People often ask the question 'How can I interpret my dreams?'. The meanings may be closer than we think. Learn about a simple way to explore your dreams.
Dreams, says C. G. Jung, "are a part of nature, which harbors no intent to deceive, but expresses something as best it can" Psychoanalyst Carl Jung is probably the most erudite and serious student of dreams the world has ever known. He took Freud's earliest theories about dreams and clarified their particular and cosmic meanings for dreamers, creating a whole new language abut the inner life. Jung's belief that dreams have a structure and pattern is well-recognized in psychological and medical circles. Continuing studies have determined that all persons dream, approximately one-and-one-half to two hours a night, often a total of six to seven dreams lasting only a minute or two. We must dream, scientists have concluded from sleep and dream research, or risk losing our sanity. Even people who do not recall dreaming, do dream. The scientific evidence is irrefutable.
Why do we dream? We dream primarily because our minds consist of a massive amount of information, knowledge, memories and images that lie beneath the surface of our awareness. This layer of the mind is called the unconscious. Dreams are, in short, an attempt by the mind to bridge the gap between conscious and unconscious.
But what are dreams about? Why the strange images, the bewildering variety of persons, symbols, dramas and happenings in our dreams? Why, even is the dreamer evidently present in his/her own dream? And do dreams predict the future? Is there a list of symbols and their meanings than can elucidate our study of dreams?
First, according to John A. Sanford, a priest and psychotherapist and student of Jung, it's important to realize that dreams have a compensatory nature. It's as if the unconscious mind knows what decisions or questions the dreamer is dealing with on the conscious level, and dreams often present answers, unrecognized aspects of the dreamer's character, even solutions to the problems. In fact, anecdotal evidence shows that those who try to solve all their problems using only the conscious mind suffer from a repeated sense of defeat and pessimism, overwhelmed by the negative problems of life. Others, using material sifted through dreams from the unconscious, can often handle life's problems with more equanimity. Furthermore, dreams often come in a bunch, or series, revolving around the same dilemma facing the dreamer in ordinary life, giving us a clue in using the material in these nighttime "vignettes."
Consider, for example, a woman who lost her job because of the power-mongering of male supervisors, although her work had been the very factor which gave them success in their promotions and raises. In a series of dreams after leaving her work, she sees herself as a female character in the dream confronting evil men at her window, or waiting motionless for her in an office, or threatening a group of her own women relatives and friends of hers. In each instance the main character in the dream realizes her own helplessness when she is faced with the overbearing, arrogant men in the dreams""and in her life.
As the dreamer worked with the dreams, however, she realized that the woman made helpless in the face of cruel men had special strengths, too""she was persistent in searching out the phony perpetrators, and she was generous in reacting in concern for others as she tried to use a gun to stop the evil man in the final dream. Although the gun turns out to be a clown's gun, with a flower shooting out its end, the dreamer realizes she can use the sources available to her""good, sweet thoughts (represented by flowers), the energy of women gathered together, and her own dogged persistence to get to the bottom of the problem (i.e., work at her dream messages) to rehabilitate her sense of safety and security. Her own strengths appear in the dream only vaguely masked, and by reflecting on the dreams, she has gained knowledge and strength from her unconscious.
In a sense, then Sanford sees the dream as a cartoon or parable for life, from which a small seed from the unconscious transfers itself into a nighttime drama which then gives us clues about who we are and how we should live. Dreams do not, as some more superstitious cultures believe, predict the future. Rather, than inform us more fully about ourselves and our lives, and for this reason, an informed and educated dreamer is armed with a great deal of his potential at work on his or her behalf.
Symbols in dreams are often very particular to the dreamer, for example, a car the dreamer recognizes may be a reminder of the first car they ever had, and the enthusiasm and excitement with which they faced life. Those feelings may be a clue to dealing with some current situation in the dreamer's life. This example is meant to illustrate the facts that memories, emotions, incidents, impressions and impulses that have collected within our unconscious and may possibly have repressed, come to our aid when we are open to them over a period of time.
Other symbols, Jung and others have pointed out, seem more universal in nature. They come, Jung says, from the collective unconscious of all peoples over time, and include religious and cultural myths, or stories that we have told ourselves to give meaning to life. Therefore, a person dreaming of wrestling with an angel, may associate the substance of her dream to the Biblical event of Jacob wrestling with God. Such symbols as a gun, bread and wine, the flowering of spring, may all be said to have significant universal connection for many people-""hey transcend the personal, and belong to us all.
But even using these symbols in our dreams becomes a problem when we do not recall our nighttime visions, or when we recall them only briefly, only to forget them once we are up and about for the day. Many people want sincerely to know how better to access the material in their dreams. Jeremy Taylor, a Universalist minister and dream worker in the San Francisco Bay area has several suggestions. One, decide you are interested in recalling and learning from your dreams""that's the first step in accessing dreams. Second, decide what means you will use to record your dreams as soon as you awaken. Simple paper and pencil is fine, although some people use a tape recorder, and others prefer a flashlight with built-in pen. Decide which will least disturb your sleeping partner if any, and prepare the materials at your bedside.
Third, before going to sleep, focus your attention on remembering and understanding your dream. Such brief rituals have been known to improve dream recall for many. Fourth, if you waken from a dream, record what you can of it immediately""especially any images or words that stand out for you. Fifth, if you wake knowing you have been dreaming but cannot rememeber the dream, try moving around in the habitual positions in which you sleep. Sometimes this action alone will bring thememory of the dream to you.
Sixth, if you are still nagged by a dream you cannot recall, picture in your mind as you lie there the various people who mean something to you in your life, favorite scenes you have experienced, especially from nature""this too can trigger dream memories.
Seventh, if you are still having trouble with dream recall, check your diet for B-vitamins. They appear to be important in the chemistry of dream memory for some people. Finally. Consider sharing your dreams with someone you care about. Getting in the habit of doing so seems to prime the pump, so to speak, and assist you in recalling dream details that may become important as you work with your dreams.
When working with dreams, some good exercises to help draw meaning from the dream are to ask yourself the following questions and jot down your answers, not when you first awaken, but later in the day when you have time to reflect. Those questions are: Briefly state in one sentence what the dream was about. What two words describe the primary images of the dream? Who is the mover, or main character in the dream, if there is one? What can I learn from this dream?
However you decide to deal with dreams, it's important to recognize that everyone has them, and that to prevent them is to risk healing sleep and even a well-balanced mind. If the dream is the product of the unconscius psyche, its use for maintaining the health of the individual and furthering the individual's growth is vital.
Value your dreams, and use them""they can connect you to even more of your authentic self.
