You are dreaming and see a dark,
ominous figure.

It approaches, you feel anxious,
you start to panic.

Do you turn and run or do you
stand your ground?


Dream researchers contend that if
we tend to flee from perceived danger
in our dreams, we are likely to do so
during our waking hours as well.

They also contend that if we confront
the monsters in our dreams, we can
transform them, tame them, and even
learn from them.

Psychotherapists have trained nightmare
sufferers to confront the demons that
haunt their dreams.

They report that patients who acquire
this skill have freed themselves of
nightmares, and have shown greater
ability to confront everyday, monster-like
threats and problems.


For more on this form treatment, check
out Gayle Delaney's Living Your Dreams.

Dr. Delaney, for example, suggests that
when confronting of the nightmarish elements
of our dreams, we pose questions such as,

Why are you chasing me?
What do you want?
Why are you in my dream?

She claims that the very act of questioning
empowers us, transforms the situation and
reduces our fear.

And any answers to the questions we ask
would go a long way toward identifying the
issues that give rise to our nightmares,

making it possible for us to confront and
transform the everyday monsters we flee.