People start all sorts of groups for all sorts of things:
Why Create a Dream Group?
Writers have groups that critique their work and give them emotional support during trying times….
Support groups encourage members to share their issues in a safe environment…
Religious organizations promote home groups to their members to study the scriptures and to encourage each other through life’s journey…
People who practice dream interpretation TOGETHER gain insights as they work through the process.
When everyone shares their dreams and inner workings, they develop empathy for each other.
Gain insights from other dreamers
The Importance of Sharing our Dreams
For many years we have given workshops and seminars where individuals share their dreams — and their understanding.
At the end of these times people remarked how insightful other’s dreams had been for them.
It turns out that working on dreams with a group of peers gives not only gives us support but…
Sharing our dreams with others gives us practice in hearing the voice of the Spirit in the lives of others.
Truth be told, we are more likely to put in the effort needed to interpret our dreams IF there is someone willing to listen to us.
And validate the experience we have.
That’s why it is important to be careful about who gets to be part of your group.
Who Should You Invite to Your Dream Group?
It would be helpful if the people you invite to your group share the following qualities:
- Respectful of Others: someone who honors your personality & your spiritual journey
- Non-judgmental: someone who will not judge you; someone you can invite feedback from
- Trustworthy: someonone who will NOT spread the material outside of the group
- Imaginative: someone who asks stimulating questions and gives interesting perspectives
- A Good Visualizer: someone who pictures your dream in their imagination as you tell it
- Sensitive: someone who senses when to listen, encourage, ask a question, or make suggestions
Ground Rules to Create a Dream Group
- Even in a group of peers, someone needs to act as the host or facilitator. That person manages the group’s time & keeps everyone on task. It is a good roll to rotate among members.
- The ideal groups size for something like this seems to be four or five. Over that and you get too large for each person to work on their own dream in a session.
- The group needs to agree on protocols to follow and basic procedures that will enable everyone to be honored and the group time well spent. Part of that protocol should ensure that people come prepared.
- After the group first gets together in each meeting to socialize, the should transition into an attitude of reverence. There should be a sense of sacredness of what they are about to do. Meditation with spiritual music followed by the lighting of a candle and a short spiritual reading may get you all in the right frame of mind.
- The group should acknowledge the presence of the Spirit of Truth and affirm each person’s dream as a gift from God.
- Let each person share one new dream (in turn). Focus on one member at a time, responding to questions other membersas ask to clarify detail.
- It is good for each person to share their work on the dream and then allow others to give their impressions and understanding of the overall meaning of the dream of the individual dream symbols.
- Each member should develop a personal dream dictionary of the symbols that come uyp in the group and the meanings that were discerned by the members.
- Everyone should come PREPARED. The dreams presented should be written out and the dreamer should at least have started to work on interpreting the dream for themselves.
- 10. (optional) It might be helpful if each member were given a copy of the individual dream to look at as it is read aloud.
Sharing your dreams together as spiritual gifts will yield an enriching and satisfying beauty to your dream work.
