For most Americans, the idea of working with one’s dreams to promote mental, physical and spiritual health sounds like something close to superstition. How can dreams, which are so confusing, have anything to tell us in the waking world? This is a commonly asked question when the subject of dreamwork comes up.

    As Christians, however, we are acquainted with the dreams of Joseph. One dream reassures him about his betrothal to Mary and another dream warns him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to protect them from Herod. There are many other instances of God speaking through dreams to various biblical characters.

    Yet we are modern, Christian, Americans. How can we in our day and age learn to discern God’s voice through our dreams? Sr. Marguerite Buchanan, a Mercy Sister from the Mercy Center in Burlingame, California, teaches individuals and groups just how to do that—to discern God’s voice through our dreams. She begins by drawing a map of our conscious and unconscious self. That which we refer to as "I" she designates as the center of our consciousness. Down in the unconscious, she identifies a center for both our consciousness and unconsciousness. She calls this the "Self," (capital s). One might use more religious language, and call the Self, the Image-of-God- in-us. This is a place within us where God communicates personally with each of us. Dreams are one means God uses to communicate.

    The special way God communicates through dreams is through symbols. Thus, decoding the symbols is essential to learning what God is saying to us. Some spiritual directors have worked with their dreams for many years as well as studying the theory behind dreamwork. Through respectable dream workshops or spiritual direction, a person can learn the art of dream interpretation. One particularly good book is Inner Work by Robert Johnson.

    Recently I found myself without energy or motivation. I prayed that God would give me dreams that would help me understand what was going on and what to do about it. Sure enough, several dreams over a period of days bloomed during the night. I prayed that God would help me understand what the dreams revealed.

    First I wrote down the dream as fully as I could. Later the next day I circled all the nouns. Next I made associations to those nouns. For example, water. I associate the following to water—birth, womb, life-giving, restful, satisfies thirst, relaxes, living water, the unconscious. The fourth step was to estimate what part of myself each noun represented. With the symbol, water, I see that as my essential self.

    Then I looked at various myths and cultural stories. In one book, I read that pressures from our culture can tell us our "creative ideas are useless, that no one will want them, that it is futile to continue." These cultural messages can pollute the living water within us. When I read this, I felt an energy surge. New hope came alive in me as I realized that there had been a long string of these discouraging cultural messages aimed at me in recent months. What I hadn’t realized, was the fact that I had believed them. No wonder I felt unmotivated! I now knew I had to renew my belief in myself as a child of God, as valuable and as one with something to offer others. To put it in religious language, I believe God told me what was burdening me and how to unburden myself.

    The last step was to ritualize what the dream had revealed. Since pulling out the false beliefs was part of the dreamwork, I offered the pulling up of weeds in my flowerbed as a prayer of gratitude to God. When the body becomes involved with the dream through movement, the message of the dream can expand and deepen. Because this was such a powerful insight and transformation, insights from the dream will continue to come to me over time.

    If you find yourself blocked, depressed or confused, talking to a spiritual director about your dreams may be just what is needed. Call and ask for an appointment. Your director will probably want to do a get-to-know-you interview before beginning dreamwork with you. Some spiritual directors ask for a stipend, a contribution for the time he or she gives you. Others, especially if on a church staff, may be able to provide spiritual direction without a stipend. Don’t wait. New life is just around the corner.