The questions we most often get asked usually come down to “What does it mean if I dream about ____?” We all want to know more about what our dreams are saying to us and how to interpret them, and people have been compiling manuals on dream symbolism since the advent of the written word. Even today there are hundreds of books on the subject online. But should we be attached to specific meanings? Does a tooth or cat or a car come with some universal meaning attached that is the same for everyone? 

In this episode, Laura and Dave welcome Dr Nigel Hamilton aboard the Dream Boat to talk about personal and universal symbols in dreams and how he works with them as a psychotherapist. Nigel is a highly experienced therapist, teacher, researcher and one of the world's leading pioneers in dream interpretation techniques. He is the founder of one the world's top Transpersonal Psychotherapy colleges, the Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy Education in London, co-founder of the DRI Centre for Dream Studies and the former UK Representative of the Inayatiyya Sufi Order International. He has spent years studying and pioneering techniques for working with dream symbolism and his book Awakening Through Dreams: Journeys Through the Inner Landscape covers some of his fascinating discoveries. He teaches workshops and leads courses on spiritual approaches to psychotherapy at CCPE. 

In this episode, Dr Hamilton discusses the symbolism of colours, symbols of transformation in the alchemical model, and how we can discern the personal from the universal. 

For our “Dream of the Week” feature, Nigel shares three brief dreams which marked particular steps in his own process. 

   

Let us know what you think, and submit a dream for us to explore on the podcast! 

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This podcast is a project of the DRI, the centre for dream studies at CCPE, the psychotherapy college overlooking the canals at London’s scenic Little Venice.

Remember you can join the DRI for just £10 a year currently to access discounted events, courses, newsletters and join in the conversation about dreams. Go to driccpe.org.uk/sign-up to join!

Keep dreaming, and keep sharing your dreams!

 

Credits

Recorded by Sophie and Lev at the Boat Pod https://theboatpod.com 

Edited by James Ede at Be Heard https://beheard.org.uk 

Podcast Artwork Design by Kat Seager Design

 

Music:

Adventures by A Himitsu https://soundcloud.com/a-himitsu 

Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0

Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/2Pj0MtT

Music released by Argofox https://youtu.be/8BXNwnxaVQE 

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/MkNeIUgNPQ8