Journey through the inner landscape of your dreams
A very profound technique to interpret your dreams and discover their deeper spiritual meaning
This is not a standard one-size-fits-all dream dictionary.
This is a path to unfold inner wisdom
Far beyond your rational mind.
Know that feeling
Of waking up in the morning
And a dream just felt so real…
It kind of stays with you the entire day.
Maybe the details are lost immediately,
So ephemeral is the world of dreams.
But somehow the emotion of the dream remains
Making you feel slightly off-center all day.
During my studies as a psychotherapist
We learned how to interpret dreams.
It was a great passion of the founder of my college,
Nigel Hamilton, at the Center for Counselling & Psychotherapy
In London, United Kingdom.
He called it the Waken Dream Technique
(Exploring the dream in a waking state),
Based on the work of Carl Jung, amongst others.
During our sessions we explore the meaning
And guidance of your dreams together.
We look at the symbolism and images as a language
From deeper and higher levels of consciousness.
A way for the psyche to express itself,
Of spirit to communicate with us.
A kind of knowing beyond the rational mind.
Here is an almost magical technique you can use yourself:
“We dream to get us closer to our essence”
Dr. Nigel hamilton
“waking Dream provides us with an intimate language about our affective interior life”
- Robert Desoille
First of all, create enough time and space
To slowly connect more deeply with your dream world.
Make sure you are grounded and calm when you start.
Allow for an openness, a willingness to explore
Without judgement or attachment to a certain outcome.
Then recall the dream, even if it’s just snippets.
Check how you are feeling right now.
Reconnect with how you felt when you woke up.
This might be an emotion you need to ‘wake up’ to (become aware of).
Withhold moral judgement, treat your dream with respect.
Then write down or tell yourself the dream
As if it is happening in the present moment.
Describe in detail what is happening.
And very importantly,
Pay attention to where you feel it in your body.
“The images that appear in dreams are symbols of parts of us and reveal the dynamics of our inner life.”
The next step is to share the dream again,
But from each of the other main ‘nouns’ (people, places and things).
Let me use an example.
Let’s say you dreamed of buying a broken plate.
Firstly, you re-tell the dream from your own perspective
Being the one buying that plate.
Secondly, you re-tell the dream again,
But from the perspective of the plate.
I know, it might sound a little weird
But if we believe that all aspects in your dream
Are an expression of your psyche,
A way of different parts of you communicating
A deeper guidance and meaning for your life,
Then all the images and symbols of the dream
Have their own story to tell.
So the plate might say
“I am lying here in the shop,
Already for many, many years.
Nobody ever bought me, because I am broken.
But a woman enters, her face is kind
She sees me, and picks me up.
It feels nice to be held.
I fear she will not like me, I am too broken.
But she smiles, and strokes my sharp edges
Asks the guy at the till to wrap me carefully,
As she’d like to take me home.”
You see what I mean?
(Continue reading below)
“A dream which is not interpreted is like a letter which is not read.”
- the talmud -
So go ahead for your dream:
Identify all important aspects in the dream,
Could be people, animals or innate objects.
These are all aspects of your consciousness.
Let them retell the dream from their own side.
You can even let them dialogue with each other.
Be aware of sensations in your body,
Your tone of voice, your emotions, body language.
The ‘felt sense’ of the image in your body is crucial
To uncover the unconscious energy of the dream.
Yes, it might feel as if ‘you are making it up’.
But trust your creative imagination,
(Which is something very different to fantasy!)
It’s a wisdom that transcends the rational mind.
The idea is to tap into the guidance,
The message of the dream for your life.
Don’t steer in a certain direction, let it unfold.
Now start to make connections
With what you are facing in life.
Associate freely around what came up
From the perspective of the different images.
What could the message be for your life?
What is the main insight you received from this dream?
How can you make use of the guidance of the dream?
What do you need, in order to integrate the purpose of the dream in your life?
Continue to sit with the dream
And it’s meaning for a while.
No need to rush.
Allow it to do its magic.
It’s a process of unfolding,
Of qualities in you to become manifest.
Why do we dream - by Dr. Nigel Hamilton, Founding Director of Dream Research Institute (DRI) and Karin’s teacher at the Center for Counselling and Psychotherapy (CCPE).
My invitation is to start with a gentle dream first.
And to please have professional guidance
While exploring recurring vivid nightmares.
One never knows if you might tap into unresolved trauma.
So go gently and may the insights of your inner landscape
Bring a sense of wonder, appreciation and deeper love to your life.
With love, sleep soundly and dream on,
Karin xx
Source Waking Dream Technique: Dr. Nigel Hamilton.
“I love this! Thank you - I am so connected to your posts. I had a dream last week that I am working through - phew!! I know it’s going to be big. I will do this process too!”
