9th Column: Working Single Dreams With DreamSpinner
By Bjo Ashwill
http://www.spinner-soft.com

Hi, Electric Dreamers. I am Bjo Ashwill and am writing a monthly column on my experiences of creating a computer software program that does very detailed analysis of dream narratives. You are welcome to visit my web site and check out DreamSpinner, the software program I will be describing. http://www.spinner-soft.com. The site was recently revised and is full of exciting interactive things you can do. Check us out!

In this column I shall describe, over time, how to use the computer's power to store, group, analyze and retrieve information from our dreams. DreamSpinner's greatest power is working with long "over time" dream series, although it can work with individual dreams as well. How do metaphor patterns change over time? That is the question that began my journey toward creating DreamSpinner.

This month I am looking at a single dream. Usually, the power of DreamSpinner is to work large sets of dreams and find patterns, or see the patterns change over time. I wanted to explore just how useful DreamSpinner can be as an additional tool to working a single dream. What can DreamSpinner Word frequency counts tell you about a dream that other types of dreamwork don't find.

I, like many of you, have different methods I use to work a dream. My favorite is group dreamwork, either online or in a real time group. What I love best about this form of work is the additional objective minds working on my dream. Others will see things I am in denial about, or didn't notice. They will make connections I couldn't have made because I lacked the information they have. Looking at a dream with DreamSpinner is similar to that. Another objective view is shown me. I would never substitute my other forms of dreamwork and rely solely on DreamSpinner. It is simply one of many tools that can enhance our understanding of a dream.

So, here is a dream to look at. After the dream is a list of categories in the descending order of frequency found in the dream. The most frequently used categories indicates the stronger patterns found in the dream.

1/15/2000 Loving Solitude

I am in a store where candles and pretty glass things are sold. I am maybe 30 something and good looking. Healthy. I am wearing cutoffs and a short top. I have decided to live my life as a wanderer without possessions. To travel light. I have a small light guitar to carry strapped on my back, like a minstrel. I look at the neck of the guitar and notice the large wide neck. I try and will it more narrow so my hands can manage it. I go outside. It is the beach. I lie down on my tummy in the sand. Enjoying the lovely day. A good looking man comes over and sits with me and we talk about writing. I decide to show him how I do it. So he and two children walk toward my new house which is built in a secluded part of the beach far away from other people. As we walk, the beach trail/road is covered with vegetation and we keep walking through it. Then the sandy road is visible again. Now we are in a car, sort of 1950's sedan. I drive. We arrive at the house and I pull up in front of the double garage to the left of the large spacious log house. Dark rich woods. We get out and I go into the garage where all the animals I help heal up are there. Lots of baby pigs pink and cute, and black and white spotted are there, in hay nests in a row. A baby chick is there. I pet it. The children love being with the animals. The black and white one limps badly from his old wounds I healed him up from. So they have residue problems from their health problems. They are happy and free of pain here with me/. I take the man and the children around to the front of the house the porch is long and wide, a wonderful place to sit and think. I go into the living room where the room is filled with furniture wonderful old fashioned overstuffed couches 3 of them and round oak tables dining tables like grandma V's stuff. 3 or 4 of them. Now I go into another room light and airy and show the man about my writing and music.

Characteristics
...Direction
......Toward
.........Toward Direction
.........Toward Object
......From A Source
......Front
...Time
......Age Older
......Present
...Appearance
......Physically Attractive
......Light
...Size
......Size Larger(6)
......Size Smaller(3)
...Color
......Black
......White
Multi-colored
......Red
...Density
......Density Negative(3)
......Density Positive(3)
Character's Extra Information
...Character's Numbers
......Animal Numbers (4)
......Group(3)
......Individual(3)
...Character's Age
......Adult(3)
......Baby(3)
......Child(3)
...Character's Sex
......Indefinite(3)
......Male General(3)
...Animals Domestic/Wild
......Domestic
Movement
...Journey
......Under Own Power (10)
......With Assistance(3)
......Unknown(2)
......Transporting(1)
...Communication
......Expressive Communication
......Written
......Artistic Communication
......Verbal
Motion
...At Rest
...Removing
Transformation
...Change Appearance
...Creation
...Make Bigger
Flow
...Flow Open
...Regulators
...Things That Flow
Objects
...Architecture
......Rooms
.........Garage
.........Bedroom
.........Living Room
.........Porches
.........Unknown room
...Implements
......Household
.........Furniture
............Table
............Chair
......Musical Instruments
.........Guitar
...Materials
...Clothing
...Vehicles
Character's Identity
...Dreamer
...Animals
...Stranger
Object Relationships
...Connection
...Placement
...Contain
...Cover/Conceal
...Separation
...Attachment
...Blending
...Loss
Body
...Body Process
......Healthy
.........Heal
.........Health
.........Healthy
.........Live
.........Pain
......Non-Healthy
...Sensory
......Visual
......Auditory
...Anatomy
......Internal Anatomy
......Extremities
Mind
...Mental
......Thinking
......Abstract Ideas
...Emotional
......State of Mind Positive
Evaluation
...Evaluation Positive(9)
...Difficult Situations(2)
Evaluation Negative(1)
Nature
...Plant Life
...Terrain
...Water
...Earth and Its Mineral Elements
Location
...Setting
......Unfamiliar
......Indoor
......Outdoor
...Regions
......Beach
...Street
......Roads Between Places
......BackWays
Social Interaction
...Friendliness
......Helping Others
......Expression of Friendliness
......Socially Acceptable Physical Contact
Achievement
...Success
...Attempt
Social Interaction Direction
...Dreamer Toward Others
...Mutual
Social Activities
...Musical Activities
Change of Possession
...Possession
...Exchange Goods
Chance
...Misfortune, Injury or Illness
Nuances
...Lucid

The first thing I noticed is the importance of descriptive terms in this dream. Ordinarily, the category "Characteristics" is not the first to show up in the list. Movement is often the first. Under the category "characteristics" the first sub category is "Direction". There is a lot of movement toward things and places. As a metaphor, this feels very positive. Proactive.

Another strong characteristic is "attractive" and "Light". Again a sense of the positive. I am interested to see that no known or family members are in the dream, in fact, The Dreamer is the strongest character, then Animals and then strangers. The interactions are strongly friendly. Even though there are difficult situations and injury or illness, the strong features of the dream are on healing and health. Success is a strong element as well. I am interested that the first sub category of the "Object Relationships" category is "Connection". This is a category where we might not notice how objects are in relationship to one another as we read the dream. This is a helpful category for me to check for additional information. If we are all parts of our dreams, then the spatial relationships between objects have meaning to us as well.

I am also interested in the "Streets" category under the category "Location." "Roads between places" and "Backways" are intriguing metaphors to look at in this dream.

See what you can find in DreamSpinner's list that you didn't notice in the dream when you read it.

While I have your attention, hopefully, I would like to request any nightmare dreams you would be willing to share that I could use in a research project I am involved in. I will be doing a presentation on "Counting The Things That Go Bump In The Night" for the ASD conference in July of this year. I am using the Barbara Sanders long dream series. I would like to gather other people's nightmares and dreams as a comparison. In addition, I am creating a base line database for DreamSpinner to measure dreams against. If you are willing, there are two ways you can get the dreams to me.

1. You can go to my Website http://www.spinner-soft.com and enter a dream. I would also need you to fill out the optional registration form and the Informed Consent form giving me permission to use your dreams. I will not use any personal identifying information about the dreamer. The dreams will be anonymous. If fact most of the dreams will be presented as patterns and percentages. Perhaps a few snippets from dreams may be used as examples. It would help if you changed the names of known characters and places so you can protect the privacy of anyone in your dreams.

2. Send your dream to me directly with my email dreambjo@hotmail.com. I will then send the registration form and the Informed Consent form. I thank you and hope you will want to participate in this experience.

Come on up to my website:www.spinner-soft.com and leave some nightmare dreams. Or any kind of dreams you wish. Leave a comment on others dreams. List the metaphors in your dream and comment on how that metaphor seems to mean to you. Check out what others think that same metaphor means to you. It's yet another dream group online.

See you next month.