Students participate in dream-seeing class

Nate Kimball Guest Writer

Erin Schulman, currently teaching a four-week dream-seeing class, recounted that when she was a child “most mornings at breakfast I sleepily reported the events of the night in great detail—sometimes, with more clarity than my day life.” This led her to think about what dreams mean to people, and concluded that they are a part of daily life that is continuously and tragically overlooked.

Dr. Montague Ullman, Professor Schulman’s own professor, designed this course. It is a four-week program in which students meet once a week to discuss their dreams and enter into what Schulman calls the “intutive, learning aspect of our life.” Schulman commented that it helps students to move “toward greater honesty and clarity about issues we are unresolved about.”

One-third of our lives are spent asleep, and to disregard this large part of our existance is an “ecological loss to society,” according to Dr. Ullman, who is a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Yeshiva University. Initially concerned that there would be very few people interested in this course at Vassar, Schulman was overwhelmed with 45 interested students for an 18-student class. Are the students enjoying it? According to Schulman, “everyone is bringing curiosity and imagination, and we’re having a lot of fun!”

Erin Schulman has a Master of Arts degree in Theology. She has been teaching yoga and meditation at Vassar for 10 years and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction for four years.