The first dream you consider as you begin an undertaking can be taken as the initial dream. If you begin psychotherapy, the first dream you tell to the therapist will be considered the initial dream. If you begin a new job, move to a new place, or undertake any major life change, the first dream you recall becomes the initial dream. Here, as with any dream, the content is your personal content, and must be interpreted by you to suit your situation. Other people can offer suggestions, or their own interpretations, but you find the ultimate personal meaning yourself.
In therapeutic situations the initial dream often poses the question critical the entire process. It is the first direct contact with the unconscious and as such is an auspicious event. It signals the direction in which the unconscious is moving at the time of the dream. Because of this, it offers a complement or contrast to the waking experience and thereby defines the health of the psyche as a whole. A dream that is inconsistent with the waking experience suggests turmoil within the personality. It can reveal the nature of the problem within the unconscious, indicating agreement or disagreement between conscious activity and underlying beliefs or feelings. It can foretell psychic impact or affirm you decision or action. It can spotlight some facet of your plans activity that you may or may not have considered. It can provide a message from your angles or allies, or a message from the personal daimon about the decision.
The feeling tone of the initial dream is a curious factor. Sometimes we are consciously excited and filled with pleasant thoughts of a new activity. A dream that has the same feeling tone confirms our waking sentiment. An anxious dream may point to a difficult factor in the future situation that can benefit from conscious attention. Only you can examine the feeling and reconcile it to your situation. Any feeling can be a positive indication, depending on how you perceive it.
Generally the unconscious exaggerates to some degree. For example, a little drainage from a cold might translate into drowning in a dream, or a pleasant flower arrangement might become a psychedelic experience. The feeling may be tempered as you examine the content of the dream, or as you take precautions it suggests.
As you read through the book and begin to record your dreams in the program, you may encounter dream images that are an extension of the initial dream. The program is designed to help you track dream elements easily. You can select key words as you go along to group dreams around specific themes. Your initial dream may eventually relate to many dreams that you record, as its elements become old friends along the path of your dream life.
Sources
Dreams: Working Interactive, by Stephanie Clement and Terry Rosen, published by Llewellyn
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