Waking fresh from a wild dream this morning, I thought of this interview from the archives. Don’t miss on the links throughout, they’re as good as the interview. I hope you enjoy them too.

One of my favorite pieces we’ve ever published is “Dreams as Gifts of the Spirit,” an analysis of dream-related LDS history, doctrine, and practice. I have occasionally experienced powerful dreams myself, and I have always been grateful for the wisdom with which Barbara Bishop, the author (and also my aunt), helps me understand my dreams.

Barbara Bishop has an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Utah, a PhD in English from UCLA, and a master’s in counseling psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She taught English, using a curriculum that combined dreams and literature, for seven years at Marymount College in Palos Verdes, California. In addition to her work as a therapist, she is also writing a book about addiction dreams. She is married to Brent Pace and has three beautiful boys, about whom she dreams regularly.

As research for her book on addiction dreams, Barbara is seeking dreams from addicts and recovered addicts. If you have a family member who is an addict, she is interested in your dreams as well. Please email me –emilymilner at byu dot net–if you have an addiction-related dream you would like to share with her.

When did you first begin to pay attention to your dreams and what they might mean?
I first became interested in dreams while I was writing my dissertation for my PhD in English. I had a nagging thought, which I tried to ignore, that writing literary criticism wasn’t quite my bliss. I loved literature and I loved teaching literature, but I didn’t enjoy the lit crit industry. It seemed like literary critics wrote to other literary critics, and argued with and against their particular readings, and it seemed rather pointless. I had been writing down my dreams, trying to figure out why I was having these second thoughts now, when I was nearly finished with my dissertation. My sister invited me to attend a weekend workshop on dreams, and I immediately saw that studying dreams and writing about dreams had more relevance to the general population than writing literary criticism. Dream interpretation uses some of the same skills as literary interpretation, and dreams are as intriguing as literature. But everyone dreams, and each person’s dreams are tailor-made metaphorical stories about the dreamer’s life. I loved how the dreams could show my life in a symbolic way.

Also, I had interviewed for a teaching job which my friend, who worked at that school had assured me I would get. The interviews went well. I gave a presentation that went well. And I left fairly confident that I would receive a job offer. My dreams, however, basically told me that I would not get the job, long before the notice came. That intrigued me. How did my dreams know? The dreams prepared me, so that I was not as devastated as I might have been.

What led you to using dreams in your writing classes and therapy sessions?
I used dreams when I worked as a therapist because I found it easier to diagnose and figure out what was really going on with clients. Clients typically won’t tell a therapist everything; they don’t consciously conceal; but they wait to see if they can trust the person before spilling all of the “dirty laundry.” Dreams will get to the truth sooner than a usual therapy session. Especially when clients only have a limited number of sessions because of managed care, sometimes getting to the real reasons for needing therapy quickly are important. I found I could diagnose and formulate a treatment plan for clients after listening to a dream or two. Not all clients wanted to discuss dreams.

After I had worked as a therapist for a number of years, I missed teaching and decided to return to academia. I wanted to see if I could incorporate dreams into writing classes. I was interested in bringing information about dreams to a larger population than those who seek therapy. Everyone dreams every night, but more people do not take advantage of the information they receive from their dreams, usually because they do not know what to do with them. Universities typically do not teach classes on dreams, and this is a terrible mistake, in my opinion. Paying attention to one’s dreams could help students with everything from career decisions to problems with roommates and substance abuse. I thought that teaching a dream course could show students several methodologies to make their dreams work for them. In addition, I thought writing about dreams would be a way to make a writing course fun and not simply one of those required courses that students hate.

One of the things that frustrated me when I taught writing at UCLA was that the writing texts, which typically had contemporary essays, did not focus around a core subject. They had several. Typically the texts were organized around themes–education in America, race relations, feminism, the American dream, etc. When I became interested in dreams, I thought it would be fun (finally) to teach a writing class focused on one subject rather than several. And it was. I began teaching part-time at a private Catholic school, and eventually full-time.

I experimented with different texts and essay questions. I had joined the International Association for the Study of Dreams, and at their annual conferences they always have workshops on teaching dreams in the classroom. I incorporated many of the ideas from the annual conferences into my classes. I also had one of my favorite dream researchers, Kelly Bulkeley, come and speak at the college. One year we had a “Dream Club” where students who weren’t in my classes could come and discuss their dreams over lunch. I gave presentations on dreams after I attended conferences, and we even held a regional dream conference at the college in 2008. After teaching dreams in the classroom for several years, I am more than ever convinced that education about dreams should be a core subject in every university.

What is your favorite dream reference guide or website and why? Or what do you recommend to people interested in understanding dreams and dream symbolism better?
I have several favorite dream reference books. I like all of Kelly Bulkeley‘s books. The text I used in my writing class, “An Introduction to the Study of Dreams,” by Kelly Bulkeley is a good introduction for people who want basic information. TheInternational Association for the Study of Dreams has a website with several links. That’s also a good place to find everything from introductory to more specialized information about dreams. I also like Jeremy Taylor‘s books on dreams. I have attended several of his workshops, which also provide good introductory information on dreams. Robert Hoss (another IASD member) has amethodology for working with one’s dreams alone, and I always taught my students his interpretive method. It is simple to learn, and good for people to know who do not feel comfortable sharing dreams with others. However, my bias is that dreams should be shared!

When someone has a memorable or unsettling dream, what is the best way to understand it better?
The best way to understand an unsettling dream is to tell three best friends, a spouse, a neighbor, your mother or father–people whom you trust. One student told me she would call her parents and tell them her dreams before she started writing her paper. Her parents didn’t know anything about dream interpretation, but they knew their daughter very well, and were therefore able to understand the metaphors in their daughter’s dreams. People who know you well will often intuitively understand your dreams. And just talking about them out loud will help you better hear what the dream is trying to tell you.

Anything else you would like our readers to understand about dreams that you have not already mentioned?
The more you pay attention to your dreams, the more your dreams will pay attention to you! If you show that you are interested in your dreams by writing them down, and by discussing them with a trusted friend or two, you dreams will gradually provide personal spiritual revelation. They can aid you in your creative endeavors, in your church chores, your career and family relationships.
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Thank you, Barbara, for taking the time to answer! In the comments, I would love to hear your response to Barbara’s fabulous article. What have you learned as you pay attention to your dreams?