“I suddenly realized that for him (Jung) inner events, like visions or dreams were the reality. They were a reality as well as what we call the outer reality. – Von Franz
Some people think dreams are just a repetition of our thoughts or desires. Some think they’re a mixed up hodge-podge of what has happened to us during the day. And still others think they are completely meaningless. Actually, the dream is a bridge, it helps us to connect the different worlds we live in, the daily ego-driven world, and the intuitive, unconscious world of the night. It knits these two realms together so we can make better sense of the totality of who we are. In fact, what we dream wouldn’t be what it is, if we weren’t as we are. It points to what we need, or need to get rid of, in order to create a better balance between these two realities we live everyday.
Not surprisingly physics says something quite similar. It tells us our world and everything in it would not be the way it is if the outer most reaches of the universe weren’t as they are. What happens far away from us, things we never see or experience, impact how we live here on Earth. So it is with our dream, whether we understand them or not, have an effect on our daily life. Who hasn’t woken shaken from a bad dream, or floating around in the bliss of a lovely dream? Just because we aren’t conscious of what’s going on doesn’t mean it isn’t influencing us, what’s unseen and unknown matters just as much as what we do see and know.
The dream offers us another ‘set of eyes’ with which to view our life. It may not make linear, or logical sense, but taking the time to unwind it’s subtle mysteries adds a deeper layer of meaning to daily life. If we listen closely, the dream will reveal itself because it is us. It’s the deepest part of our self speaking, and pointing us in new directions that feed the whole of us, not just a piece. The dream always speaks to finding and cultivating that which creates a greater richness and depth to our everyday lives. If we look, we’ll see dreams are a map of our soul, it’s all we can’t see when the ego is in charge of our days.
To let the mystery carefully unfold within us moves us towards our full potential. The truth the dream speaks only remains hidden because we haven’t attuned ourselves to the language of the unconscious, which is more intuitive and feminine. It asks more of us. We have to think cyclically, differently, deeper. If we can think in these ways that seem foreign at first, we can expand into a fuller articulation of who we genuinely are. Moving to greater wholeness by revealing that which has been unknown is the work of the dream. When we listen to what the dream has to say we attune ourselves to the deeper rhythms of our nature and glimpse what often stays hidden. Honoring what is revealed there brings us a greater sense of our self.
Every night is a new class, offering a new revelation. All we have to do is honor the truths the dream speaks.
Happy dreaming.
kb
