La Barque, Ca 1900, Odilon Redon. Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
I place great value on dreams because they guided the major changes in my life and made me what I am today. Also, after I made so many dream interpretations, I continue to marvel at the capacity of the unconscious for imagination, intelligence, and authenticity. It’s absolutely astounding!
In the course of my years of practice I have developed a deep, focused listening approach to what is going on both inside and outside myself. Frequently, it allows me to have an immediate intuition of a dream’s or image’s meaning.
When I interpret a dream, I notice if what goes on in my body, what I feel in my heart, and the thoughts that spring into my mind are supporting my interpretation. As a result of that concentration, my unconscious frequently tells me the right thing to say at the right time.
I do not limit my interpretation to the symbolic content of the dream, nor do I leave the patient to cope with the interpretation alone. With the dreamer’s help, I put into relation the dream’s meaning with his/her reality, and then bring him/her to discover any concrete change that needs to be made in consciousness.
Some patients draw their dreams. Their artwork supplements and completes the dream interpretation either by clarifying it or by adding something that the patient and I did not see. Drawing dreams creates the opportunity for the dreamer to spend a very intimate moment with the depth of his/her being, as well as to become aware of the value of the unconscious messages.
Many patients bring photos, paintings, poems, texts, films or songs. This diversified material lends itself exceedingly well to psychological interpretation. It has the advantage of allowing a patient to approach personal matter in a more receptive manner because the material is closer and more concrete than a dream.
When it is appropriate and helpful for the patient, I explain the meaning of any synchronicities – coincidences without apparent cause or explanation – that occur in our sessions. Synchronicities either confirm what has already been revealed or indicate that we need to pay attention to something that has been overlooked or marginalized.
Often, the understanding of synchronicities creates an awareness that something bigger than oneself exists – something that is not necessarily negative. Patients realize they are participating in an essentially mysterious connection between their individual psyche and the world. As a result, they no longer feel as alone as they did previously.