I'm sure that most of you who have worked with dreams in a group have experienced the dreaded moment of feeling you have lost track of the dream; you've forgotten the beginning (or middle, or end) while your mind pursued an image; or you found yourself lost in a projections and then discovered you haven't really registered all the parts of the dream narrative.

When working one-to-one it seems to me there is an obligation to try and keep track of the dreamer's whole narrative (as much as possible) either by practicing the meditation of careful attention, or by taking notes while the dream is told. However, when working dreams in a group, this sense of obligation can be eased with a clear conscience and you can rely on the group as a whole to keep track of the dream(s) being shared, rather than struggling to hold the whole narrative(s) in mind.  Each person in the group will hang his/her hat on some hook(s) in the dream and attention to that point (sometimes several points) will usually evoke abundant projections, often leading to new insights and shifts in perspective in both the dreamer and the group.  

Recently, midway through a one-day workshop the group began to explore a series of dream memories from a single dreamer, all remembered from the same night. When the dreamer reached the end of her recitation, I noticed that several people in the group seemed to have facial expressions suggesting great mental efforts and growing frustrations.  

I usually address this problem before the dream(s) are told. I realized that I had neglected to do that. With a pang of guilt, I hastened to correct my "blunder" and quickly spoke about a group having the luxury of more relaxed and spontaneous selective attention. Selective listening is not only "OK" - it is inevitable, and actually brings with it the great gift of collective wisdom; the whole group collaborates and cooperates in holding the dreamer's entire complex narrative in all its detail, subtlety, and complexity.

To my surprise and relief, I watched the anxious facial expressions and body language shared by so many in the group melt away, replaced by relief and sudden insight, as well as more open and relaxed body postures. In that moment, I realized that contrary to my habitual assumptions, it might actually be better to save that particular bit of guidance until after group members had actually experienced the inevitable problem of trying to hold multiple, long, complex, subtly nuanced accounts in mind on first hearing.

Group projective dream work regularly demonstrates the wisdom of embracing ALL theoretical perspectives and intuitive ideas and "flashes" about the origins and purposes of dreaming, and each and every dream in particular. Even the most wildly spontaneous and seemingly "crazy" and "off-the-wall" projections of group participants regularly stimulate "aha's" of insight and recognition - not only in the group participants who come up with them in the first place, but also for the original dreamer, and most, if not all, the other group members who are also doing their own work in projected form on their respective imagined versions of the dreamer's accounts.

In group dream work both the group and the dreamer can trust that the dream is truly heard in all its dimensions and subtlety.