The dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and most secret recesses of the psyche, opening into that cosmic night which was psyche long before there was any ego-consciousness, and which will remain psyche no matter how far our ego-consciousness may extend.
Memories, Dreams, Reflections
Carl Gustav Jung
DREAMS: PATHWAY TO WISDOM
Night after night as we lie sleeping, our unconscious mind spins cinematic wonder, reel upon reel. These dramas, science fiction thrillers, comedies, epic adventures, murder mysteries, strange mystical messages--rather projected in full ecstatic color or brooding noir suspense--play upon the screen within our mind. This nightly theater is drawn from our own personal past, present and future, as well as from the vast realm of the collective unconscious, which is the land of archetype and myth, gods and goddesses, saints and sinners, the forgiven and the damned.
Where does the dream come from? What does it mean? We are not likely to journey far into the dreamscape, without encountering the work of Dr. Carl Jung, the pioneer Swiss psychiatrist and premier authority on understanding the puzzling inner regions of the psyche. Jung suggests that the psyche of man is guided by inner wisdom--the healing transcendent function--which leads us toward wholeness. The degree to which an individual responds to this healing inner direction is the degree to which the individual is emotionally well or ill.
And so we ask, what is the nature of dreams? While it is well known in spiritual circles that mystical prophesies are often revealed through dreams, for practical consideration, let’s assume that most dreams are sending messages about normal everyday occurrences. Suffering delusions of a Jesus or Buddha Complex is another issue altogether. Merlin's Disease is nasty business. Therefore, for the sake of sanity, let’s deal with the real world which the dream illuminates, and for the time being anyway, forget the idea that we might be the Next Great Prophet.
Handled in a sensible manner, the dream leads us along the pathway towards emotional wholeness. This journey towards wholeness is relatively simple, but like most worthwhile endeavors, dedication and commitment are required. First, we must remember the dream. Just as we set a new diet in motion by imagining our ideal selves, and stocking the refrigerator with the right foods, so too we recall dreams by making a plan and putting our will behind it.
Profound and practical, dream work is not an effortless task. In fact, when I first suggest dream work, a client may swear up and down that they don’t recall dreams at all. Then to appease me, they purchase a journal and place it by their bedside, with the mind-set of recording the dream in the journal. IF it comes, of course. To their surprise, the unconscious operates like all good friendships do, it thrives on attention. Most often the doubtful dreamer is rewarded with dream material suitable for weeks of rich transcendent work.
I emphasize the word work. While dreams may sometime provide a startlingly clear message, dream information is most often coded in puzzling symbol and image, rather than delivered in easily understood, plain language. Unraveling mysteries imbedded in the dream takes time and patience, and makes a sleuth of you and me.
Once recorded, in order to crack the dream code, I like to probe the meaning with a series of questions such as: How is the situation in the dream like your life? What circumstance is the dream bringing to your attention? When might a similar circumstance have actually taken place in your life? Where is the dreamer in the dream? How could the dream be resolved in a better manner? Standard news reporter questions framed by who, what, when, where and how, elicit surprising insights. For instance, a client dreamed:
I am riding down a street and sitting in the back seat of a car. The driver doesn’t know the way to our destination. He steers us down a dark alley and then reaches a dead end.
When asked, “How is this like your life?” the dreamer concluded after discussion that he was indeed hitting a brick wall. Further, he was shocked to realize he had been unaware of this blatant fact. Clearly his posture in the dream--sitting in the back seat and allowing someone else to drive—emphasized his powerless predicament. From this insight, the dreamer began problem-solving and eventually conceived viable solutions to his dilemma.
Still, as helpful as query may be, we don’t have to restrict dream work to only this method. There is yet art, and dramatization, and dialogue, and then there is active imagination, and on, and on. The solutions for solving dream riddles are often as creative as the individual themselves. And we are aided in our quest towards wholeness with grace beyond imagination.
Once inside the Inner Door and walking within the realm of the unconscious, I believe our Highest Self, or some might say our God and Goddess Self, comes alongside and shepherds the process of transformation. This is the soul journey of myth, the land of Hobbits; the universe which is overseen by The Force. Who knows where and how we will be led?
Home is behind...The world ahead...And there are many paths to tread..Through shadow...To the edge of night...Until the stars are all alright...Mist and shadow...Cloud and shade...All shall fade...All shall fade.
J. R.. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
