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Will
You Dream For Me?*
A
Qualitative Study of the Dream Helper Ceremony
by
Larry
James Walsh
M.S.,
Troy State University, 1996
Chapter
I: Introduction
It's very rare to meet anyone who has not had an
interesting dream they remember and wonder what it was about.
Everyone dreams (Sechrist, 1968, p. 15), and with a little preparation,
they can also remember their dreams (Ullman, Krippner, & Vaughn, 1973, p.
220). Taking it a step further,
sharing your dreams with other people can increase your understanding of dreams
and their place in helping deal with life's troubling issues (Taylor, 1992, p.
152).
Why
would we want to remember our dreams? If
you are King Nebuchadnezzar, it's to follow the divine guidance you believe the
dream can provide. If you're
Daniel, it's to save the lives of your people because the King will have you
killed if you can't provide an interpretation of the dream he could not remember
(Holy Bible, 1978, p. 387). If
you are Mr. Average Citizen, what could your motivation be?
Divine guidance? Perhaps. Save
the lives of your family? Let's
hope that's not a regular occurrence! There
are many people who believe there are several good reasons to remember your
dreams (Richards,
1998, p. 97).
This study explores the possibility that remembering your dreams is not
only useful, but that it can also be helpful to share and analyze your dreams
with the help of others (Taylor, 1992, p. 132).
Dr.
Henry Reed suggests that dreams can contain helpful information, and that we can
influence our dreams by conscious acts. Even
further, he suggests that we can use that ability to help one another and
benefit individually from mutual analysis of the dreams (Reed, 1989, pp.
240-247). Dr. Reed makes no
preposterous claims for potential riches or fame as an inducement to try the
exercise, nor does he demand acceptance of a "Pagan God of Dreams"
before sharing information about the process.
He simply suggests that you try the process for yourself and make up your
own mind whether or not it's helpful. At
the very least, you might learn something about yourself and make a more
personal connection with the people you choose to help with the experiment.
One group of thirty-nine people accepted Dr. Reed's invitation in August
of 2001. This study explores their
personal experiences and reactions to what they encountered.
Problem Statement
Dreams
have been a part of our human experience throughout recorded history and very
likely throughout human existence (Stevens, 1949, p. 2; Frazer, 1890/1981, pp.
165-166). Debates about the source
and value of dreams label them as everything from divine guidance to the result
of indigestion (Freud, 1900/1965, p. 56; Stevens, 1949, p. 12).
This study focuses on a more specific and practical application of
dreams: Can we deliberately
influence our dreams with the intent of being helpful to another person?
The Dream Helper Ceremony (DHC) employs dreams to gain helpful insights
through group cooperation focused on a target person.
Is the exercise helpful to the people who participate, and if so, how?
Does sharing dream experiences help us gain greater insight about the
dreams and issues that may have inspired them?
Does sharing a dream help us feel closer to those with whom we share?
What impact does the experience have on the people who participate in
deliberate dreaming and dream sharing?
Research Questions
1.
Do DHC participants believe they can dream for another person as revealed
by their responses during a semi-structured interview about the seminar?
2.
Did people gain a personal benefit from participation in the exercise as
revealed by their views expressed during a post-seminar interview?
Definition of Terms
Dream
Helper Ceremony: A group exercise
where people deliberately solicit and recall a special dream for the purpose of
providing insight about a personal issue of an individual seeking help from the
group (Reed, 1989, pp. 240-247; Van de Castle, 1994, pp. 436-438).
Exercise:
Dream Helper Ceremony.
Insight:
An improved understanding of a personal situation, troubling issue, or
life challenge.
Issue:
The event, decision, situation, or relationship viewed as the source of
discomfort or distress by the target person.
Personal
Benefit: A desirable change in
one's attitude, knowledge, or circumstances.
Target
Person: The individual seeking help
from the group about a personal issue, who is selected to be the focus of the
group's dreams during the Dream Helper Ceremony.
Chapter
II: Review of the Literature
Research
Focus
Dreams
have played a major role in many societies throughout history.
Dreams have been reported as the source of prophetic visions that were
the basis of many of today's world religions.
Joseph learned of Mary's immaculate conception, Buddha's mother also
learned of her immaculate conception in a dream, and much of the Koran was
revealed to Muhammad in his dreams over several years.
Including a more modern reference, Joseph Smith learned of the Book of
Mormon from an angel in a dream in 1823 (Van de Castle, 1994, pp. 39-41).
This
study narrows the focus of dream research to a group of individuals who tested
for themselves the hypothesis that we can dream for each other and gain personal
benefits from the experience. References
from currently available literature are presented that shed light on research or
information relevant to this project.
Explanation
of the Problem
"Different
strokes for different folks." That
cliché very succinctly conveys a basic truism: What works for one person may
not necessarily work for another. Even
if it does work, it may not work as well. When
one person finds a helpful process from which others could also benefit, how can
it be presented in a way that will be well received--especially when the process
employs concepts outside the bounds of commonly accepted knowledge?
Making others aware of the process and its potential benefits can pose
significant obstacles to communication when it's beyond the experience or
understanding of potential beneficiaries. From
the layman standpoint of this author, putting neat labels on the concepts
employed by the Dream Helper Ceremony (Reed, 1989, p. 240) was a much more
difficult task than actual participation in the exercise.
Fortunately,
neatly arrayed scientific labels and orderly replicated laboratory experiments
are not the goal of this research. Just
as a novice driver doesn't need the in-depth understanding of internal
combustion engines afforded by an advanced degree in physics, neither does an
individual who wants to help a friend, need the understanding of the
subconscious mind attained by a Carl Jung.
The mechanics of the Dream Helper Ceremony are complex, difficult to
express, and hard for most people to accept at face value.
An adequate explanation of those processes and presentation of compelling
scientific proof in support of each is certainly beyond the scope of this
research. Several participants did
share their personal understanding of the processes, and readers may find those
explanations helpful (see interview responses in appendices B and C).
However,
the required components that make up a successful Dream Helper Ceremony are not
complex. They are simply a small
group of people who have a sincere desire and willingness to help another
person. The problems inherent in
such an undertaking aren't to be overcome by extensive training, but by simply
being receptive to some intriguing possibilities:
Can we invite, recall, and benefit from sharing a dream that helps
provide insight about another individual's personal issue?
Theoretical
Framework
Dream
Helper Ceremony participants are asked to enter the exercise with an open mind
and be willing to test for themselves the following propositions:
Dreams are real mental events that can contain helpful information.
Dreams are influenced by events in our lives, and also by our desires and
emotions. We communicate on more
than just conscious levels. Sharing
a dream with others increases understanding of the dream.
The Dream Helper Ceremony developed by Dr. Henry Reed and Dr. Robert Van
de Castle provides a structure that allows people to test that framework for
themselves.
What the
Literature Shows
There are many books available on the subject of dreams that explore them
from several perspectives. An April
2002, search of the Amazon.com web site using "dreams" as the key word
yielded 1,164 children's books, another 850 titles categorized as "Health,
Mind and Body," and an additional 595 in the "Religion and
Spirituality" category. The
Internet link to the Bay County, Florida library reveals an assortment of 240
book titles available on the subject of dreams as of this writing.
Books
constitute only part of the readily available resources.
A quick "Google" search-engine sample of the World Wide Web
produced more than 650,000 sites such as, "Are
your dreams puzzling?
Get a professional
interpretation -- Fee for each analysis -- www.dreameducator.com."
Including
"free" in the "dream analysis" search string reduced the
number of potential sites to a little over 400,000.
Dreams contain helpful information.
There are helpful inventions, practical advice, and even classic
literature as a result of dream inspiration.
Elias Howe saw the correct placement of the needle eye in the tip to
perfect the sewing machine (Ullman et al, 1973, p. 219).
Golfing legend Jack Nicklaus cured a slump by trying a new grip,
"When I came to the course yesterday morning, I tried it the way I did in
my dream and it worked…I feel kind of foolish admitting it, but it really
happened in a dream" (Van de Castle, 1994, p. 15).
Well-known author Robert Louis Stevenson credits his dreams with literary
inspiration for much of his work, including Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
(Stevens, 1949, p. 14). Tanner
reports that dreams were highly regarded historically and quotes the religious
scholar, Reverend John Sanford, "Every major writer in the first four
centuries of Christianity regarded dreams as one way that God offered healing
and guidance to mankind" (1988, p. 30).
Dreams always come to reveal new information and promote health and
wholeness through further development (Taylor, 1992, p. 132).
Dreams
can be influenced.
The content of dreams can be influenced by incubation.
Dream incubation involves "…the ritual of going to sleep in a
sacred place in anticipation of receiving a divinely inspired dream" (Reed,
1985, p. 56). Dream temples of the Greek god, Aesculapius, provide a
classic example from ancient Greece where dreams were procured for healing or to
answer important problems. These
temples began as centers of worship and became the first hospitals (Tanner,
1988, p. 9). Native American youth
of the Ojibwa would go into the Great Lakes wilderness and fast until a dream
revealed their gifts, signifying their passage into adulthood (Reed, 1985, p.
57). Sumerian Cuneiform texts
describe King Gudea's dreams in 2200 B.C., in which he prayed to get a better
understanding of a previous dream. His
god, Nin-Girsu then appeared in another dream and promised him a sign (Van de
Castle, 1994, p. 49).
Communication occurs in dreams.
Several scientific studies have explored various aspects of dreams,
including telepathy. The Maimonides Project started in 1962, is probably the most
significant experiment in dream telepathy to date (Van de Castle, 1994, pp.
414-416). The study began with the
purpose of collecting data on sleep cycles and related dream activity associated
with rapid eye movement (REM) periods. It took on a different note when a bored observer decided to
"liven up" the work of watching someone sleep by "sending"
an account of the Clay-Liston boxing match.
The sleeper reported a rambling dream of walking around a college campus
and entering a building where he watched a boxing match in progress, and then
returned to his stroll around the campus (Ullman et al, 1973, p. 139).
The
most basic finding from the Maimonides study was the confirmation of Freud's
statement: "…sleep creates
favorable conditions for telepathy" (Ullman et al, 1973, p. 209).
Carl Jung had no doubts about telepathy as a source of dream content:
"I have found by experience that telepathy does in fact influence
dreams, as has been asserted since ancient times" (Van de Castle, 1994, p.
173). Sechrist lists the
subconscious of another as one of the four primary sources of dreams (1968,
p.13). Incentive is also a
significant factor affecting telepathy. Holroyd
reports how a student recruited to participate in controlled laboratory
experiments in telepathy scored a statistically significant 7.4 correct guesses
on the order of appearance of a deck of 25 Zener Cards (five correct is chance
level). In one of the 250 runs, the
researcher offered the star subject $100 for each correct guess. He got all 25 cards right
(1976, p. 75).
Sharing dreams is beneficial.
Dream sharing is an active pursuit at several levels of modern society,
and was also practiced in Biblical times. Consulting
a Bible concordance for dream references will give you several instances of
dream sharing such as the one found in Judges 7, verses 13 and 14:
"…there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow…
And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save…" (Holy
Bible, 1978, p. 122). Informal
dream sharing ranges from casual conversation over a morning cup of coffee
(Moss, 1996, p. 112) to regularly scheduled group meetings for the purpose of
sharing dreams (Taylor, 1992, p. 262). Professional
dream analysis ranges from the incidental analysis that might occur as part of
on-going psychiatric treatment pioneered by Sigmund Freud and refined by Carl
Jung (Sechrist, 1968, p. 10), to
"dream professionals" who have chosen to concentrate on helping others
understand their dreams as their life's work.
Every
dream is different, and different people will see different meaning in the same
dream (Tanner, 1988, p. 29; Taylor, 1992, p. 131; Sechrist; 1968, p. 12;
Stevens, 1949, p. 26). Depending on
the dream, the dreamer's reaction can be one of interest, amusement, fear,
disgust, excitement, or any one of dozens.
Fornari, Rombaldini, and Picknett advise that even a recurring symbol can
have a different meaning at a different time and "…should be adjusted in
the light of particular circumstances affecting your life at the time a dream
comes to you" (1988, p. 3). Jeremy
Taylor advises that the cumulative insights of all the group members are most
important, not just the insights the individual dreamer is aware of at the time
(1992, p. 152). As an added
incentive for romantic couples (often of "opposite types"), he also
explains that working together in dream groups can bring them to a much fuller
appreciation of each other's basic psychology (Taylor, 1992, p. 154).
Summary
There is ample evidence in both current and ancient literature to support
assertions that helpful information can come from dreams.
There are also several sources that confirm the ability to influence
dream content or incubate a special dream if desired.
Communication in dreams is anecdotal in historical references and a
"Finding" in modern scientific experiments. It's probably safe to assume that many individuals find dream
sharing helpful or they would neither risk ridicule from a friend, nor spend
money on professional dream analysis. There
are sufficient examples to conclude that the theoretical framework making up the
assumptions for a successful Dream Helper Ceremony is widely supported in the
literature.
Chapter
III: Method
Setting
The
Dream Helper Ceremony was presented as one portion of a week-long seminar on
techniques of "Channeling Your Higher Self" (Reed, 1989).
The seminar was conducted at an adult retreat in the Appalachian
mountains of Virginia, during August of 2001.
For approximately two hours each morning, participants received
instruction about processes and techniques for obtaining information from their
Higher Self. The rest of the daily
schedule was filled with typical camp activities such as crafts, singing,
hiking, swimming, or just enjoying the natural beauty of the pristine
surroundings afforded by the quiet mountain valley.
Participants
Study
participants were a majority sample of the people who attended the August
seminar. The number of seminar
participants varied from 28 to 39 and consisted of tuition-paying attendees and
retreat staff. No seminar attendee
who was asked declined an interview request.
The
Dream Helper Ceremony was the first exercise of the week-long seminar.
Dr. Reed coached the participants on how to incubate and recall a dream,
placing emphasis on the spiritual intent to be helpful to another person who had
expressed a genuine desire to be helped by the group.
Four focus people (seekers) were selected from eleven volunteers and each
seeker was assigned a group of seven to ten helpers.
Everyone then attempted to dream during the night and record their dreams
the following morning. The helpers
and seekers reassembled into their assigned groups after breakfast and shared
their nocturnal dream experiences. Each
group's seeker then shared his or her issue within the group and all group
members analyzed the relevancy of the dreams to the seeker's issue.
Data Collection
Data
was collected through semi-structured interviews that allowed for individual
comments. All interviews were
audiotape recorded with the permission of the interviewees. Some of the information and impressions was recorded by the
author as participant observer, and the remainder was obtained during the
voluntary interviews granted by other seminar participants.
Interviews were conducted during available free time around other camp
activities and duties during the remainder of the week.
Although not a purely random sample, the seemingly random processes of
synchronistic events limited the availability of some of the seminar
participants for interview at any given time.
The last interview was conducted as the camper loaded his car in the
final minutes before departing. Other
attendees promised to make themselves available if additional interviews were
required.
Interview
questions were adapted slightly for the different perspectives between the focus
person and helpers. All four
seekers and sixteen of the dream helpers were interviewed from the four groups.
Both helpers and seekers were asked about their personal experience and
about their perception of whether or not the focus person was helped.
Researcher
Bias
Prior to conducting this study, I heard Dr. Reed describe the Dream
Helper Ceremony and it's potential benefits during a lecture given in Panama
City, Florida during October of 2000. After
reporting what I'd learned to my weekly spiritual study group, we tried the DHC
experiment for ourselves on several different occasions.
Our successes ranged from mediocre to excellent.
As a result of my personal experiences on those occasions and also during
the retreat last August, I'm very strongly prejudiced about the process and
would answer a resounding "Yes!" to both of the research questions.
I do not believe my prejudices affected the interviews as I took special
care to ensure that I did not "lead" the interviewees toward a
conclusion one way or the other. The
interview transcripts are provided as appendices B and C, so feel free to judge
the validity of my "Unaffected by Personal Bias" study claim for
yourself.
To continue reading this paper, click
here!
* A Research Paper submitted to the Department
of Professional Studies, Curriculum and Instruction. Curriculum and Diversity
Studies, The University of West Florida. In partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of, Doctor of Education,
May 2, 2002
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