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that seemed to mirror Jean's concerns. These excerpts are like
ore samples: the richness of the mine cannot be fully
appreciated from them. Nor can a printed page reflect the sense
of excitement that mounted as the warp of one dream was laid
against the woof of another to reveal a faintly perceptible
pattern, which then gradually became clearer as dream strand
after dream strand was woven into it. If two heads are better
than one, then four heads are even better, and a series of
dreams from those four heads is better still. This constitutes
"dream potential" at its finest.
Astonishment, delight, and awe emerged as the group marveled at what they had accomplished through their combined dream talents. One of the members likened their efforts to composing a group symphony that was made possible by splicing their dream tapes together. They felt that they had been so successful because they were not attempting to gain something for themselves; they were engaged in a healing service nourished from a sense of love. This attitude was movingly expressed in a note appended to the written dream report that one of the helpers turned over to Jean: "May these dreams bring help to you for as long as you need it... may our dream group be a memory source of strength when you need it . . . may you come to not need it." Everyone derived a beneficial effect and felt energized by their participation. Jean was deeply touched by the obvious sense of caring that the group communicated to her. She realized that although she had not verbalized the problems she sought help with, this seemed to be an unimportant detail, as the dream helpers were still able to comprehend her problem, empathize with her feelings, and provide her with some dream reflections as to how she might more satisfactorily proceed to lessen the anguish that had been generated by her conflicts. The helpers also felt that they had been helped. They received a new appreciation of the potentiality they possessed to be of service to others. Also present as by-products for the dream helpers were some fresh insights into their own problems. Since their dreams were dedicated to Jean, they worked very hard to recall them for her. It was as if they were guarding her personal property; they wanted to make sure that her proprietary dream rights were protected. By so completely disowning these dreams, it enabled the helpers to be much freer to let come through whatever was pressing for expression, and often they discovered that this was material pertaining to their own problems. But now that this previously suppressed material had been "tricked" into revealing itself, they had received some bonus items to work with in their own quest for better self- understanding. 104
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