Dearest Dreamers,
In her fascinating book, Writers Dreaming, Naomi Epel gives us windows into the dreams of some of our most famous and acclaimed authors. From the range of writers who respond to her questions, it’s clear that creative folks “find ideas and inspiration in the intermingling of dreams and their working [lives.]”
Ms. Epel, dream researcher and radio host, interviewed the likes of Elmore Leonard, Maya Angelou, and Amy Tan – 26 in all are presented in the book. As she says, these well-known and successful writers “offer a behind-the-scenes look at the workings of the imagination…They discuss the dreams that have had a powerful effect on their work…revealing in the process their philosophies, habitual rituals and ways of solving creative problems.”
I’ll whet your appetite with a couple of examples: In the chapter devoted to Maya Angelou, we find that she experiences a recurring dream when her work is going well. She says, “There is a dream which I delight in and long for when I’m writing. It means to me that the work is going well…Or that I’m telling the truth and telling it well.” Ms. Angelou goes on to describe her dream as being of a “very tall building…in the process of being built…I’m climbing it with alacrity and joy and laughter!” You can see the metaphor I’m sure, Dear Dreamers; the analogy between writing a book and constructing a building. If you’re a writer, I’m sure you also recognize the sensation of pleasure and skill when something meaningful flows from your fingers!
In Writers Dreaming, Stephen King says, “One of the things that I’ve been able to use dreams for in my stories is to show things in a symbolic way that I wouldn’t want to come right out and say directly. I’ve always used dreams the way you’d use mirrors to look at something you couldn’t see head-on – the way you use a mirror to look at your hair in the back…dreams are a way that people’s minds illustrate the nature of their problems. Or maybe even illustrate the answers to their problems in symbolic language.”
Wow! There it is again – the practical use of dreams for problem solving and creative generation of solutions from some of the most successful and respected authors of our time. It doesn’t take a giant leap of faith to know that productive and accomplished people across all endeavors can and do employ their dreams, tapping depths of creativity and insight to their work.
Why not you, Dear Dreamer? I’m certain you have faced or are facing a challenge in your professional life. Consider that your dreaming self can be helpful in giving you perspective on the problem. As Stephen King says, a dream may offer an angle on the issue that you just cannot see without it!
If these talented and noteworthy artists rely on their dreams, we too can add them to our toolbox of methods for working resourcefully on the perplexing problems of our daily lives.
Sweet Dreams to You, Dear Dreamers!
SMYD