How Our Nocturnal Dream Journeys Tap Into Our Unconscious
Open your eyes, for this World is only a Dream.
— Rumi
We dream—it is good we are dreaming—
It would hurt us—were we awake—
But since it is playing—kill us,
And we are playing—shriek—
— Emile Dickinson
We’re simply not trained to honour our dreams, and to realize that an amazing world is waiting for us in the stillness of the night.
— Andrew Holecek
Those who are well adept with spirituality know that dreams are an essential tool for any spiritual practitioner. Most spiritual traditions emphasize the role of dreams in one’s life. Dreams carry multiple meanings that manifest via symbols and images, which can give the dreamer endless self-insights. The Sufis, for instance, use dreams as tools to uncover truths about the practitioner’s spiritual state. Dream interpretation is an attempt to tap into the psyche and locate how far the practitioner is on their journey to the Divine. We can also say – a journey towards a life with an expanded state of consciousness, awareness, and knowing oneself better.
Carl Jung inherited his teacher Sigmund Freud's emphasis on dream analysis in psychotherapy, but Jung's school of thought took a more spiritual turn. Jung was troubled by Freud's narrow interpretation of the unconscious, which caused a rift between the two great thinkers. Unlike the Freudian school of thought, Jung goes beyond the world of uncovering childhood traumas or focusing on sexuality. His dream analysis methodology is an impressive body of work. Some refer to Jung as a mystic, a religious thinker, and a spiritual teacher.
In his poignantly titled book 'Modern Man in Search of a Soul,' Jung gives us a peek into his dream analysis process. He states that if one understands the vital role of the unconscious in the formation of neuroses, one will realize the importance of dreams as an expression of these neuroses, which are a latticework of complexes, traumas, and unresolved issues. Jung asserts,
“…according to our hypothesis, the unconscious plays a causal part in the neurosis, and since dreams are the direct expression of unconscious psychic activity, the attempt to analyze and interpret dreams is entirely justified from a scientific standpoint. Quite apart from therapeutic results, we may expect this line of endeavour to give us scientific insight into psychic causality.”
His use of the term ‘scientific’ might appear dubious to some readers, but Jung beckons modern thinkers to stretch their perception of science.
Jung asserts that the initial dream of a person who is about to undergo psychotherapy foretells many aspects of the unconscious that are specific to that person. The dream can also predict how the therapy process will unfold by unveiling the relationship between therapist and client. He mentions a story of an anxiety-ridden man who complained of dizziness and displayed symptoms of mountain sickness. The man describes his dream as such:
“I am once more in the small village where I was born. Some peasant boys who went to school with me are standing together in the street. I walk past them, pretending not to know them. I hear one of them, who is pointing at me, say: ‘He doesn’t often come back to our village.’”
The second dream:
“I am in a great hurry because I am going on a journey. I hunt up my baggage, but cannot find it. Time, and the train will soon be leaving. Finally I succeed in getting all my things together. I hurry along the street, discover that I have forgotten a brief-case containing important papers, dash breathlessly back again, find it at last, and then run towards the station, but make hardly any headway. With a final effort I rush on to the platform only to find the train streaming out into the yards. It is very long, and runs in a curious S-shaped curve. It occurs to me that if the driver is not careful and put on full steam when he comes to the straight stretch, the rear coaches will still be on the curve and will be thrown over by the speed to the train. As a matter of fact the driver opens the throttle as I try to shout. The rear coaches rock frightfully, and are actually thrown off the rail tracks. There is a terrible catastrophe. I awake in terror”
Jung warned this client to avoid any further professional endeavours. However, the man did not heed those warnings. He didn't believe in dreams. He ended up pushing himself professionally, only to lose his track. The train wreck, according to Jung, manifested itself in real life. He states that the man's conscious ego did not give him any reason to stop. Outside of the man's dreamworld, everything seemed normal, despite his physical symptoms. The dream, therefore, not only uncovered the man's neuroses (fear of being poor, perhaps), but it also gave him a prognosis (failure of future business ventures).
Jung reaffirms not all dreams are easily interpreted and are 'causalistic' in nature. Other types of dreams include: 'prognostic,' 'anticipatory,' and 'compensatory.' Some fall into one category, and some into all of these categories. A client's initial dream may be easy to interpret. Usually, it is the one that sets off the treatment, and the dreams that follow might be more obscure. If the dreams that follow are equally as clear as the first one, the treatment is not going well, and other sides of the personality are not coming out! Eventually, the analyst must be straightforward and, at times, admit their limitations. However, clients usually project an image of perfection unto the analyst expecting so much, which might slow the treatment process. Together, the analyst and analysand have to take their time to understand a dream. Jung declares,
“nothing is unclear to the understanding; it is only when we fail to understand that things appear unintelligible and confused”.
The process of understanding a dream cannot be one-sided since it is subjective material. It certainly cannot come only from the side of the analyst. Most of the work depends on the client. The analysis of dreams has to be a mutual agreement between both sides. Jung beckons,
“we appeal only to the patient’s brain if we try to inculcate a truth; but if we help him to grow up to this truth in the course of his own development, we have reached his heart, and this appeal goes deeper and acts with greater force.”
The quote is fascinating, and its meaning applies to everything in life. When the truth is shoved down our throats, we learn nothing. Truth begins with the heart and ends in the heart.
If the analysis is one-sided, the therapist is using mere suggestibility. However, suggestibility can be deceptive and a makeshift way of relating to the client. Over time, it stunts the client's growth and does not empower the client to bring into light parts of the personality that still lurk in the dark.
A seasoned analyst knows how to work with a widening consciousness and awareness skillfully and is aware that inner work not only involves bringing out the hidden parts of the client but also subjecting those parts to conscious reflection. To avoid any suggestibility in the analytic process, each new dream is to be treated as a unique insight into the client's condition. Furthermore, the client chooses the dream that will be discussed during the analysis.
I want to end this post by looking at dream analysis from other perspectives. For instance, in the Islamic Hadith literature, it is recorded that Prophet Mohammed ﷺ divided dreams into three categories: ones that stem from the ego, ones inspired by angels or God, and ones that are the whispers of Satan. He ﷺ also said, "True dreams are one of the forty-six parts of prophethood." He elevated the roles of dreams to such a high level. He used to ask his friends every morning about what they dreamt the night before and would proceed to interpret them based on Divine inspiration. Mohammed also warned against lying about one's dreams.
One of the seminal books on dream interpretation was written by Ibn Sirin, who lived during the 8th century CE. From a spiritual perspective, not everyone can access Ibn Sirin's book, even though many people have physical access to it. Dream symbols, just like words, can be taken out of context. Traditional Sufi teachers know that dreams reflect the disciple's psyche and level of spiritual maturity.
Beginners often struggle to make sense of their dreams. With time, however, dreams become more symbolic and weighty. Some people are born with the ability to have intense archetypal dreams but may not know what to do with them. I know a few people, including myself, that have dreams that have the potential to be traumatic! In summary, dreams play a crucial part in the Islamic ethos.
Dream interpretation may lose its potency if left at the hands of anyone, which explains why the process of becoming a Jungian analyst is long and laborious. Besides being well-versed in symbology, astrology, and cultural mythology, an individual who intends on becoming an analyst must also be someone who continually confronts their psyche and does their shadow work.
Andrew Holecek (quoted at the very beginning) is a spiritual teacher and an author of dream yoga, an ancient Buddhist practice. Holecek focuses a lot on lucid dreaming, a whole different topic that I shall explore in another blog post. In short, lucid dreaming is a process in which the dreamer awakens inside their dream and is fully aware that they are in a dream while having some control over the events. The dreamer can manipulate the contents of their unconscious! Holecek argues that lucid dreaming is a form of self-exploration furthering one's development and may aid the dreamer on their path of spiritual growth.
Modern science is only starting to scratch the surface regarding the phenomena of dreams, even though there is a lot of data on the science of sleep. The scientific word for the study of dreams is called 'oneirology.' It is an accepted form of treatment in clinical psychology, perhaps because Freudian psychoanalysis is still used in psychiatry.
The world of dream interpretation can be confusing, even terrifying, and it might be easier to toss the bizarreness out. We may fear the unconscious because it does not adhere to the laws of the physical realm. Yet, just as our conscious state carries our fears and fantasies, the unconscious does the same, but the unconscious is a limitless realm. Its unknowability continues to challenge the modern mind.
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