Dream analysis as a connection to the unconscious.

By learning to listen to the symbol language of our dreams we come into contact with our Soul messages. Dreams have always played a major role in different cultures and societies. Just think of Joseph’s dream interpretation from the bible. The Indians of North America even made “dream catchers” and the Aborigines of Australia are known to assume that the world dates from the “dream time”, a time of order. In this dreamtime the pattern of life is already established and the art is to live according to this pattern. This refers to Jung’s individuation process.

Another people who deal with dreams is the Senoi, a tribe from Malaysia. They are used to asking their children about their dreams in the morning. They advise them to fight their attacker in their dream, not to run away, but to go on the offensive. This is also where the term Lucid dreaming, conscious dreaming, comes to the fore. In Lucid dreaming you are aware that you are dreaming and can turn your dreams around. There are many more examples of peoples and tribes that deal with dreams.

The dream is often the basis of many discoveries and creativity. For example, Fellini is known to be inspired by his dreams in his films. He made extensive drawings of them and often reproduced the images verbatim in his films.

Dream analysis is one of Jung’s main methods of exploring the unconscious. Active imagination is the other method. The difference between the two is that the dream is less censored by consciousness than the Active Imagination. The advantage of the latter is that it is closer to consciousness and thus acts more as a transcendent function. This means that it is easier to bridge the gap between the conscious and the unconscious.

As we know, Jung’s greatest discoveries are based on his dreams. For him, the dream was often a finger pointing that then developed further in a certain direction, as if the dream plants the seed that consciousness develops further. Dreams are like letters that the unconscious sends you.

Do you have a dream you would like to explore?