Dream analysis
Use this as a guide to your analysis. It would be hard to answer these questions in fewer than five pages (double spaced) if you put your mind to it and include the dream text with observations as before.
1. Dream Text: put into words as best you can the dream as you experienced it. Try to remember colors, textures, sounds as well as images and words. It can be a continuous narrative, or something more impressionistic if that works better, but keep it in the present tense to give it a real time feel for the reader. You can use more than one dream if they are in a series. Format this part so it stands apart from the analysis section by indenting it like a block quotation. It can be single spaced, but the rest should be double spaced.
2. Analysis Section: after the dream text, discuss this dream as best you can by addressing the following questions. Structure this in the form of a reflective essay so it has some organic form (i.e., so that it is not just a list of answers to these questions as given below).
2a. Identify persons, places, and situations: were these strange or people/places known to you? Were they composites or individuals? Did the people or places change during the dream? Why do you think they appeared?
2b. Is this dream unique or a recurring dream you have? Was it part of a series of dreams in the night?
2c. Were there any enigmatic or symbolic elements in the dream, as far as you know? What do they seem to mean? Do you seem to have some degree of personal symbolism in your dreaming?
2d. Was there any somatic stimulus in relation to your dreaming activity, such as outside noises, bodily needs, pains or functions, other people or pets disturbing you?
2e. Do you recall your emotional state during the dream? Did you wake up because of this dream? If so, what was your emotional state at the moment of waking? Did you go back to sleep and dream something else? If so, what did you dream subsequently?
2f. Did the dream cause you to think differently about something in your experience (recent or past)? Was there something about it that continued to concern or interest you?
