Abstract Index Conference Index

ABSTRACT

SUBMISSION AREA: Dream frontiers on the Internet

TITLE OF PRESENTATION: Four Seemingly Unrelated Dreams Over 29 Month Period Constitute Series.

AUTHOR: John W. Herbert, Ph.D., 

jherbert@alum.mit.edu

http://www.dreamgate.com/herbert/

SUMMARY OF PRESENTATION: Four dreams submitted over a 29 month period
to Internet "If it were my dream" groups constitute a series and appear
to be concerned with issues of right livelihood. Dreams, participants'
feedback and dreamer's comments are presented. Dream group participants
were not the same.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: 1. Internet dream groups utilizing the "If it were
my dream" approach are a viable medium for working with dreams.
2. Individual dreams, although widely separated by time and content, may
constitute a series addresing a dreamer's specific issue.
3. A dream series can address different aspects of the same basic issue.

AUDIOVISUAL AIDS: None required.

SCHEDULE RESTRICTIONS: None.

ABSTRACT: As a part of 28 dream groups conducted on the
Internet, one dreamer presented four dreams over a 29 month period.
Only after reading all 28 dreams did I realize that the four dreams
of the dreamer could be viewed as a series of dreams addressing a very
important issue concerned with right livlihood. These four dreams are
filled with dynamic metaphors, and the comments of the group members and
the dreamer's feedback attest to the richness and appropriateness of the
metaphors.
The first dream could be titled "Crossroads: individual or
collective way?," and the second "Knifed in the back." The third
and fourth dream were titled by the dreamer as "Three Barges to be Sunk"
and "Crock Pots."
The metaphors will be presented in detail along with comments on
the progression displayed by the series of dreams.

e-mail jherbert@alum.mit.edu

I was first introduced to dreamwork in the early 1960's, when I
joined an ARE dream group (Assn of Research & Enlightenment). I was
astounded at how other's dreams seemed to apply to their lives. I
started recording my dreams, attended the C.G.Jung Institute in Zurich
for a term, and continued Jungian work in San Francisco after I returned
to the U.S.

When I started at Saybrook, I began to attend and then conduct
dream groups using Montague Ullman's "If it were my dream" approach. I
had saved my dreams in electronic format and had the opportunity to
conduct electronic searches of both my dream journal and my daily diary.
I was able to relate my dream activity to ongoing life events, in
matters of health, business, relationships, and general spiritual
wellbeing.
Believing in the power of group dreamwork and aware of the change
in communication taking place in the electronic world, I wanted to see
if this dreamwork could be done online. I started designing the format
necessary for bulletin board type postings and e-mail, and conducted
groups on Delphi, the WELL, Compuserve, Seniornet, and America Online.
I also participated in Jeremy Taylor's AOL Dream Show, which ran for a
year and 3/4, first as an invited guest onstage and later as an AOL
host.
On July 1, 2000 I received my Ph.D. in Psychology, and my
disertation topic was "Group Dreamwork Utilizing Computer Mediated
Communmication." see http://www.dreamgate.com/herbert