Dreams of Change

One of the great things about being a professional dream consultant is getting to know some of the fascinating, talented people working in the field of dreams. Among these is Kelly Bulkeley, whose books I recommend to clients all the time. His new book, American Dreamers, is an excellent exploration of how our deeply held ideas, values, virtues, and fears are reflected in our dreams. But it is a recently published article of Kelly’s in the San Francisco Chronicle that I would like to draw your attention to today.

In his bestselling book Dreams From My Father, Barack Obama deals with the complicated moral and spiritual legacy he inherited from his father. Kelly Bulkeley focuses his article on two of Obama’s dreams included in the book, and comes to some interesting conclusions about the senator’s deeply held values.

For better or worse, both candidates for the U.S. presidency will come under increased scrutiny in the weeks leading up to the general election. While much of that scrutiny will obscure their actual characters and motivations, looking at their dreams is a unique opportunity to gain more revealing insights into how they think and how they are likely to lead.

If John McCain has shared a similarly public set of dreams, I am unaware of them but would love to read them. Whatever your personal convictions about Barack Obama, I encourage you to read Kelly’s article and think about his conclusions. More than that, notice the even-handed way that Kelly deals with this potentially controversial material. Such impartiality, letting the dreams and the dreamers speak for themselves, is not only the mark of a good writer, it is the mark of an excellent dreamworker.