Our current ‘self image’ is displayed by what we do in our dreams. If we are the active and central character in our dreams, then we have a positive, confident image of ourselves. The role we place ourselves in is also the one we feel at home with, or one which is habitual to us. If we are constantly a victim in our dreams, we need to consider whether we are living such a role in everyday life. Dreams may help us look at our self image from a more detached viewpoint. We can look back on what we do in a dream more easily than we can on our everyday waking behaviour. This helps us understand our attitudes or stance, a very growth promoting experience. It is important to understand the viewpoint of the other dream characters also. Although they depict views not habitual to us, they enlarge us through acquaintance. See: identity and dreams; Have a dialogue between two characters or objects under dream processing.
