dream, which in  turn must be seen  in  the  context of the
dreamer's life. But, if  all  a  person  can  remember  is  a
fragment,  a  single  image  or even  just a  vague  feeling,
this too can be worked with.
      To  begin,   the  entire  dream   is   told  exactly   as  it
happened,  as  though it were  happening  now. It is best if
the  dream has been reviewed by the dreamer, so it can be
told   well,  rather   than  just  read.  If  some  background
material  is  essential,  this  can  be  related  first,  but  no
interpretations or associations should  be given while the
dream  is  being  told. We  ask  that  the dream always  be
told in the first person, present tense, which means that a
statement   would   begin   "I   am ..."   rather   than  "There
was ... " This  may  feel  awkward  at first, but  it  is a very
important   habit  to  develop.  By   relating  the dream  as
though  it  were  happening  to the dreamer  right now, we
stay  in  much closer contact with  the energy and feeling
it  embodies  as  well as making it much more interesting
for   others   to   listen   to.  For   the   same   reason,   we
encourage people  to be  as expressive  and  emotional as
they want to be in relating the dream.
     Meanwhile, other  group  members  sit  back, open  up
and  try to  really listen, making every effort  to hear  and
feel the dream themselves. We can get very involved in a
dream as active listeners,  noticing how  the dream looks
and   feels  to  us,  seeing  what  strikes  us  as odd, scary,
curious   or  funny.  When    the   dreamer   has   finished
relating   the   dream,  others  may  want  portions   of   it
clarified or repeated.
     If the dreamer only wants to share the dream and what
they got  from  it,  it  is  fine to  stop  here  and  go  on to
someone  else. Usually the  person wants  to explore and
work on the dream some more.
      After  the  dream  is  told,  we  begin  the  process  of
amplification,  which  means  elaborating  on   the  dream
and  clarifying  the background  that  it  seems to refer to.
The dreamer often takes  the lead  by pointing out an area
they would  like to explore  or  relating  the  thoughts and
feelings  they  have  already   had   about   the  dream. The
basic  question  we  are  asking  here  is  "How  could this
dream   relate  to  the  dreamer's  life?"  Any  information

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