OVERNIGHT SUCCESS PUTTING YOUR DREAMS TO WORK:[NORTH SPORTS FINAL, C Edition]
Bob Condor. Tribune Staff Writer.. Chicago Tribune (Pre-1997 Fulltext). Chicago, Ill.: Jul 8, 1996. pg. 1
Abstract (Article Summary)

"The last two years I have used dream work in corporate management seminars," said Peter Mudd, a private psychotherapist and executive director of C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago, who counts several large companies among his local clients. "Most of these managers come in quite skeptical but go out pleasantly surprised or even moved by how their dreams can help them discover a different dimension to the workplace."

[Blanche] Gallagher has recently started several private groups to meet demand for her dream guidance. The Jung Institute, based in Evanston, offers dream classes and weekend workshops (the next one is July 27 and 28) to help people understand their dreams, and is planning a four-day international conference on the subject next May. Other such opportunities abound in the Chicago area, in group or individual settings.

The physiological elements of dreams were first probed in 1952, when a University of Chicago researcher discovered periods of rapid eye movement (REM) during sleep. It was subsequently determined that REM sleep was most fertile for dreaming. We first enter REM about 90 minutes into sleep, and then more frequently, up to seven prime dream cycles each night. Dreams last longer and are more vivid in REM, but you also dream at other times.
Full Text (1839 words)

Copyright Chicago Tribune Co. Jul 8, 1996

This is how far dreams, those nocturnal tributaries of the subconscious mind, have seeped into the mainstream of consciousness.

"The last two years I have used dream work in corporate management seminars," said Peter Mudd, a private psychotherapist and executive director of C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago, who counts several large companies among his local clients. "Most of these managers come in quite skeptical but go out pleasantly surprised or even moved by how their dreams can help them discover a different dimension to the workplace."

Corporate America's pillow talk aside, dreams are still the stuff of which psychiatry practices are made. But a dreamer today has so many new--and perhaps less intimidating--choices for exploration, including discussion groups, workshops, books, Internet sites, alternative healing therapists and even some family practice physicians. It is boom time at nighttime.

"People are increasingly interested in becoming fully human," said Blanche Gallagher, a Catholic nun who runs two dream discussion groups each semester as part of her teaching duties at Loyola University's Institute of Pastoral Studies. "The groups are more popular than ever (she started her first at Mundelein College in 1982)."

People are discovering there can be a practical application of their dreams, one that is less threatening or embarrassing and more positive. You can enhance your personal relationships--even with the boss. Maybe understand how to solve a health problem. Receive career guidance. Figure out the best town to live or where to start a new business. Find creative inspiration to help finish off a project or write a best seller.

"There is a direct correlation between everyday life and dreams," said Mudd. "There doesn't have to be some great mystery to it."

Gallagher has recently started several private groups to meet demand for her dream guidance. The Jung Institute, based in Evanston, offers dream classes and weekend workshops (the next one is July 27 and 28) to help people understand their dreams, and is planning a four-day international conference on the subject next May. Other such opportunities abound in the Chicago area, in group or individual settings.

"Dreams are the most creative work we do," said Gallagher, who has a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. "We are magnificently educated in this country in terms of the left brain (which controls logic and capability for numbers among other tasks), but it's time we get on with the other half (representing more intuitive, creative thinking)."

Indeed, even during the last decade, there has been less stigma attached to the interpretation of dreams, first developed as a rigorous scientific endeavor of psychoanalysis by that heady tag team of Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung (pronounced "yoong").

The eyes have it

The physiological elements of dreams were first probed in 1952, when a University of Chicago researcher discovered periods of rapid eye movement (REM) during sleep. It was subsequently determined that REM sleep was most fertile for dreaming. We first enter REM about 90 minutes into sleep, and then more frequently, up to seven prime dream cycles each night. Dreams last longer and are more vivid in REM, but you also dream at other times.

While Freud basically believed the purpose of dreams is to allow people to satisfy hidden, unconscious desires (especially sexual fantasies), Jung eventually broke off with his mentor to expound dreams as more open to individual interpretation and representing messages from our subconscious selves to our conscious selves. Jung's teachings are followed by most of today's therapists who work with dreams.

Now in the corporate setting, Mudd often discusses dream work on the first evening of a four-day seminar. He uses dreams to begin a discussion each subsequent morning, and he hears some doozies, including managers who admit they attacked certain co-workers during their sleep.

"We establish confidentiality within the room to make everyone feel comfortable," he said. "Some people are quite courageous and willing to reveal their emotions and frustrations by telling their dreams.

"Other people can be naive. They explain a dream thinking it's nonsense; then I point out what it might mean by asking them some questions about the dream events. Then we relate the dream back to their work situation. By the time we're done, they usually feel differently about the power of their dreams."

For example, Mudd said a common dream among managers focuses on some calamity at work, such as a factory breakdown or computer glitch. Co-workers appear in the dream to make things more difficult or help in some unexpected fashion.

"It's not always the people you expect that either want you to fail or succeed," he said. "Maybe someone you considered an opponent is really interested in your success (or vice versa). This dream signals some different ways to look at your work relationships."

Debate over symbolism

Mudd said there is no better interpreter of dreams than the dreamer. This is a core statement among dream workers (therapists and other health professionals who use dreams in their practices) who follow a Jungian approach and avoid overgeneralization of symbols found in the many "dream dictionaries" that can be found in bookstores.

"I consider myself a scientist," said Veronica Tonay, a psychotherapist and lecturer at the University of California at Santa Cruz who has published numerous academic studies on dreams. "I'm very upset about those type of books. They are based on intuition, not research. It's no better than seeing a fortuneteller."

Tonay urges her clients to pay attention to dreams as part of maintaining health, much as Hippocrates, the Greek physician and so-called father of modern medicine, prescribed some 2,400 years ago. Without high-tech medical tests, Hippocrates employed the next best tool--one that therapists and health professionals believe is sorely missed as science has overrun intuition in the field of medicine.

"There is so much more interest in dream work," said Tonay, author of "The Art of Dreaming: Using Your Dreams to Unlock Your Creativity" (Celestial Arts, 1995). "I have done 70 radio interviews alone to publicize the book, with lots of questions from callers about people falling from a cliff," which could mean any number of things--such as falling in love, a part of yourself is dying, feelings of insecurity--depending on who is doing the falling.

"But we're still so caught up in work life and hectic family life. If we don't pay attention to our emotions and intuitions, they will show up in dreams whether we like it or not."

What's more, dreams might portend serious physical conditions. A Michigan State University study asked patients suspected of heart disease (but as yet undiagnosed) to recall any dreams from the previous year. Those subjects who reported dreams of death and separation generally tested high for heart attack risk.

Dr. William A. McGarey, a general practice physician and director of the Association for Research and Enlightenment clinic in Phoenix, has been using dreams to help diagnose patients since the early 1960s.

"I have found that dreams can provide adequate warning of an illness, giving the patient and doctor some direction before it becomes too advanced," says McGarey, who describes some of the dream work in his new book, "In Search of Healing" (Perigree).

An example: McGarey was seeing a woman who reported that she had the same dream two successive nights in which she blurted out, "I have MS." McGarey checked and found early symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

"We took measures to stop it from developing," he said. "She is presently doing quite well. Of course, not all dreams are as literal as hers."

Living in a dream world

Tonay said Jungian theory holds that the emotions of dreams can be compensatory. If you are stressed out at work, your dreams might be about doing something fun and carefree. If you are struggling to find more spiritual meaning in life, you might dream about a church or synagogue.

"I can tell you there is a definite surge in spiritual yearning simply by the number of clients who are having dreams about religion," said Tonay.

Tonay supervises several dream groups as part of her private practice. She follows a pattern in which a person reveals a dream and she works with the dreamer one on one in front of the group. She is careful to allow the dreamer to make his or her own conclusion, and also recommends not to put too much stock in any one dream.

"Usually a series of dreams is more reliable for picking out themes," she said. "You want to look for what is common in the dreams, such as something always blocking your way or threatening your chance to succeed.

"Then you should uncover how you are coping with this threat. What can you learn from what you are doing or not doing in the dream?"

Gallagher said she has a good idea why dream exploration, a staple of medieval times, is once again beginning to fill a yawning need among the masses.

"We have relied on words to communicate for much of the 17th through 20th Centuries," she noted. "Since dreams are visual, they have been less in favor.

"But movies, television and computers have changed all that. We now think more frequently and fluently in visual images, and that brings us back to our dreams."

BEFORE YOU CAN INTERPRET YOUR DREAM, YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER IT

There is no single personality trait that leads a person to remember dreams. Some studies show creative people such as writers and artists are more aware of their dreams, but researchers attribute such capabilities to a motivation for using the material for work purposes. This points out an opportunity for anyone who wants to more fully recall dreams: Work at it and you will get better at it. Here are some tips:

-- Believe it: Simply telling yourself you want to remember dreams (or praying for the ability) improves your recall.

This has been documented by dream researchers.

-- For the record: Keep a pen and notebook or tape recorder near your bed for quick recording of your dream. The longer you wait, the fewer details you will remember. Fixing on a key image is helpful. Some people even wake up during the night to write out a particularly vivid dream.

-- Don't move: When waking up, try to stay in the same position. This tricks the body into thinking it is still in REM sleep mode and you will remember more. Also, keeping your eyes closed helps bring back the dream images. The real images of your bedroom will wipe out most dream visuals in seconds.

-- Buddy up: Some therapists and physicians contend that you will remember more about your dreams by discussing them with another person, especially on the same day. You might also bore your "dream buddy" to tears if you talk too much.

-- Don't give up: Even a dream fragment provides plenty of insight for a typical dream workshop or discussion group. A remembered dream every two weeks is about standard for beginners.
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GRAPHIC; Caption: GRAPHIC: Illustration by Russell Mcgonagle.