1.
Every dream image is meaningful in itself, having its own imagistic language that, like a painting or music, does not need to be “translated” into rational understanding to express itself. Thus it is important to respect how the dream images express themselves in their own language – essentially by staying close to the vivid details of their original form of expression. In short, dreams are “distorted” representations of psychological realities, but distortion is due to their unique language, not because of intentional disguise by the dreamer’s unconscious mind.
2.
Every dream image has a specific individualized meaning that is only discernable to the dreamer. Contrary to the dozens of “dream dictionaries” and “dream guides” on the market, there are no universal meanings for particular types of commonly observed dream images, such as flying or appearing naked in public.“ The dream is the dream” affirms that a common image like “flying” will have an entirely individualized meaning in the context of each dreamer’s life experience and the dream story in which it occurs. There are no universal meanings, such as the Freudian cliché that phallic shaped objects in dreams are disguised expressions of the penis or vagina. And there’s no expert who has the right to tell you what your dream means.
3.
Most importantly, dreams are intrinsically honest – without disguise – and have potentially “self-evident” meaning, but only the dreamer can discern the unique personalized meaning of their own dream mages. An outside observer, like a therapist, may suggest interpretations, but only the dreamer can confirm or reject their validity. The person-centered dream method always honors the person’s own feelings, ideas and impressions of the meaning of their dream images.
4.
To say that the meaning of dreams is “self-evident” to the dreamer does not mean that the significance of a dream image is obvious, simplistic, or easy to recognize. Dreamers are often baffled or tickled by the peculiarities of their dreams – especially at first viewing – and they frequently struggle with and get stuck in the concreteness of dream images as they initially explore their significance. The potential self-evident meaning may be hidden or unclear – momentarily – but it is not disguised to prevent you from eventually realizing its meaning. The self-evident meaning is available to the dreamer and, with patience and focus, can emerge
5.
You have the power to understand your own dreams, but it takes practice. This is where the role of the facilitator is crucial. It takes some time and practice for people to become comfortable with the peculiarities of dream images. In the person-centered dream method, the role of the professional is to help the person to vividly re-experience their own dream imagery to facilitate the revelation of their uniquely personalized meaning by the dreamer. The professional must refrain from interpreting the meaning for the client.
How It Works
Dreams are amazing, mysterious, uncanny, and baffling, but it is not because the dream images are shaped by some unconscious process of active censorship that disguises their meaning from the dreamer. This dream disguise theory originated with Freud’s brilliant discovery that dreams have important psychological meaning. But Freud was wrong in thinking that dreams are hiding ugly secrets about our darkest forbidden desires. His theory created a myth that permeates modern popular culture and still frightens many people from exploring their dreams.
In fact, the opposite is true. Dreams have the honesty and innocence of children. You can trust them to enhance your understanding and appreciation of yourself, your strengths, your relationships, and the activities that bring you joy and fulfillment. Jennings invented the person-centered dream analysis method to enable people to embrace and use the wisdom and creativity of their dreams for better living.
Jennings uses the phrase “the dream is the dream is the dream” to emphasize five essential characteristics of dreams.