A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMS AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE UNCONSCIOUS

(Expanded and updated, July 2018)

As a result of more than 40 years of serious work with dream analysis and Active Imagination with the Unconscious, I am able to say with absolute certainly: THERE IS A WISDOM AT WORK IN US WHICH KNOWS MORE THAN WE CONSCIOUSLY KNOW.

We access this WISDOM when we work consciously with our dreams.

When we pay attention to and honor, intuitions, hunches,

a certain sense of KNOWING--

a message from the gut indicating RIGHT or WRONG,

when we interact directly with the UNCONSCIOUS

as in ACTIVE IMAGINATION.

Examples include:

Allowing a story to evolve or a dream to continue in

our imagination.

A written dialogue with an unknown dream figure, an object

or an emotion.

Creative expression through art, crafts, working with clay,

movement, dance, playing a musical instrument--

allowing the painting, the dance or the music

to come through you rather than consciously creating it.

When we hear and pay attention to an inner voice which

comes from somewhere 'out there.'

Ask, as you leave your house, "Did I forget anything?"

and listen for an answer.

That is the voice I am referring to.

* * *

CARL GUSTAV JUNG and his followers have been my resources and guides in this effort to work in harmony with my INNER WISDOM. Google C. G. Jung and you will find:

Born in Switzerland in 1875 and died in 1961.

A Swiss psychologist and psychotherapist who founded Analytical Psychology.

"Jung proposed and developed the concepts of EXTRAVERSION, INTROVERSION, ARCHETYPES, COMPLEXES, and the COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS. His work has been influential in psychiatry and in the study of religion, philosophy, archeology, anthropology, literature, and related fields."

* * *

RESEARCH STUDIES in the areas of sleep and dreams attempt to explain the brain functions associated with dreaming. We know that almost everyone dreams. We experience sleep cycles of roughly 90 minutes in length throughout the night. Dreams occurring near the end of each cycle are most intense. These periods of Rapid Eye Movement (REN sleep) increase in length with each successive sleep cycle. Illness, prescription medications, stress, anxiety, alcohol and drugs interfere with normal sleep cycles and dreams. Dream deprivation can lead to mental illness

However, the researchers are not able to identify the source of the dream content. We will never have double blind studies proving the meaning of dreams and dream images. Each dream is unique to the individual and personal associations to the dream content. Only the dreamer knows!

* * *

JUNG’S OBSERVATIONS of his clients and their dreams led him to propose certain basic principles related to dream interpretation:

We live much of our life UNCONSCIOUSLY, though we would all claim to be living consciously. Only by bringing forth what is UNCONSCIOUS will we be able to consciously change patterns of belief and behavior which complicate our experiences of love and work. Dreams attempt to move us toward a more conscious approach to life whether we are paying attention to them or not.

Our soul, the Psyche is reaching toward a goal:

Individuation

Wholeness

The fulfillment of all that is potential in us

The SELF

Dreams lead us through the developmental tasks of life and eventually prepare us for the death of loved ones, the losses of old age, and the death of our own physical body.

DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS:

EARLY YEARS: In childhood and youth, that means developing a sense of who we are as male or female in the body we are given and in relation to our culture.

YOUNG ADULT YEARS: We make our way into the adult world of relationships, procreation, and the challenge of establishing a sense of competence in the world of work.

MIDDLE YEARS: We are called upon to balance the opposites in ourselves:

Masculine and feminine function

Introversion and extroversion

Thinking and Feeling

Judging and Perceiving

Work and family

Jung said, "We cannot expect to live the last half of life with the same energy we brought to the first half of life."

LATER YEARS: During our 50's and 60's we are called upon to narrow our focus and let go of what is unnecessary in order to make way for a creative period before late old age. This is a time to produce something which we will leave behind for the generations following in our footsteps. (I have been writing in my head for years. I am now putting stories and verse onto paper, into the computer and eventually into self published books for my children and grandchildren.)

OLD AGE: We learn to live with diminished capacity and an identity not dependent upon our work or role in family and community life. We learn to live with loss. We let go of our attachments to the things and the activities which we once thought added meaning to life.

* * *

DREAMS PREPARE US for our death at whatever age that comes, but not with dreams of dying. Dreams employ symbols at every age, as illustrated by the examples which follow:

My father dreamed repeatedly that he was making arrangements for a trip. Dream after dream he is attempting to put all of the details in place as he works with a travel agent and then would wake with feelings of frustration because he was thwarted by one interference or delay after another. He told me of this repetitive dream about four months before his death.

My mother dreamed that she was in a field with a wire fence. She was on her knees looking for her diamond (from her engagement ring) in the dead grass on her side of the fence. A diamond is a powerful symbol of the Self, the wholeness we seek as we live into the different dimensions of life. She lived her last 6 and 1/2 years on dialysis. Five years into this ordeal she dreamed that she was at her own funeral and she was 15 minutes late! She was horrified as she had lived her life by the Eleventh Commandment which was: “Thou shalt not be late!” Her dream suggested that she had outlived her body.

* * *

DREAMS SPEAK TO US IN THE LANGUAGE OF SYMBOLS. It is the language of "As if . . ." Here is an example: Imagine each of us is an iceberg floating in the ocean. The tip of the iceberg, above the surface of the water is like the Ego--the part of us which knows who we are, our strengths, our weaknesses, the part able to attach, bond and relate to others. The part of us able to successfully perform the tasks assigned to us by life. We each need a strong EGO. The part of us in the water is like the Personal Unconscious which contains every experience of life up to the present. The water in which we float is a symbol of the Collective Unconscious which is vast: containing all that was, and is and will be. We all participate in the Collective Unconscious. (Some people equate this phenomenon with their understanding of God.) The symbols which come to us from the Collective Unconscious are often influenced by our ethnic heritage and the heritage of the peoples who first inhabited the land on which we live.

Our dreams tap into the Collective Unconscious bringing to us information of which we have no previous conscious knowledge or experience. I am reminded of a dream I had about 36 years ago. I was told to read a book titled, The Gospel According to Thomas. In the dream, this directive seems realistic, appropriate and quite doable. I woke from the dream thinking, "There isn't a book in the Bible by that name! I've never heard of it. This must be a mistake." But the Collective Unconscious does not make mistakes! I knew that it was important to honor the dream even though I had my doubts. I was eventually able to locate the book which was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls when they were discovered in the 1950's. Today, you can choose from a variety of translations and interpretations at most book stores.

The Personal Unconscious is the primary source of the symbols in our dreams. It is important to note the location of the dream. That too, will be connected to our personal experience. A dream which takes place in our childhood home, at the corner of 17th and South St. or some unknown future sets the stage for the interpretation.

* * *

BACK TO BASIC CONCEPTS: We look at everyone and every animal in the dream as a part of ourselves! We also make note of objects in the dream. We do not dismiss anything in the dream as unimportant. A toilet which is overflowing in a dream could refer to an actual plumbing problem or it could be a symbol of blocked emotion in the body or the psyche.

THE STRATEGIES FOR WORKING WITH A DREAM are simple and straightforward. The work is demanding and time consuming. Record the dream in first person as if it were happening as you write. Describe what happens and what you do about it. Identify the setting and make a list all people, animals and objects. Then ask, "What do I think of when I think of______________? Write down your answer and ask the same question again and again until you have a list of 10-15 different associations to that one person or symbol. This is when the task becomes time consuming. If I dream of Uncle Harry I need to go back to my experience of Uncle Harry as a child, then as an adult, his personality, his strengths and weaknesses, the woman he married late in life, his death, his funeral. This is when it is most helpful to have a Dream Partner who will persist in asking, “What do you think of when you think of ________________?”.

Then go back over your list and ask, "Where have I seen this in myself lately?" regarding each association. You know that you are on the right track when you experience an "Ah Ha!" response. Sometimes, it is an "Oh no! Not that!" reaction which you want to reject but something in you KNOWS that you are on the right track. Then you ask, "Why is this symbol coming to me at this time in my life?" Followed by, "What do I need to do to honor this dream?"

Ultimately, we need to be willing to make changes in our attitudes and behavior in order to live life more consciously. As we all know, change is not easy. This is when we especially need the support of a wise and caring friend. A Dream Partner may be able to provide the objective perspective we lack because we are too close to our own situation. This may be the time to work with a therapist as well.

* * *

WE ARE MADE UP OF MANY DIFFERENT PARTS. Think of a Board of Directors seated at a round table. Your job is to serve as the head officer, the CEO while the SHADOW side of yourself sits directly across the table from you. Other officers seated at this round table include your Anima or Animus--the contrasexual aspect of your personality. In other terms, that would mean your Inner Masculine or Inner Feminine figure. There will be a Mother Complex and a Father Complex (The Complex is your personal version of the Universal Archetype) seated at the table. The Inner Child will show up, too. That is the part of us that doesn't want to grow up and is content to let someone else do the hard work of earning a living and showing up for the daily chores of maintaining a home and raising children. You will identify other Board members as they make an appearance in your dreams. Many people living in North America will discover a Wise Old Woman or Man, often Native American belongs on their Board of Directors.

You will discover a lack of harmony between these characters. Each one has a good rationale for their point of view. As Chairperson of the Board, you need to listen to each point of view and look at how each part of yourself is functioning in the real world of everyday life. There is frequently a need to negotiate between different energies at work in your life, often representing opposite points of view. We may need to dialogue with someone on our Board of Directors to find out why they believe and act as they do. They almost always try to help us or keep us safe but may actually interfere with success in the world of relationships or work.

I must state a caution here, since I have suggested a dialogue with a part of ourselves and have also said that everyone in the dream represents a part of ourselves. We NEVER dialogue with a living person. To do so would be like tapping into their Personal Unconscious and that is not allowed. If your own mother shows up in a dream and is controlling, manipulative, and demeaning in the dream, dialogue with the Mother Complex and ask the Mother Complex why she is making relationships so difficult, if not impossible. It is acceptable to dialogue with a loved one who is on the other side. Pray for guidance and protection before you begin the dialogue, say ‘No.” to any cruel and hateful voice but discuss that encounter with a therapist, clergy person, or Spiritual Director. Read the dialogue to a trusted friend or Dream Partner to get their objective response. Be prepared to seek counseling when appropriate.

Working with my own dreams with the help of my Dream Partners, professionals trained in dream analysis, and Dream Group members has contributed significantly to my experience of life. I did not start out thinking that I was engaging in a spiritual practice but it has become that for me. I believe that dreams come from the spiritual dimension of life with messages I need for my own good. I am not very good at listening to advice from others but I will sit up and pay attention when the message comes to me in my own dream.

I have learned that sometimes a dream is telling me something about another person as the scenario in the dream seems directly connected to the circumstances of their life. At times, that information is meant for me to share with the other person. When my friend Jeri, was pregnant with her fifth child she was told in a dream to call me and ask me about my dreams because I was dreaming for her during the pregnancy. Sometimes, the information is only for my own benefit. As an example, when a person I trust without question, shows up in a dream exhibiting narcissistic, self serving behavior which puts me at risk. I need to re-evaluate his or her role in my life.

It is very helpful to remember that other people are made up of many different parts as well. Most people are trying to do the right thing as they perceive that truth for themselves.

Everyone has a SHADOW. The SHADOW assumes attitudes, opinions and behaviors completely opposite from one’s conscious approach to life. The SHADOW contains undeveloped aspects of personality which were suppressed in childhood because our parents and the culture expected us to be properly socialized. Therefore, in many of us, the SHADOW is that part of us inclined to “act out.’’ Many of us have talents which were undeveloped in life for one reason or another. My SHADOW represents the frustrated artist in my psyche. I consciously decided when I was about 4 years old that I would let my sister Marilyn be the artist because I knew even then, that she was a better artist that I would ever be.

In dreams, the SHADOW is usually represented by a character the same sex as the dreamer who is behaving and presenting in ways totally opposite of the dreamer. It is as if we each have 100 voices inside of us and each voice has a vote. The SHADOW has a percentage of those votes. Most of the time, our CEO and Board of Directors will out-vote the SHADOW in order to maintain control of ourselves and manage our relationships and work life appropriately. As an example: 95 voices in me were committed to the love of my life, my husband and our marriage but five voices wanted to escape and start over thinking that would certainly be easier. I look back on my life and know with certainty that Herb brought to my life what I needed for my growth. I chose a good person to share my life with and to work my way through those personal challenges.

We fall in love with someone who represents undeveloped potential in ourselves, the idealized INNER MASCULINE or INNER FEMININE. We each need to develop qualities we first admired in the other: however, be aware of resistance from within which does not want change! This becomes critical in mid-life when we confront the developmental task of BALANCING THE OPPOSITES. The personal qualities and the behaviors of men and women in our dreams and our everyday life provide valuable information through this difficult time.

* * *

DREAMS PREPARE US FOR WHAT IS TO COME. Nine months before my father died in December, 1998, my dreams began to prepare me for his death and prepared me to take on the role assigned to me as his oldest daughter. Herb died suddenly on November 11, 1998. Then, I clearly understood the intent behind two recent dreams. They were warning me of his impending death! In the spring of 2011 I had two dreams which indicated the possibility of dramatic change in my life. I knew that someone was going to die and it might be me! In September of that year, my son Bruce died suddenly. Because I have been paying attention all these years, I know from personal experience that Inner Wisdom has knowledge of the future and attempts to prepare us for even the most drastic of events.

The good news is that loved ones who have crossed over to the other side continue to interact with me in my dreams! Herb was an especially dramatic presence in my dreams after his death. These dreams lead me through the grief process. Herb's parents, my parents, Herb and Bruce show up as healthy, robust and active entities involved in my everyday life! I know from these experiences that relationships do not end with the death of the body. Some non-material part of each of us survives the death of the physical body and wants to connect with loved ones still living in the physical world.

I want to close with a dream told by Marie Louise Von Franz in an interview recorded near the end of her life.* As a young woman, she went to Zurich for analysis with Carl Jung and stayed on to be his assistant and eventually became an analyst herself. A woman who worked in a nursing home told Dr. Von Franz of going into the room of an older patient early in the morning to find her wide awake, very animated and excited. She couldn't wait to tell someone her dream from the night before. She said, "I knew the grey darkness was coming and I was terrified! I saw a candle in a candle holder on the window sill with the candle burning brightly. I knew the grey darkness would blow out the candle and that would be the end and I was afraid. Then the grey darkness came and the candle went out. Instantly, I saw the candle on the other side of the glass, and it was burning brightly!” After listening respectfully, the nursing aide left the room briefly. When she returned, the old woman had died. There was a smile of contentment on her face.

Source:

The Way Of The Dream, a series of films produced by Frazer Boa

Toronto: Windrose Film LTD, 1985.

Now available from Amazon.

The films can be viewed on Youtube.

PERSONAL RESOURCES

My primary resource for the information I have included here is my own experience in dream analysis with Dr. Robert French, Kathy French and Keith Kinsolving.

I have had two dream partners. The first was Fr. Bill Taylor at St. John’s on the Campus, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho. After graduation in May of 1979, I arranged to work out of an empty office at St. John’s while starting private practice as a psychotherapist. To pay for the use of the office, a portion of income earned would go to the Church and I would meet with Fr. Bill once a week to teach him how to work with dreams. He was the client one week and I was the therapist. The next week, roles were reversed.

I met Julee Clark Lowe, a stained glass artist in the fall of 1980, shortly after moving to Lincoln, Nebraska. We shared a mutual interest in C.G. Jung and dream interpretation and decided to meet once a week to work on our dreams as Dream Partners. That partnership continued for almost 33 years, until her untimely death from cancer. Julee knew more about me and my inner world than anyone else will ever know! I am grateful for her friendship, knowledge, faithfulness to the process and her willingness to learn and grow from the dream work. I miss her dearly. She has also been a delightful presence in dreams since her passing.

Paige Namuth and I started DREAM GROUP in the early 1990’s. We met once a week for two hours, eight to ten weeks in a session depending on how many of us were signed up for the session. Each person had a week as ‘Designated Dreamer.’ Her job was to come with a typed copy of a dream to share with each person. As facilitator, I would lead her through the process of accessing associations to place, people, animals and objects in the dream. This information was recorded on a white board for all to see. Group members could ask for more associations or for details regarding associations. Then we were all able to sit back and contemplate the data collected. If we offered comments they had to be introduced with, ‘If this were my dream, I would wonder about _________________in my life.” I took my turn as Designated Dreamer with each of them taking turns as facilitator. Paige provided the setting. We met at ANTLERS (Addicts Need Treatment Let everyone Recover Successfully) a drug and alcohol treatment center she and her husband and her brother owned and operated. We met for about twenty years. Participants were primarily women and most of them were therapists. There was always at least one artist in the group. We became a community of Dreamers. I value all I learned from our work together and I value the meaningful connections we developed as we shared in a mutual experience of Soul Development. I also facilitated an evening Dream Group which met in my home for a number of years.

DREAM GROUP transitioned into DREAM TALK which currently meets on Zoom twice per month and is a closed group. We spend some time on theory, each person shares a dream followed by some work with associations.

Jeremy Taylor’s books on his experience of facilitating Dream Groups were a helpful resource in the beginning.

RECOMMENDED READING

Johnson, Robert: Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth. San Francisco: Harper, 1986

RECOMMENDED AUTHORS:

Carl Gustave Jung

Marie Louise Von Franz

Robert Johnson

Marian Woodman

John A. Sanford