fairly complete, with no frustrating gaps in the memory
for the dream, although the beginning of the dream may
be uncertain and some details may be lost.

Questions and Answers
     Question: Sometimes very important dreams are
brief, maybe just a vivid image. Should these still be
given low ratings?
      Answer: Yes. First of all, the seven-category rating
scale is not meant to evaluate the value of the dream, nor
its vividness. The scale is meant to evaluate the relative
completeness of recall. Here are a couple of dream
examples to show that length really has little to do with
the ratings:
      "There was this boat. It was quite large, with two
masts, and the boat was painted orange. The sails were
blue and white, forming Oriental designs. I have a vivid
memory of the hand-painted, script letters spelling out
the name of the boat, 'Miss Nomad.' The boat was well
cared for by its appearance, and gave the impression of
being sailed only on important missions. I can see the
boat now in vivid detail, and it gives me a sense of
excitement." Recall of the dream is vivid and detailed,
and the dreamer senses the importance of the image. Yet
there is no knowledge concerning what the dream was
about, other than that there was this boat. Recall would
be rated I.
      "There was this boat. It sailed on important missions
and I was contemplating booking for a ride on it." Here
the dream recall is not particularly detailed, but there is
present knowledge of one theme of the dream— going for
a ride in the boat. Recall would be rated F.
      Question: What if you remember only an image, as in
the example of the boat, but you feel that that was the
entire dream-should you rate the dream W, since you
are satisfied with your recall, or should you apply the
standards of narrative flow, etc., and rate the recall I?
      Answer: This is an important question because it
reflects one of those rare instances in which the
subjective, dreamer-oriented aspect of the rating scale is

58