The Meaningful Continuities Between Dreaming and Waking: Results of a Blind Analysis of a Woman’s 30-Year Dream Journal

An exercise in blind analysis of a 30-year dream series from a woman named Beverly used a digital word search template on four subsets of her 940 dreams (from 1986, 1996, 2006, and 2016). Predictions about her waking life based on word usage frequencies in her dreams were made; of 26 predictions, Beverly confirmed 23 as accurate. Correct inferences included aspects of her emotional temperament, preoccupations, relationships, financial concerns, physical health, and cultural interests, especially religion and spirituality. These continuities between dreaming and waking life support claims that dream content patterns have meaningful connections with people's waking concerns, interests, and activities.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This article reports the findings of a new exercise in the “blind analysis” of a long dream series. The study focused on 940 dreams of a woman (“Beverly”) who kept a regular dream journal for 30 years. Four subsets of her dreams (from 1986, 1996, 2006, and 2016) were analyzed using a digital word search template, and then predictions were made about Beverly’s waking life based on the word usage frequencies of her dreams. A total of 26 predictions were made, of which Beverly confirmed 23 as accurate. The correct inferences included aspects of Beverly’s emotional temperament, preoccupations, relationships, financial concerns, physical health, and cultural interests, especially revolving around religion and spirituality. The waking–dreaming continuities identified by the blind analysis method in this study strongly support the claims by Hall, Domhoff, Schredl, and others that patterns in dream content have meaningful connections with people’s concerns, interests, and activities in waking life.