Up: [[Dreams]] Created: 2024-12-15 Updated: 2025-10-23 A dream can be fragments, even a single tiny image, but lots of the time it’s an entire story with all of the parts we expect of a classic story structure. #### Exposition The first thing to look at in a dream is the **setting**. This tells us in what part of the psyche the action is taking place. In other words, it tells us which [[complex]] we’re mainly in. It also gives clues as to the time period of your life the dream is in. If we’re at work, it’s about our career. If we’re in our current house, it’s present day; a childhood house, we’re looking at old patterns from that time. If the setting is unfamiliar, it could be an unknown part of psyche, and if there’s no setting or it is very minimal, we’re at a point of new awareness, a situation that isn’t very well defined. This first part of the dream also shows the **initial situation**. Notice what’s happening and the characters that are present as the dream begins. You’ll want to compare the initial situation to the ending to see if there’s been any resolution. #### Plot Development This is the **action** part of the dream. The dream world doesn’t conform to linear time so it can be hard to follow the plot. There can be multiple scenes in different settings, or multiple dreams in a single night. Any time this happens look to see what the multiples might have in common. The Jungian analysts who wrote the book *Dream Wise* also suggest that you can use the frame when/then to make sense of confusing sequences. What happened right before that might have caused this moment? #### Climax This is the decisive event or the high point of the tension. #### Lysis Pay attention to the last sentence of a written dream. This is the result or **resolution** of the action in the dream. It shows where the dreamer’s energy is directed. If the dream just ends, that means there’s no solution in sight. If you’re still caught in the complex that the dream portrays, the dream will stop in the complex. If you’re able to move beyond it, so will the dream. If there is a clear resolution, the dream ego’s outlook has probably been shifted a little.