Inner Work

Making associations:
  1. Go through your dream and write out every association that you have with each dream image. Your association is any word, idea, mental pictures, feelings, or meaning that pops into your mind when you look at the image in the dream.
  2. At this point you should not try to decide which association is the so-called right one.
  3. Don't make chain associations. Chain associations are when we make connections with the associations rather than with the original deam image.
  4. Be sensitive to colloquialisms. They are excellent languages for the unconscious. This is because our colloquial expresses come out of olden times when our language was richer in concrete imagery and closer to the archetype.
  5. As you go through your associations, one of them will generate a lot of energy in you. It is organically tied to energy systems deep in the substrata of the unconscious.
  6. Use archetyped amplification to help in finding associations. It is basically a process of gathering information about the archetypes that appear in our dreams by going to sources such as myths, fairy tales, and ancient religious traditions. 
  7. Do not use so-called dream-books and dictionaries of symbolisms as substitutes for your own personal associations. Every symbol in your dream has a special, individual connotation that belongs to you alone, just as the dream is ultimately you alone. 
Connecting dream images to inner dynamics:
  1. We identify the parts of our inner self that appear as the images in the dream.
    1. For each image ask:
      1. What part of me is this?
      2. Where have I seen it functioning in my life lately?
      3. Where do I see that as some trait in my personality?
      4. Who is it, inside me, who feels like that or behaviors like that?
    2. Right down each example you can think of in which that inner part of you has been expressing itself in your life.
  2. Always begin by applying your dream inwardly. Start by assuming that your dream represents an inner dynamic, and work with it on that basis. Later, if it turns out that the dream does refer to an external situation, adjust your interpretation accordingly.
  3. The good way to connect to the inner parts of yourself is to think of each dream figure as an actual person living inside you.
  4. It is a mistake to jump to conclusions and to call your inner persons one of the archetypes, there are many others who won't fit.
The interpretation:
  1. What is the central, most important message that this dream is trying to communicate to me? What is it advising me to do?
  2. What is the overall meaning of the dream for my life?
  3. When you begin to interpret your dream, don't expect your  interpretation to come out in coherent form on the first try. Just write down your ideas about how you think the entire dream fits together and the meaning that it has for your life. Keep working at it until it makes sense and fits with the overall patterns of events in the dream.
  4. If your dream has several interpretations, then write out your interpretations. But the act of writing, you begin to get better feeling about whether it really makes sense to you or not.
  5. If the interpretation has energy in it, that is, if it triggers something within you, this is good sign that the interpretation is good for this dream.
  6. Learn to watch for small details and read what they're saying. They will make the difference in understanding a situation that would otherwise seem ambiguous.
  7. If you find that the interpretation is still not coming clear, or you can't decide between the opposing interpretations, play Devil's Advocate with each explanation of the dream.
  8. Validating interpretations.
    1. Choose an interpretation that shows you something you didn't know.
    2. Avoid the interpretation that inflates your ego or is self-congratulatory.
    3. Avoid interpretations that shift responsibility away from yourself.
    4. Learn to live with dreams over time--fit them into the long-term flow of your life.
Acting consciously to honor your dreams:
  1. Keep your physical rituals small and subtle, and they will be more powerful.
  2. It is also not a good idea to try to make a ritual out of talking about your dream or tyring to explain yourself to people. Talking tends to put the whole experience back on an abstract level.
  3. You can always do a simple physical act, even if you can't think of something that relates directly to your dream.
  4. Use common sense, don't go off half-cocked when doing your rituals.
  5. Keep your rituals subtle and low-key, positive and affirmative and you will get the best from them.
Source: Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth (1989) by Robert A. Johnson.