Selection. An incubation could not be sought in a temple of Asklepios, according to the proscriptions, without the person first being advised to do so in a prior dream. The incubants in my work taught me the importance of such timing, and I came to use almost as stringent a selection criterion, not only to maximize the chances for the incubation of a meaningful dream, but also to protect the incubant from any feelings of failure. To introduce a strong factor of self-selection, there purposely was no solicitation for volunteers for this experimental incubation ritual; but since many people, nevertheless, inquired about participation, it became necessary to provide them with a means of still further self-selection, on the basis of genuine readiness. The use of prior dreams as the basis of this selection suggested itself after I discovered that the most distinguishing characteristic of those incubants in the early stages of the work, who had no dream recall the morning after the incubation ceremony, was that they all had been unable to recall before the ceremony a recent dream related to the consciously stated problem. In subsequent incubations, therefore, I asked potential incubants to rely on their dreams to provide the final basis of self-selection, giving an explanation such as this:

It's important that there exists the same readiness in the unconscious to work on the problem you've presented, as well as a genuine feeling of comfortableness about working with me and this incubation ritual. Since incubation involves the cooperation of your dreams, at least, I've found that it's safest and wisest to allow them to take the initiative at this point. Spend some time thinking about your purpose for incubation, and see if your dreams concur by portraying in some form the problem you state for yourself. Should you decide that you would like to participate in the incubation ritual, bring me the dreams you remember.

Allowing the person's dreams an opportunity to respond to the prospect of incubation served well as a final source of self-selection. Many people who otherwise might have inappropriately participated in the ritual simply had no subsequent dream recall. The others returned with dreams portraying conflicts suggestive of the consciously stated problem. With a bolstered desire to experience the meaning of the suffering which now had been both consciously and unconsciously expressed, all these people subsequently incubated meaningful dreams.

Preparation. After the dreamer had decided for incubation, a date was picked, from one to three days in the future, for the incubation ceremony, and we proceeded to discuss the details of preparation. The preparation was perhaps the most important aspect of the ritual. It involved the incubant's contemplating