THE THEATRES OF THE SOUL

Based on a Dreams Retreat by Rev. Colin Andrews

 

PART ONE: LISTENING TO OUR DREAMS

 

John Sanford who says that dreams are “God's Forgotten Language” says: ‘Suppose someone told you that there was something that spoke to you every night, that always presented you with a truth about your own life and soul, that was tailor-made to your individual needs and particular life story, and that offered to guide you throughout your lifetime and connect you with a source of wisdom far beyond yourself. And furthermore, suppose that all of this was absolutely free. Naturally you would be astonished that something like this existed. Yet this is exactly the way it is with our dreams.’

 

1.     PERSPECTIVE:

 

My perspective on Dreams and Dreamwork is four-dimensional.

 

• Theologically: l look at the dream as a call to wholeness and see dreamwork as a way of nurturing our relationship with God. I would like to show how dreams and dreamwork could become an important resource for the church's ministry in the world. Dreams are a way of discerning God's will.

 

• Spiritually: l view dreams and dreamwork as an area of relationship between God and us and as a helpful resource on the journey inwards, i.e. towards wholeness. Specifically dreamwork is a way to foster practical connections between the conscious and the unconscious, and between symbolic process and daily choices.

 

• Historically: I hope to develop and help carry on the vital Judeo-Christian dreamwork tradition which functioned in the Church from Old Testament times until the 5^th Century A.D. I hope to create basis for Christians doing dreamwork today. I support a renewal of dreamwork as an accepted and vital spiritual discipline, along with prayer, meditation, and scripture.

 

• Psychologically: I view dreamwork as leading people towards transformation and wholeness, and using psychology as a very helpful tool.

 

2.     Some Contrasts:

 

·        While some people look to a dream to find an answer to their problems, some people have discovered that a dream is more helpful when viewed as a question. So, instead of seeking to discover what a dream is telling us to do, it is suggested to look for the central question that a dream may asking us to reflect or focus on.

 

·        While we may treat a dream as a piece of information to be understood and grasped, many have found that a dream is more helpful when viewed as an invitation to relationship with God, others, self and the environment.

 

·        While many people view dreams as something useless and worthless, many have found it very helpful to view a dream as a gift, and to value it as an important addition to our life. When appropriate dreamwork is done on a dream, it can become an experience that heals, comforts, guides and warns us. It inspires new perspectives on life and calls us to live our waking hours in enriched and more vital ways.

 

·        While some view a dream as something vaguely personal only, many have discovered that a dream is a gift not only to the individual but also to the community.

 

3.     What is Dreamwork?

 

The Talmud says, ‘A dream that has not been interpreted is like a letter that has not been opened’ A dream is often not complete without dreamwork. Dreamwork is to make a friend of your dreams. Dreams are like parables of our inner lives. Dreamwork is accepting the dream as a gift and giving it time and attention, allowing the hidden meanings to emerge.

 

If a dream is indeed a letter, then it implies someone sent it. Dreamwork comes a way of consciously getting in touch with the will of God for our lives - a way of discernment. Using various dreamwork techniques will allow us to verify our dreams. We will begin to understand them and to find ways to co-operate with them in becoming who God has called and meant us to be.