The Social Value of Sharing Dreams

   After a group has been together for several months, we
gain   a  familiarity  with  our  dream  worlds and can  get
much   more  out   of   them. It  can  be  a  very  powerful
experience   to   work   on   a   dream   successfully.  The
dreamer  will  often  physically  experience  a  release of
new energy.  For others  it  is  a  more  subtle  feeling  of
being  more  centered,  as  they   gradually  recognize  an
ongoing direction and meaning in their lives.  By sharing
dreams  together,  group  members  have gotten  to know
each  other  quite  deeply  in a  relatively short  period of
time.  The friendship  and  support  we  have been  able to
offer one another are quite important.
     For us, a dream group is a cooperative process, not an
encounter group. Since  the members come of  their own
will,  we  trust  that  they  want  to change  and  grow. The
pace  they  choose  is  up  to  them.  We  don't  force  our
values  on  other  members  or  push  them  into anything.
Sometimes, however,  a person may ask to be challenged
more by the group. A dream can help clarify our feelings
and values.  We  may  be led  to  re-evaluate  whether our
work  is  fulfilling   or  stifling,  whether   we  are   really
learning  anything  in  school  or  how much  we  trust the
people   around   us.   We   must  listen   closely   for  the
"teaching story"  aspect of the dream and try to see where
the  dreamer  will be led to action, moved  to make some
change,  nudged  towards  growth.   This   is   the   crucial
moment, the magic event: The dream is transformed into
a vehicle which can transport us to a new place.
     It is  valuable for a dream group to learn  to work with
both  the personal growth and social change  needs of its
members. Getting  stuck on  one level or  the other  is an
unnecessary   limitation.  We  often   find  that   we  have
internalized     some    destructive    values,   games   and
expectations  from  the  society  around  us. Dreams can
help us identify these and  begin  working  them out. Yet,
we cannot really speak of a healthy individual apart from
the  social  context.  An  oppressive  society  will always
thwart  and   distort  our  personal  growth,  just  as  inner
conflicts  will undermine our efforts  to create a  healthy

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