we  trust  the dreamers and  their dreams; where  a dream
is shared  and other perspectives  are  offered, but always
checked  out  with the dreamer to make  sure  they  make
sense  for  their life situation. I believe that working on a
dream    must  be   a   process  where  life   is   respected,
supported    and   nourished,   rather   than   being   pulled
apart,  analyzed  and  shrunk  down  to fit  into  some neat
theory.  Therefore,  I'd  like to suggest  a  simple process
for sharing and directly experiencing  our dreams from a
variety of perspectives. When we successfully work on a
dream, we  can  enter it and  view our lives from this new
vantage point.

Dreamwork in a Group

    Most  of  the dreamwork  I  have  done  has  been  with
groups   of  four   to  fifteen   people  who  got   together
specifically  to  share  and  work  on  dreams. The groups
were formed by friends and friends of friends, as well as
people who responded  to notices posted around town or
listed in a learning exchange. We met on  a weekly basis,
moving   between   various   group  members'  homes.  A
session  usually  lasted  three  to  five hours. ( Of course,
these  forms  can   be  varied   to   fit  your  situation   or
purposes.)
     For the  first group sessions we  spend  a  lot  of  time
discussing dreams in general  and the experiences people
have had with dreams in  the past. This is a good time  for
the  group  to  explore  any  questions we  have and  begin
looking  at  what  we would like to do together as a group.
There may be special  areas  that  group  members  would
like to explore or material the group would  like  to  read
together. We found it very helpful to start all sessions by
letting everyone say a few words  about how they've been
getting  along  with  dreams lately and  whether they have
a specific dream they would like to work on.
     When someone feels ready to share  a specific dream,
we  begin  the  work.  We  prefer  working  with an entire
dream, rather than just  a portion of one. I  believe that an
image  can  only  be  understood   in   the  context  of  the

167