How  did  we  measure  the  quality of a dream? After
pondering this question we developed a relatively simple
method of evaluating two basic dimensions of the dream:
1) the dream's objective content or symbols;  and  2) the
dreamer's subjective response  to (or feelings about) the
dream experience. We realized that we had to go beyond
a strict content-analysis approach; for even though some
dreams reveal profound  or  "high" symbols, the dreamer
may   nevertheless  respond   to   them   negatively.   We
wanted   to  be  sure  that   meditation   was   not   simply
"improving"  the content  of  the  dreams and,  as a result,
leaving  the dreamer stranded with  a  sense of alienation
from them. Therefore we developed a method of scoring
the dream which took  into account both  the content and
the   dreamer's  feelings  toward   the  content.   (Scoring
method will be sent upon request.)
      We found that  the dreams which occurred following
these   brief   early  morning  meditations  demonstrated
a  significantly  greater number  of religious,  integrative
and    holistic    symbols    than    dreams   following   the
nonmeditative waking periods.  We also reported feeling
significantly more positive, on the average, toward these
dreams.
    Statistics aside, what really convinced us of the effect
of meditation was the impact  of  the dreams themselves.
Since then we have continued  to  practice early morning
meditation   for  attunement   and  creative  dreaming.  In
addition,  we  have  discovered  that  certain "paranormal"
dream    experiences,    such    as   lucid    dreaming   and
out-of-body  experiences,  are  a natural outcome of this
practice of early morning attunement.

MEDITATION AND DREAM RECALL
Henry Reed

  A preliminary aanalysis of the dream recall tally sheets
submitted  by  people  who  participated   in  the  A. R. E.
Dream Research Project (see page 27) yielded evidence
that there was more dream recall on mornings following

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