How Dreams Help Us Connect with Ourselves

We are moving through a very intense time in the cultural collective – domestic terrorism, the continuation of the pandemic, witnessing the myriad of feelings within as the president of the U.S. continues his lies, gaslighting, and urging on of violence and destructions of the Capitol building, people’s safety, and our democracy. I see this period in our history as a time to go deep within to understand the self. This is very important especially if you are a social activist. Approaching life from a grounded space with psychological strength is key to continue raising consciousness within the self, the country, and globally.

A simple, yet deep way to ground and tap into your psychological strength is to pay attention to your dreams. Dreams are a way to process the intensity happening in the world and also to make sense of life events, traumas, and familial patterns. I think it's important to pay attention to the internal dreamscape world because it yields deep, pertinent information that comes from our unconscious. Dreamwork is one way to access the depths of the unconscious, the hidden part(s) of the self.

Interpreting and processing dreams are ways to bring healing into our lives and allow us to make sense of both internal feelings, responses, and sensations as well as external events, interpersonal relationships, and familial patterns that we may be carrying with us for decades. 

Carl Jung saw dreams as the psyche's attempt to communicate important things to the individual, and he valued them highly, perhaps above all else, as a way of knowing what was really going on inside. He wrote:

“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, and are therefore fitted, as nothing else is, to give us back an attitude that accords with our basic human nature when our consciousness has strayed too far from its foundations and run into an impasse.”

In essence, there’s no hiding in dreams. Everything from our unconscious emerges whether we want it to or not. Dreams show us something about ourselves that our egos cannot because dreams don’t lie, deceive, distort, or disguise, to paraphrase another Jung quote. That’s why dreams are so powerful. They allow us to process information and also hold up a mirror to the deepest parts of ourselves.

Dream interpretation is its own field of study and practice. I’ve learned a great deal on dream interpretation from classes, teachers, mentors, dream groups, supervisors, and consultants. However, I have learned the most from my own analyses. It takes years to become skilled in such an art as dream interpretation and while it’s best to work with a trained professional, there are many ways for you to begin getting acquainted with how to interpret and process your dreams, the gems of your inner world. I’d like to start with Jung’s process.

How to interpret your dreams

First off, Jung advises approaching dream interpretation with humility, recognizing dream interpretation is just that – interpretation. There is no one right answer because dreams are subjective. Once you’re ready to approach dream interpretation from a place of openness, muse on your associations with each element in the dream. For instance, let’s say you dreamed of flailing about in a river while a forest fire raged alongside it and a dog barked incessantly. What do each of these elements mean to you? What does water generally and specifically mean to you? Sitting with the concept of fire,what does it mean to you? What are some associations you have to fire? And a barking dog,what does that signify to you? Slowly break the dream down, part by part, into each of its aspects and ruminate on each one.

It’s also possible to interpret a dream from the perspective that every object or aspect corresponds to an element within your psyche. Meaning water represents a part of you, as does the fire and the barking dog, to go back to our previous example. What parts of you are being expressed and/or interacting with one another in the dream? How does your interpretation of the dream change from that perspective?

Again, dreams have numerous interpretations so another method to try is compare the images in the dream with mythical, religious, fairytale, and archetypal associations. What does water represent mythologically? Religiously? How about fire? What about dogs or the act of barking?

Lastly, sometimes dreams are about other people and our relationship to them. We could have dreams of being shackled in a dungeon while a guard sneers at us and know while in the dream that the guard is a work colleague. The dream could be about feeling powerless in regards to the relationship dynamic.

When we pay attention to our dreams, we learn more about ourselves. As the inestimable Dr. Marion Woodman said: “Once we get used to listening to our dreams, our whole body responds like a musical instrument.” Dreams are not just something to process with our minds. Dreams can also be processed in an embodied way. In fact, processing dreams through the body may create a deeper space in which to meet and explore your world.

I also want to mention here some people don’t remember their dreams or don’t sleep soundly enough to have dreams. That’s fine! There is no judgment of whether you remember your dreams or not. Oftentimes people may have proclivities that prevent them from accessing their dream states once they are back in waking consciousness. Cannabis tends to inhibit full access to dreams and alcohol can either intensify dreams or distort the memories thereof. This all depends on doses of substances as well.

Another way to illuminate meaning and understanding of dreams is via active imagination.

Active imagination, pioneered by Jung, gives voice to the subconscious in the form of self-expression: drawing, painting, writing, dancing, sculpting, sand play, ritual, drama enactment, and dialoging with inner figures. This can be done for dream interpretation and understanding, and it can also be done as an exercise to see what the inner world is all about. For instance, if you’re in a bad mood, you can choose an image to represent your mood and observe it. (Or you can choose a dream image).

Maybe you imagine a stormy sea with dark skies and monstrous waves. Using active imagination, you might make a body movement like a wave. Or you might paint the ocean scene. This process turns the sea into a separate entity and therefore a relationship can be developed with it in a different way than if the sea just stayed within your mind. Active imagination lets you play with both separation and union of the image you chose. This mirrors the separation and union we have between parts of ourselves, interpersonally in relationship with others, as well as between us and the rest of nature/the environment.

Having said all that, if you’d like to try traditional dreamwork, I have some suggestions on improving your chances of dreaming as well as remembering your dreams.

How to practice sleep hygiene

A great way to increase the likelihood you’ll dream and remember those dreams is to up your game of sleep hygiene. That means the following:

1.    Set an intention for when you’ll go to bed. “Tonight, I will get to bed at 10:30 p.m.”

2.    Have a screen cut-off time. For instance, “No screen time after 9 p.m.”

3.    Take a bath or shower (perfect for after screen time!).

4.    Move your body during the day: walk, jog, stretch, cycle, dance, etc.

5.    Journal before bed to rest your mind and increase your probability of sleeping more soundly.

6.    Go to bed at the same time every night. Similarly, wake up at the same time every day.

7.    Keep a dream journal by your bed so you can record your dreams. Alternatively, keep an audio recording device nearby to describe your dreams out loud. 

8.    When you wake, try not to jostle around too much before you record your dream. For instance, if you wake up on your side, try to stay in that position as you reach for your dream journal to record your dream or even an image from your dream.

9.    Reflect on your alcohol and other drug intake. These substances can disrupt sleep and even more so as you enter your late 20s.

10. Consider sleeping alone. Sleeping alone gives you the opportunity to recharge your batteries and reset without interruption.

11. Have satisfying sex and sensual touch with yourself or another (others).

12. Try a mugwort tea or tincture.

It’s not imperative that you place strict rules on yourself to remember the totality of dreams. Even capturing an image or concept from the dream is plenty to work with throughout the day and in your therapy. Dreamwork and active imagination are fantastic tools to support integrating the whole self. If you’d like to talk about dreams with me (or anything else), I’m here. Just reach out. 

Reference

West, Marcus. “Jung and Dreams.” The Society of Analytical Psychology. Accessed January 13, 2021. https://www.thesap.org.uk/resources/articles-on-jungian-psychology-2/carl-gustav-jung/dreams/#:~:text=Jung%20saw%20dreams%20as%20the,process%20that%20he%20called%20individuation