One of the most useful things I learned in graduate school was Gestalt Therapy. This field of therapy was one of the few( only) that appealed to me. Gestalt Therapy is very logical. It said that we had our own answers. They were just buried. Gestalt Therapy is known for the famous “Empty Chair” exercise. One pictures someone in a chair across form them. One talks to the imaginary person, who could be a parent, a spouse,a friend etc. Gestalt therapy employs techniques which allow the patient to experience his feelings, rather than just talk about them. At any rate, Gestalt Therapy made logical sense, as many esoteric therapies did not. One of the most valuable parts of Gestalt Therapy was dream analysis.
To make it very simple( and it is), one becomes each and every object(or person) in his dream. It helps to keep a notebook next to your bed, so you can wake up and write down all the details. Even the smallest detail is important. Remember that you created the objects, colors and people. As such, each is a message from your subconscious. If you have a pink, polka dot monkey who is kissing a yellow zebra, each detail makes sense. Often, the most way out dream has the most important message. It is way out because it is too hard for your conscious mind to accept the reality of the situation. Hence, your subconscious makes it symbolic.
The last step is to allow each and every object and person to speak. Just allow them to speak as you give voice to your thoughts. Just speak aloud, as you become each object. If you are a yellow zebra, you may have this to say. “I am a yellow zebra. I am yellow because I am afraid. I am a zebra because I live in the jungle. I feel my life is a jungle”
The interpretation for this could be that you are afraid because your life seems wild and out of control, as if you living in a jungle.
This is an example that I hope shows you the process. It is very simple, and more so, very, very enlightening. I promise you will be very surprised at the things you have been harboring, of which you are unaware.
Please, write on my Comment Form to share any interesting experiences you have with this.
hmmm, well, it’s been awhile but i used to, a couple decades ago, have “interesting experiences” that very closely resemble the image you’ve used here. they would begin as what felt like dreams until at some point i realized i was NOT dreaming and that there was, in fact, something that resembles your bird-like creature very much atop my chest, a very malevolent figure with some quite nasty energy. subsequent looking-into got me to succubus/succubi. googling “succubus” will get you to the wiki page on the matter, which includes an interesting note on “sleep paralysis.” the images and experience definitely fit, but/and i would add that my experience included the sense of being very much awake; like waking into the experience from the dream, if that makes any sense.
at any rate, the last time this happened, i pretty much chased it away when, sick and tired (literally) of the experiences, i conjured/beckoned the spirit of Christ and all his light and in so doing felt suddenly fearless, empowered, and in league with a The Higher Power, and it was this that chased the dark spirit/form away, and i knew that it was over.
this is an extremely abridged version of the “intereting experiences,” but, given the image you’ve used here, i thought it might fit.
aside from that, i am quite invested in my (prolific) dreaming (sun conjunct neptune in scorpio) and appreciate the general guideline of considering each element of one’s dreaming as some aspect of oneself a helpful starting point regarding the dialogue one’s waking self has with one’s dreaming self.
i don’t think there are any hard and fast rules, and each individual’s mileage may vary, but it sure beats the cookie-cutter, over-simplistic and sometimes dogmatic approach to dream interpretation/experience one comes across.
Yes, Bob
It is abridged. I hope it did explain how to do it, though lol
actually, i menat MINE was abridged; YOURS was quite clear. thank you.
Oh LOL
Thanks for saying that!