ABSTRACT

Dreams simultaneously straddle the conscious and deep unconscious systems; three distinct but interrelated layers of meaning; and the past, present, and future. Dreams belong to the domain of creative solutions, in art and in everyday coping. Gaining access to the underlying meanings of our dreams is a powerful means of enhancing our own personal creative capacities and efforts. It is as if we enter a realm where poetry is the language and prose all but left behind. Trigger decoding itself is a creative activity that makes one aware of the rich capacity for symbolic thought each of us possesses by nature. The realized and consciously understood dream/associational network is both a brilliant work of art and an enormous adaptive resource. Dreams, then, serve to help us heal past wounds. They are also forward-looking and point us toward what we may best become. We can only marvel at the ingenuity of the deep unconscious system that powers dream activity.