A few quick notes on Dreams…

“Dreams are impartial, spontaneous products of the unconscious psyche, outside the control of the will. They are pure nature; they show us the unvarnished, natural truth…”

C.G. Jung

Dreams come from a place deep within our being, and they do so as a light in the darkness. They come to enlighten our conscious mind when we are unable to see certain aspects in our day to day life. Simply put, they come to promote our consciousness.

Sounds a bit wild, right? This life is full of depth and we as humans participate with that depth whether we are consciously aware of it or not. But if we sit with our dreams long enough what we discover from the patterns observed, the themes recorded, and the foreshadowings seen is dreams bring forth subtle messages from a place deep within us. Analytical psychologists, spiritual teachers, tribal people, and mythologists from around the world have been studying dreams since the beginning of humanity. Considering the findings, I’ll just go ahead and say it: Dreams come with purpose.

To provide more depth:

Integrating the symbolic meaning of dreams aid us to live a life of balance, truth, and wholeness. Within them also lies healing value. Dreams are curative when we have encountered dark or traumatic events in life. Analyzing and integrating their symbolic meanings is a beautiful path to becoming spiritually, psychologically, and physically healthy individuals, something the world needs dearly right now.

Dreams come from and speak of a place that is intricately deep within us. They are messages from beyond. They come from the unconscious psyche, as an attempt for us to integrate their symbolic meanings into our conscious lives. When our ego-consciousness strays too far from the truth of who we are, the unconscious sends forth a dream in attempt to restore balance. So, this is exactly what dreams are for: They are an attempt at self-regulation, of balancing, and re-centering the core of who we are.

Dreams seek to promote the wholeness of personality and for each of us to become the entirety of what we may become and attain to in this life. Dreams show us fears we possess, the reason(s) one is held back in life, corrections to truths that are no longer valid, and all the more. The beauty is they are available each and every night if only one can learn to understand their primordial symbolic language.

“Dream is the personalized myth, myth the depersonalized dream.”

Joseph Campbell

The wisdom within a dream is perfectly designed solely for the dreamer. And each dream comes precisely when it is meant to as an effort to increase the consciousness of the dreamer for a specific reason. Thus, a dream is signature to each person.

This is why we cannot simply research, “What does it mean when I see ______ in a dream?”

Every image or symbol within a dream has its own meaning and is unique to the dreamer.

Integration of contents from the unconscious into the conscious mind is the heart of the path of individuation.

One must remember when working with dreams, we are always unconscious of what the dream is attempting to say at first glance. If we were conscious of it, the dream would not have to be. Dreams come to increase our consciousness, that is to bring to light that which is unknown to us.

It is quite difficult and extremely rare for our conscious minds to grasp what a dream is attempting to express at first glance. It is a good mode of practice in working with dreams to understand that the first thought of what we believe a dream may mean is hardly ever the answer. We must dig into them and dig into the roots of who we are to discover what the dream is attempting to say.

The unconscious uses symbols to express its point to us. What I mean by that is every image you see within a dream is symbolic: Everything from snakes, trees, a bottle of water, your best friend or significant other, etc.- They each mean something symbolic and signature to you. It is extremely rare that a dream should be taken literally.

In addition to that, the unconscious uses archetypes. This is why understanding spiritualities and mythology is important when working with dreams. Archetypes of ancient Greek mythology, Eastern spiritualities, and even Western religions appear within dreams frequently. Uncovering their meaning can be a tricky journey.

Should you have questions or wish to discuss dreams you have encountered, please feel free to reach out.

With love,

Mark