us with a source  of hypotheses  about ourselves and our
environment.  But  only  when we test  these  hypotheses
by  daily  experimentation can  we  expect to exhibit  the
vitality that our dreams require in order to help  us most.
Like the difference between having  an idea  and  making
it  work, living the understanding  the dream brings is the
crucial test in the art of remembering dreams.
    The use of the term "art" might seem overdrawn unless
we consider the nature of the creative process. Creativity
is   sometimes   described   as   the   ability   to  combine
common  elements   into  novel   relationships.  It  is  the
ability   to  suspend  for  the  moment our  usual working
assumptions  so  that new thought patterns  can form that
constitutes  the  essence   of  creative functioning.  Even
though  these  new  patterns   appear   vague  and  remote,
entering    into    an    emphatic   relationship  with   such
potential  sources  of  inspiration  until  they  can clearly
manifest is itself a creative act.
    Creativity is also the process of bringing to light those
invisible,  autonomous  promptings,  the  daimons of  the
dark,  which   normally   hold   us   in   their  secret  sway.
Dreams  are  the  daimons'  playground,  and our days are
subsequently    affected    by    their    nocturnal   activity.
Remembering   our  dreams,   then,  becomes  a  creative
process  which offers  us  the opportunity  to  participate
with increasing consciousness in the drama of life.
      Each   dream   is   a   creative  act.  Dreams  habitually
disregard  our  everyday  logic  and  typically  surprise us
with their juxtapositions. It  is not  only their tendency to
dissolve rapidly,  but  also  their alien  quality  that makes
them    elude    retrieval.     Remembering    our    dreams,
commemorating them in our lives, then, is  a  creative art
in which we can  all become more or less proficient. It is
worth the practice.  At the very least, it offers us a way to
develop our potential for  creative functioning and it may
offer us more than that.  It has been said that a journey of
a thousand miles begins with a single step.

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