Psychotherapist Dr. John Goldhammer (radicaldreaming(1)) shared his approach to dream interpretation and therapy, which instead of relying on dream dictionaries, asks individuals to probe themselves for their own symbolic meanings. Dreams can do work for us, such as to help overthrow ideas and attitudes "that have been put upon us and don't belong to us," he said. By learning to recognize dream elements that represent these non-helpful ideations, people can be empowered to rid themselves of them, Goldhammer explained.
Dreams can function to connect us to a "deep source of renewal and wisdom," and the symbolic imagery that is portrayed is like a "lost language," that can be understood on an individual level, he said. This imagery can be drawn from a person's past, present and future. Interestingly, Goldhammer suggested that controlling one's dreams is not necessarily a desirable objective, but rather one can benefit from "learning to respect the wisdom that is [already present] in the dream."

1. http://www.radicaldreaming.com

Ancient Celtic Head

Pictured is a carved stone head from Boa Island in Ireland (tinted green for St. Patrick's Day!). The figure, known as a Janus head, has a second face carved in the other direction. The Celtic symbol of a figure looking forward and back is thought to represent transition and the threshold between life and death. More Photos/Info(1).

1. http://radiocarbon.pa.qub.ac.uk/local/fermanagh/Boa/

Bumper Music

Bumper music from Wednesday March 17, 2004