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home < dreams (March, 2007 Note: Most of my articles on temperament, dreams, psychology, etc. are now hosted at www.neurocareusa.com. Go there for the latest version of articles. However, the links to old versions are still functional.) |
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Introduction to Dream Interpretation (2001, 2005) |
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A useful introduction to dream interpretation from a Jungian (depth psychological approach of C.G. Jung) perspective. Dreams and dream interpretation identify our out of balance parts. Dreams bring wholeness and healing that might also change our direction or give us new insight into a situation. Dr. Winer uses dreams - dream interpretation - to work with the unconscious in therapy, psychotherapy, analysis, or psychoanalysis. Philadelphia and Delaware valley neurologist, psychiatrist, psychopharmacologist, and psychotherapist Robert I. Winer, M.D. uses a Jungian oriented approach in his clinical practice. |
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Some believe dreams to be mostly nonsense, while others blame indigestion, or worry. I'm of a much different mind on dreams and believe that they can be understood in a dualistic framework that includes ideas expanded from Jungian theories of the unconscious process and spirituality. In addition to a purely psychiatric way of looking at dream material, I feel that they are a blessing from God that may be used to help us grow toward inside wholeness. Therefore my approach is holistic, linking the psychiatric and spiritual together. To me, dreams can be a revealer of inner thoughts, both those known and unknown to the dreamer. And I'm convinced that if we take our dreams seriously they are sure to greatly benefit us. I've listed several purposes of dreams, yet any list just touches on the myriad of positive benefits. Dreams may have/show:
Understanding
the Conscious and Subconscious (Unconscious)
Conscious Process I understand the conscious processes as: 1. Perceptual function (sensing and intuition) which tells us that something is both statically (right now) and dynamically (in the realm of present possibilities); 2. Recognition and evaluative processes which are needed for a mature decision-making function (thinking or feeling-preferred) that tell us both what a thing is (definition) and what is its value to us; and 3. Orientational function that bears upon our preference to see the world from the standpoint of being the subject or object. These conscious processes conform to the common definitions of ego, thoughts (mind), feelings (emotions), and desire /decision-making (will). Together these probably correspond to man's soul and clearly make-up and include elements of our personality and temperament. (For more on this see my article "explanation of the four letters used in temperament typing.") Unconscious Process The unconscious is that part of us that is generally poorly known or unknown to us. I find no superior definition to the ant--definition of the unconscious being "that which is not concious." In the normal course of life, psychiatrists assert that speech mistakes (so-called Freudian slips), other unwilled intrusions and emotions, and dream content are the most common manifestations of the unconscious that we all experience. Some would also place drives and instincts in this category. Another way to look at the unconscious is through a spiritual grid -- the concepts of spirit and heart (combines both spirit and will together). It is true that we sometimes become aware of the previously unconscious forces that have driven us into action (words, deeds, and decisions). I understand the concept of "will" or "human will" to illustrate this motive force leading to action in the outside world. It can also be credibly argued that any choice we have made whether it results in some outside action or inside resolve is an act of the will. Therefore I consider an instinct (inherited, uniform, and regular behaviors which neither the motive or aim is known to the actor) as part of the unconscious. A drive, like an instinct, begins without conscious thought, but later may be perceived by the actor. Another similiar process, what Jung and others have called the "transcendent function or process" remains unconscious until one acknowledges and embraces the validity of its existence. I reject Jung's idea of a collective unconsciousness whereby he understood what I call and is generally known in Western thought as the "spiritual realm." Some might argue that this a shallow representative of Jung's work in this area. I understand the concept of "spirit" or what others call the "spirit man" to be an example of the transcendent function common to all mankind. It also seems accurate to say that our potential transcendent or "spirit" function generally remains severely underdeveloped, particularly in Western society. Dream Interpretation
Principles
General Guidelines Here's some common sense rules: 1. Never force a dream interpretation. It is the dreamer, not the interpreter, that ultimately knows if the interpretation is correct. 2. Generally the most natural interpretation is the correct one. Since dreams reach deep within a person to reveal secrets of the heart, we must always be willing to let go of our ego defenses to look at our real self as shown by our dreams. 3. The scenes, symbols, and people represents in our dreams are most often subjective (that is, they refer to the dreamer's inner personal thought, feelings, and life). For example, when you see your accountant fall off a cliff in your dream, don't call him right away to warn him (taking an objective view of the dream). First consider the accounant as a symbol of something relevant to you or your life (for example, money). 4. Don't judge the importance of a dream until it's been interpreted. Even a dream that can be described in a single sentence may have profound significance. 5. On some nights we may have two or three different dreams that we can record. Check to see of all of the dreams on the same night are saying the same thing but using different symbols. Successive dreams can also tell a story, as one would do with successive chapters in a book or scenes in a movie. Interpretative Layers I've found that dreams rarely have a single interpretation, even to the dreamer. I call this "layers" or "levels" of interpretation. The two most common levels of interpretation are:
Thus most dreams have a dualistic interpretation. Some dreams have impact on three or four levels. For example, a dream might have meaning to: 1) ourselves; 2) our family; 3) our spiritual congregation; 4) the city we live; 5) the region we live in; 6) the nation we live in. If this were the case, that particular dream could be interpreted on 6 levels or layers. Each level might different degrees of impact on individuals or groups, different time frames before being fulfilled, and diverse prayer and spiritual burdens that result from the each level's meaning. Application When the interpretation impacts groups of people, I call this a "corporate interpretation or application." Examples of corporate application are dreams that affect: congregation, organization, job, family, or extended family. Dreams may have a geographical application (local, city-wide, state, regional, national, international). Taking Your Dreams Seriously Unless you take your dreams seriously a few things generally happen:
Practical Tips
Ask yourself the following questions to determine the setting of your dream:
There are an infinite number of actions possible in a dream, just as there an infinite number of symbolic objects in a dream. Perhaps some of these questions will help:
Dream speak in symbols, like a cartoon or a caricature would. Though we might wish it were true, there is no universal symbol dictionary. I believe that the meaning of the symbols in our dreams is specific to and known only with certainty by the dreamer alone. When symbols are used in a dream, such as a person representing a side of your own personality, some call this a "subjective dream," as distinguished from an "objective dreams" that speaks into the actual events that are portrayed in the dream. Our dreams contain an infinite number of symbols and an an infinite number of meanings to these symbols. Even for a particular dreamer, the same symbol can have different meanings across dreams or in the same dream. Let's take the dream in which you see a policeman, or find a person know to you dressed in a policeman's uniform. Ask yourself what does a policeman represent to me? To most a policeman is a symbol of authority. Next ask yourself if there are any issues in your current life situation that relate to authority, either accepting it, rejecting it, or being ambivalent about it. In generally, clothing in dreams represent a very important aspect to the dream's meaning. Just as a policeman's uniform may represent authority, a nurse's outfit may represent a helping situation. When we're naked it may represent some aspect of feeling exposed, either in a particular situation or emotionally. Here's a dream Riffel describes:
A Few Specific Symbols 1. Oftentimes, dreams in which there is birth, such as a chicken laying an egg, or a baby is prominent may relate to a new idea, action, or speak of a creativity situation. 2. A house in a dream generally speaks of one's psychological house, the house of the "soul." We often see different homes that we've lived in. Ask yourself, if the home in your dream is a childhood home, or a current home. Each of these may have different meaning that relate to an overall sense of what you were like or struggling with at that time. 3. Water and the bodies that contain it such as rivers, lakes, and streams generally relate to the Spirit of God or the transcendent in a situation or person. This is particularly true in those who are more spiritually conscious and motivated. 4. Common symbols such as a mountain, a log, or a closed door all share in common the ability to prevent entrance or movement. They are obstacles and as such may point to obstacles, both real and emotional, that "block" our development or progress toward a goal. 5. Clothes may reflect an inner feeling, as when what we wear tells others about how we'd like then to see us. Clothes may also reflect how we are relating to people. If we appear naked, it simply might mean that we are feeling "exposed" in a particular situation. An Example Here's a two short dreams that a dreamer had in one night followed by a dialogue with a dream interpreter:
Introduction People are a common occurrence in dreams. Generally, people in dreams reflect the inner life, sometimes showing the various parts of the dreamer's personality. Those unfamiliar with dream interpretation, usually assume that when they "see" another person in their dreams that the dream was meant for that person. Then there is an eagerness to tell the other person about it. Before you consider doing that, understand that when you do this, that the majority of people seen in dreams are a subjective representative rather than an objective one. In an objective representation, some believe that the following test is helpful: Are the details in the dream very specific and corresponding to something that the person is actually doing? My best advice here is for you to check the dream out with someone with expereince in dream interpretation or in discerning spiritual prophecy. Accuracy People attributes in our dreams may represent :
Number of People A dream may fuse multiple attributes of a single person into one person or sometimes another visual form such as an alien / monster / mythological figure or even an animal. For example, a person may be portrayed as having a head of a lion and the body of a dog to represent boldness combined with playfulness. Likewise a dream may separate different people-attributes that exist in a single person into multiple people. For example, a tearful young man having a conversation with an older sage-like man. The Dream Analyst The analyst may appear in dreams, almost always in human form, but somehow altered reflecting the dreamer's thoughts or feeling about the analyst or the process of analysis. Look for a symbolic representation of the office setting to identify this as a possibility. The content-reaction to the analyst-representation may reveal important feelings that the dreamer has about their specific situation or the therapeutic relationship. Ask the Key Questions Whenever you encounter another person in dream, ask yourself these two questions:
The person is chosen in the dream for their symbolic representation. We all come to associate certain people with certain actions or characteristics. If they are known to you, consider what the dream is saying about that person as a reflection of a part of you. There also may be emotional considerations that come through the dream's choice of a particular person. For these, ask these questions:
Dream Consideration:
What you're trying to get at is a realistic opinion of what you think of the person right now. And that's why the single word description is important. For example, if my overall impression of the person is that they are walking in a fantasy, the dream may be speaking about areas of my life that are not realistic. If my impression of the person is that they are bad with money, that may point to a situation where a money decision has created some type of emotional tension.
Jung or his followers puts forth the idea that each of us have parts of our ego that we have rejected because of our upbringing environment, family, and parental influence. The shadow theory asserts that during development these rejected parts for an unconscious alter-ego. Furthermore it is suggested that since these are parts of ourself that were "potentially ego" they need to be explored and integrated once we have sufficient maturity to do it. Because the shadow was split off early in ego development it may represent those parts of us that are ignored, underdeveloped, or even despised and hated. The incorporation of shadow parts is considered a sign of emotional health and is urged as a step toward a more integrated personality. However since the shadow was split off at an early stage, the idea and process of re-integrating some or all of its parts can arouse significant anxiety, particularly when done prematurely. When in a dream you encounter another person whose identity is unknown to you, perhaps they represent the parts of your personality that are under-developed, not wanted, or areas that you are not consciously aware of. These may represent your "shadow" or "hidden" parts. I find that this is different from when you see yourself in a dream, as this often represents those parts of yourself that are known. For example, you might see yourself acting angry in a dream. As you consider this, you understand that this is part of yourself that you already know about, your poor control over your temper. Generally, your known parts are under some degree of conscious control. The same is true when you are driving car, representing the control side of your ego. Sometimes, the faces of people or the dreamer is not seen in a dream. This may be how the shadow is represented. Also the person's visual image being blurred, unrecognized, or absent. Jung and others suggest that the shadow is typically the same sex as the dreamer and generally the shadow's attributes are not consciously known. Since our shadow parts are often the exact opposite of what we think they are, Von Franz suggests the following to identify your shadow parts:
Regardless of our perception or lack of perception of some of the people in our dreams, the shadow part is a very real phenomena. There are parts of yourself that you do not consciously recognize and understanding these parts is an important step toward becoming whole. I agree with Riffel and urge you not to hate any part of yourself, but integrate the good from those parts that perhaps you feel are less desirable. An example of this is a compulsive gambler. Though this certainly is not a productive lifestyle, there is a good side to the gambler. He is an adventurer. He is a risk taker. But his weakness is that he lacks discipline and risks too much. The challenge is to keep the adventurer side while one acquires the discipline to be whole. Likewise the one who drinks excessively may be seeking freedom but in the wrong place. The thief may want to find good things, but you won't get that by taking things. The jealous person wants good for himself. The one who hates despises evil as he sees it. The person who has a problem with lust is attracted to beauty. In most of these examples it is the way the person "takes" or "seizes" what is not theirs to take that is wrong. When an emotion such as lust is not dealt with, it will come into our dreams. Lust is the desire for immediate gratification by taking what is not ours to take. It is normal to be attracted to a person who has the same qualities that we are seeking or perhaps lacking. So though we may, on some unconscious level want to take something in an infantile desire to incorporate it into ourself, this is both a fantasy and a wrong. You won't get the characteristics you lack through real or substitutionary stealing. The legalist may give the advice to the one unable to overcome their lusts to avoid looking. While this isn't bad advice, in my experience this does not solve the problem. Avoidance places a band-aid on the wound but full healing awaits the development of the qualities that we're attracted to. Honestly look at the qualities that you're looking for. In our dreams we may try to "kill" these areas of our live that we are conflicted about. Yet until the understanding of what this means is made conscious, we'll seldom get victory. In regard to the parts of ourselves that we don't like or hate, Riffel suggests that oftentimes they relate to how we process information or make decisions. He suggests that the shadow part of a thinker may be their despised feeling part.
Jung and his followers identified an unconscious gender-specific side of people which he called the animus (male) / anima (female). Jungian theory asserts that males have an unconscious female side and females have an unconscious male side. In addition Jung asserted that there was a hierarchical schema to the unconscious and used it therapeutically to bring some order to the healing process. In a nutshell, he viewed the following as parts of the unconscious proceeding from the more superficial to deeper layers: the persona (partly conscious as well), shadow, male-female pairs (szygy), and finally the self (representing the God part of man). It seems to me that, in practice, this hierarchical schema does not hold, in an orderly fashion, however as a dynamic schema it holds heuristic value as well as being a guideline for a progressive re-integration of unconscious parts. People in your dreams may also represent a side of your personality that you regard as having the opposite gender characteristics of your self. There is a definite cultural and generational aspect to this area of dream symbolism. There are many characteristics that we associate with a particular gender, such as empathy being female. It is normal and natural for this to be manifested in the dream as a woman talking to you, but it is inaccurate to describe empathy as your female side or anima. Another example is strength. Are you a person who regards strength as a male characteristic? What about gentleness, is that female? Here's what I suggest: if you are woman, ask yourself if there are characteristics that you associate with maleness. Do the same if you're male. While I agree with the general principle that for greater personal wholeness, it is important not to reject opposite gender attributes I reserve that the exact relationship to one's contrasexual attributes should remain a process defined and fleshed out in therapy.
Some dream analysts point out the primacy of identifying the dreamer's underlying emotional state in regard to fully understanding the dream's meaning. The emotion may be symbolically represented or experienced in the dream or later on in the form of the emotions the dream experienced after awakening.
Generally, animals in our dreams represent one of the following:
In a dream, the use of animals occurs according to the meaning they have to the dreamer. Many have found that while the symbol of animals is important, they are not as deeply held or as specifically defined as the symbolic value of people in our dreams. It's important to observe what the animal is doing in the dream. Being chased by an animal is quite common and should prompt the question, "Is there anything or emotion I'm afraid of right now?" This should be followed by the consideration of whether the dream is suggesting that you accept this particular emotion. Some have found that fear-provoking, charging animals become friendly when we accept their message about our inside state. Facing our fears can be done by confronting the animal of our dreams upon awakening and asking, "Who are you?" Also consider what the animal is doing. For instance, a cat under water, may represent feeling you have that "just under the surface." Seeing rats running in your home's basement may represent evil ideas or thoughts that entered the "lower areas or levels of your life." Dream Example
Sometimes your actions in a dream are done secretly, with fear of being caught. Ask yourself, are their areas of my life that I fear might be exposed. Let's say that there are actors in your dream. Does their presence in the dream mean that in order to get something or become something you need to put on an act or where a disguise? Sometimes there are problems in your dream. Ask yourself or the problems that faced with the dream? In a particular dream, my plane would not take off. My daughter, a child, recognized the problem, while an adult, the plane's pilot, either didn't know what was wrong or was covering it up. The pilot is one who has authority over the plane. Maybe I should listen to the child side of me, rather than the authority side. Sometimes the height of something can signify its position in your subconscious mind. Sometimes flying refers to fantasy, or new thoughts, ideas, or relates to the spiritual realm. Falling often indicates that we are "not on firm ground" psychologically speaking. There are areas of our life that we are not dealing with. If you are hanging onto something to keep from falling, it may indicate that you are barely hanging on to a bit of growth that has taken place in your life. Notes 1. This paper life freely adapted and excerpted materials from the writings of Herman Riffel.
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