspirational   writing   with  the  theoretical  orientation
concerning dreams.
      The meditations were structured around the theme of
problem  solving  and followed the familiar sequence of:
information   gathering,   analysis,   incubation,   creative
insight,    and   evaluation.    Each   meditation   used   the
dreams  from  the previous week,  and  directed attention
during  the  subsequent week  on  applying  whatever was
learned,  in the hopes that additional dreams might occur
to   carry   the   activity   further.   In   order   to   provide
continuity and to direct attention between meditations, a
"pillow/pocket letter"  was  used.  It  was  something that
could be slept with  at  night,  and  carried  in  the pocket
during the day.  If  a  person  was unable to recall dreams
during the project,  the  four  meditations were designed

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