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opportunity to interact with your inner life and to achieve a
working alliance with it. It is not possible to prescribe exact
methods and topics of dialogue that would be fruitful in all
cases. But we can outline some general suggestions that may
provide some idea of the possibilities.
We will discuss three approaches to dialogue. First, the dreamer dialogues with a symbol. Second, two or more symbols from the same dream dialogue with one another. Third, symbols from different dreams are found to set up special situations for dialogue. Each approach has its own particular usefulness. Dialoguing ourselves with a dream symbol—the first approach—presents an opportunity for a more conscious and fruitful integration of the energy of that symbol into our lives. Sometimes we begin the dialogue with a discussion of the symbol's activity in the dream: Deer: Why have you captured me here in this inner tube with the bad, mean wolf? Me: I want to take a good look at you, deer. I captured the two of you to see what can be learned from this predicament. Deer: But I'm innocent. Why won't you just let me go? It's the wolf that needs talking to—he's the bad guy. Me: It was clever of you to use an inner tube to sneak across the river... clever as a fox ... I can't believe that you are so innocent. Deer: I needed to get across the river. I would have been very vulnerable swimming out in the open. The inner tube was a convenient coincidence. Me: Why were you trying to swim over to the other side? As the dialogue continues within the context of the dream situation, there may arise occasions for periods of reflective writing, when you attempt to formulate what is being learned. The dialogue may also leave the boundaries of the dream setting itself and begin to focus on how the symbol operates in your daily life. As you enter this domain, you may wish to negotiate a better working alliance with the symbol. Deer: Now be careful with me, don't shock me with insight, as I am more useful to you as a quiet presence rather than as a blatant energy. Me: Oh yeah? Tell me more about how you live within me. I see you as my characteristic defense of innocence, something that sometimes gets in the way of my taking bold steps. Deer: Some things are better accomplished quietly; sometimes it is better for one hand not to know what the other hand is up to. I give you a quiet manner in the forest of life. The other creatures are not afraid to go about their business in my vicinity, and so, with my help, you learn more from others than you would if you presented a more aggressive face. Me: I see what you mean, and I appreciate that quality. But sometimes, like you, I get too attached to my veneer of innocence, using it as a defense that actually inhibits me. Don't you ever come out of hiding, don't you ever assert yourself? Deer: Yes, sometimes I can be a stag . . . 83
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