Fish,
A very good question about how to better understand what your dreams are trying to tell you. You are very wise to give time and energy to trying to discern these issues at the beginning of your mid-life instead of later. You are at the head of your class.

Since your dreams are about you and your life, past, present and future, the best way to understand what the dreams are wanting to convey is to look at your life, past, present and future. Dreams are one componet of the Individuation Process, a self analysis, a self discovery, analyzing your own psyche and life, discovering what truths lie underneath the conscious ego-centric personality, and life. Dreams present to you the true conditions of your life, whereas the waking ego has bias that often hide what the ego doesn't want to acknowledge. If you look at your life openningly and thoroughly, without the bias of the ego, you see those things that are not available to the conscious eye. That is what dreams do, as the third person if you will, looking at your life through eyes other than that of the ego-centered self. The language of dreams are of symbols and metaphor. But if you analyse your life from the very beginning to the very present, and match the metaphors to that life, you will see the corresponding links. Often there are hidden aspects, sometimes trivial, sometimes very profound. And because of the ego bias you may not see what those things are. The dream does it for you, without the bias.

Let me give you an example of the dream and corresponding waking experiences of someone I knew years ago {a woman in her mid 40s, deep into the mid-life stage}.

She had several dreams about being in her house, going from floor to floor looking into all the rooms. She was able to access all of the rooms except one. Then one night in her dream, as she was explorong each of the rooms, she came upon the room she could not gain access to. But this time there was a small window that she could look through and see into the room. But she could not see clearly.

She told me of these dreams and gave me some personal information about her life. After some thought on my part {this was still early in my Jungain education in dreams } I explained that the house was her, physically and psychologically. The rooms were the different aspects/stages of her life, not only in the present but also of her past {Jung tells us that dreams have at least two meanings, often with one meaning having to do with the present everyday waking experiences, and a second concerning the deeper aspects, those accumulated life experiences that have not been acknowledged and properly dealth with}. We compared the dreams with her present waking life and were able to match the rooms. The one room she could see into was a part of her waking life that she was denying. As time went on she began to give thought to this one aspect, thus the dream with the room having a window that let her loosee into it. After we had discussed this dream and her waking life, she had a dream that very night where she was able to go into the room that had previously been locked. She saw things about herself that she had hidden.
When she awoke the next morning she began to give thought about that one aspect that she was denying and she was able to see what it was she was hiding. The dream corresponded to her waking life and once she was given direction of how dreams function she was able to see what the dreams were trying to convey about her current waking life.

But that was not all that her dreams were trying to tell her. We talked some more about her past life and her struggle in her mid-life years. After some indepth conversation we were able to match the rooms in her dreams to the various stages of her life, her spiritual journey {there is a spiritual aspect within all of us} as well as the past experiences that led up to the present life. By looking at the deeper aspects of the dream see was able to see some of those experiences and events that help form who she was in the present.
A sad note. Unfortunatley she was unable to substain her inner search and suffered terrible physical and personal consequences. She lacked discipline. And from my point of view her spiritual search became too religiously oriented which resulted in her giving too much trust to others and not listening to her own inner voice. She did not heed the call. She was stuck in the departure stage and refusal of the call to adventure. This is were most people fail, refusing to give up the purely ego-centered material life so to venture into the realm of the inner life where truths about that life are stored. By in large this is America Carl Jung made the statement in the 1920s that America was a neurotic nation}.

If you want to better understand your dreams you will need to take time to better understand your life. Once you begin to do that you will begin to look at your dreams a bit differently, not only as to what they are saying about your waking life and the past, but the possibilities you need to consider for the future. Dreams are an intrical part of assessing one's whole life. Dreams are you, and you are the dream.

If you have questions please post them. I definitely would like to hear back from you about any connections you come upon from the associations of your dreams that correspond to your waking life conditions. Understand that Individuation is a long process that requires a lot of discipline. But the boons/rewards are worth the sacrifice.
I hope this has been of some help.

Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 55 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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Dear Gerard

Thank you very very much for your very helpful answer and all the insight. And thank you especially for your encouragement. I am determined to sustain my inner search as I know I couldnt live otherwise. It may sound like a contrast but after observing many people who started looking inward and then got confused (like the lady whose dream you mentioned) and others who are very capable but frozen with fear of looking inside I started thinking actually one needs a strong and healthy ego to be able to sustain this very demanding process. I know the ego usually gets in the way of interpreting the dreams objectively as you have mentioned but at the same time those with weak egos don’t seem to be able to sustain the process. I am very new to Jungian ideas so I might have got it wrong but would you agree that when you said ‘she lacked discipline’ this also has an ego component? If yes then process becomes twice as hard, as in my case, as I am trying to build a healthy ego while trying to understand myself.

I do have another question but it is not about dreams, so even if you cant reply to that I would be very grateful if you could recommend a book on the subject if there are any.. I would like to learn more about what Jungian psychotherapy thinks about the messages from our bodies. I have met many people who are super healthy and fit although they have many issues, and in my case my body always gives me strong messages when my life is not going right. And now although as I feel as if I am at the head of my class in some aspects my body keeps telling me otherwise..I think I would do better if I could understand (!-maybe that’s the problem!?) my bodies messages while trying to understand my dreams in this process…

Thank you very much Gerard, you have been very helpful.

Fish

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 35 Istanbul

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Fish,
I am glad that I have been able to help. The path to self discovery is a difficult one and if I have provided any insights to help you in your journey I feel the times spent is the most valuable I could give.

As for the ego. Joseph Campbell equates the death and resurrection motif as one that we all have to experience sometime in life. Mid-life is one of those times. Campbell stated that not only must the ego go through that process, it must thoroughly annihilated. The ego must learn to succum to the higher Self, forgo the distructive temptations of the body and mind and live life in the moment. This takes a lot of discipline, time and courage. If you are looking for a time frame Campbell suggested 10 years. As in any journey there are obstacles that may seem insurmountable. But by staying the course, the hero/heroine path, seeking that inner self that lives from creativity and the spiritual will that is accord with nature, the destination becomes less important and the journey one's true endeavor.

Yes, the psyche does sense messages given from the body. The psyche is the totality of mind, body and spirit. They may have separate desires at times but they are one organism capable of communication. Paying attention to the subtle messages from the body will enhance the life. But the body and mind are influenced by the desires that are often destructive. The ego is the head of the body, thus the need to restrain the ego. The body is the temple, and is capable of being a shrine if you take it as a part of the whole and not something that is separate, to be abused and neglected. Most people do not understand the capabilities of the psyche. Just as with the intuitive abilities we all possess, the body too has the ability to communicate. And often it does it in our dreams.

I will give a better explaination later. I hope this answers some of your questions. And please feel free to ask those questions you feel important.


Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 55 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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thank you again for your help, there is so much in your answers that I wont ask any more questions and go over them for a while!

best wishes

Fish

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 35

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