QUESTIONS & ANSWERS:
Dreams Department

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Question

I rarely dream of violent acts, but one night I got it all. Violent objects as well as acts including: gun, ax, rape, fire, and a tornado. Now the gun was being shot at me but I eluded it. The ax was used by a stepfather on his stepdaughter in which she was first raped and then was decapitated with it. I did witness the decapitation and then the man turned on me and I felt my throat being cut. Then I was suddenly outside and there was a brush fire that spread quickly from the wind of the tornado in which I was unable to run from fast enough.

All of these dreams happened concurrently and in that order in one night. Could you please possibly give me some suggestions on why so much violence could take place in the subconscious in one evening?

Answer

Acts of violence are frightening whether they occur in waking reality or in dreams, and can stimulate feelings of helplessness and vulnerability. The cause of violence in dreams may be from many sources. To rule out drugs, medications or illness as a cause, discussion with a physician is recommended. If the violence is recurrent or reflects a waking aspect of your life, discussion with a mental health professional is advised.

However, in general, violent dreams offer the same opportunity that other dreams do, to investigate the symbols and imagery for life enhancement. The challenge in the last few decades for the dreamwork movement has been to teach a variety of methods that replace the old phase "It was just a dream".

In American schools systems, people like Jill Gregory and Ann Wiseman have successfully taught children coping mechanisms that allow them to come into relationship with the dream monsters and fears in a novel and related manner. Generally the child is encouraged to draw the dream, talk with the frightening characters, or fantasize changes in the nightmare. Children often will draw magic circles around the monsters or put them in cages. Talking with the monsters from a safe place leads to creative alternatives. Similar approaches can lead to creative insights with adults as well.

In this sense, occasional violent dreams are gift, an opportunity to enhance our life in an unexpected way. As Jeremy Taylor often restates (ala Jung) about dreams, that they are a natural process and thus come in the service of wholeness and healing.

Technically speaking, a whole night of disasters may be no different than one or two. One image can often set off a whole chain of images that are similar. When we get a night were there is a wide variety of disasters, attacks and enemies, we also are getting a night were there is a wide variety of opportunities to create new paths for exploration and insight. The key seems to be in controlling the amount you want by being more confrontal and assertive while you are in the dream.

Reference:

Nightmare help. A guide for adults and children by Ann Sayre Wiseman (Ten Speed Press, 1986, 1989).

The Nightmare: The Psychology and Biology of Terrifying Dreams by Ernest Hartmann (Basic books, 1984)

Counseling with dreams and nightmares by Delia Cushway and Robyn Sewell (Sage publications, 1992)

The Nightmare: Psychological and Biological Foundations by Henry Kellerman (Ed.)( Columbia University Press, 1987)

The Anxious Subject: Nightmares and Daymares in Literature and Film by Moshe Lazar (Ed.) (Undena, 1983)

Dreams and Nightmares: A Book of Gestalt Therapy Sessions by J. Downing and E. Marmorstein (Eds.) (New York: Harper and Row, 1973)

2/19/98

Richard Wilkerson is general editor for The Internet Dream E-zine, Electric Dreams, and director of DreamGate, the Internet Communications and Dream Education Center. He writes the Cyberphile column for the Association for the Study of Dreams Newsletter.