Think about your most recent significant dream. You would probably agree that, as you think about it, you are outside of it. It is as if you are looking at something, appreciating it, remembering it, considering what it might mean. Now try something different—move inside it. Go right back into the dream, re-enter the scene. Feel the difference?
Here’s the question: is dreamwork more effective when done from the outside, or the inside? The evolution in my own dreamworking style and method over the past few years has resulted in working more and more from the inside. Having now worked in this way with a few thousand dreams I can say a few things with certainty:
Dreamwork done from the inside is faster and simpler, because it really has only one step: you re-enter your dream and try to get an embodied sense of what it wants (what is trying to happen? What do you want to do? What is it asking you for? Where is the energy trying to go?)
It is easier to facilitate others when working from the inside, because there is no burden on the facilitator to have any sense of what the dream might mean. Two major fears that plague dreamworkers are greatly reduced–the fear of getting lost, and the fear of being wrong. The facilitator’s job is relatively simple–to invite the dreamer to re-enter the dream, then help them get a sense of what wants to happen.
The goal is the same– to arrive at a resonant insight about how the dream connects to your life. When working from the inside I have found these insights tend to arise more spontaneously and organically. They are felt more in the body, less worked out through thinking and associating.
Inside dreamwork seems to work quite beautifully about 80% of the time in my experience. Sometimes it seems to get stalled because the dreamer cannot get an embodied feeling of what they want to do. At these times I have found it very effective to use one of the back-up techniques, most commonly the be-the-part technique (asking the dreamer to shift their identification from their own self to another dream figure).
Working from the inside is more dynamic (change-oriented). You are already changing yourself as soon as you re-enter your dream and allow something new to happen. In traditional dream interpretation understanding comes first and change may follow (or not). In inside dreamwork change comes first and understanding follows. I find this much more rewarding.
Working from the inside is more fun, and less tiring. Your brain doesn’t need to work nearly as hard. The energy is usually higher because you are working with something that is alive and changing. It’s less like analysis and more like theater. — writer Dr. Christopher Sowton
Valeria interviews Dr. Christopher. He is a naturopath and a professional dreamworker based in Southern Ontario, Canada. He does online dreamworking sessions with clients all around the world, helping them gain deeper insight into their dreams. Since 2003 Christopher has been training health care practitioners of all kinds to integrate dreamwork into their practices. He is a member of the IASD (International Association for the Study of Dreams). He teaches dreamworking skills through a course of online training modules, and has published 2 books—Dreamworking–How to Listen to the Inner Guidance of Your Dreams (2017); and The Dreamworking Manual–A Guide to Using Dreams in Health Care (2013).
To learn more about Dr. Christopher Sowton please visit his website: https://www.christophersowton.com/
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