The dreaming mind

"O how I dreamt of things impossible." William Blake

If dreams are important messages from the psyche, why do they come with symbolic language and sometimes puzzling scenarios that we need to decipher? Dream science gives us some clues. Recent research shows that there is quite a bit of similarity between right brain processing and the dream state. You may know that the right brain processes non-verbal information & visual imagery, recognizes patterns, forms associations, is intuitive, and sees metaphors and analogies. The right brain takes us into the realm of the imagination, creativity, mystery and paradox.

A few years ago the Globe and Mail ran an article about capturing snapshots of the creative process through taking brain scans of jazz players while they were improvising. What they discovered is that being creative uses the same circuitry that has been measured during dreaming. With EEG, MRI and PET scans, scientists are able to see sections of the brain that activate or deactivate in the dream state. Some parts of the brain are on-line, others off-line. The fact that the logic center is inactive in the dream state helps to make dreams insightful rather than rational. The limbic center is highly active during dreaming. Among other things, this system recalls emotional memories and processes their unresolved impact. This would explain why there is often a central image in a dream imbued with the emotions of the dreamer. Some say that dreams and the arts come from the same source. The dream, like art is an emotionally filled communication given through the use of images and symbols.My feeling is, that working with dreams can not only provide vital information for living one's life more fully, it can also enhance one's capacity for experiencing and expressing that astonishing world of the imagination and creativity.

These are just a few tidbits of information from the tremendous amount of research that has been done on the brain and the dreaming mind. Thank you to Robert Hoss, a scientist and former researcher in the field of light energy, and on the faculty of the Haden Institute for Dream Training. He provides in-depth reading on the science of dreaming at his website www.dreamscience.org 

Yesterday I was asked by a reader if this blog was a venue for sharing dreams. That wasn't my original idea, but might be exciting. Dreams are very personal and tend to readily get at the core of one's issues. There would have to be an awareness of some of the principles of Jungian dreamwork and these I can share over the next few weeks. If you have a dream to share, let's start by brainstorming about the metaphors.

The Inside Scoop

Have you ever had dreams that tickle your funny bone? I had one this summer that I'd love to share with you.

"My partner D and I are getting on a bus. As I'm fumbling around looking for change, he is approached by a woman on a mission. She leads him to the back of the bus and is explaining what she would like him to do. I head back, sit down where the seats are facing the aisle, and hear the woman say to D, "It'll just take a few minutes..."  He gets up and joins a group of about six people who are facing me. They all have similar T-shirts on. They begin singing and D has the lead. "Don't be tired like me, eat hemp hearts... eat hemp hearts..." He turns sideways and making a move with his arms like train wheels turning, he says emphatically, "HEMP HEARTS" 


As I awaken, I am chuckling to myself. I turn to D and ask, "Do you know what hemp hearts are? He has no idea. I head down to my computer and google hemp hearts. Wow! There's such a thing and they are purported to be "the most concentrated and best balanced source of proteins, essential fats and vitamins in nature... you should expect sufficient energy to increase productivity and better enjoy life, and you will not need energy boosts from coffee and other stimulants." Now we're talking! 

Now, this is not an advertisement. I would like to use this dream to make a couple of points about the dreaming mind. It has a great sense of humour and it also knows much more than the conscious mind does about what is good for us. 

Although I had likely seen hemp hearts in a health food store or in a health magazine at some time, I knew nothing about them. The psyche (in Jungian thought it encompasses the ideas of soul, self, and mind) picks up all sorts of information that our waking self doesn't. D and I had been feeling very tired in the days prior to this dream. I had been feeling that I was drinking too much coffee. Voila! The dream not only brought key information to light, it delivered it in a most humorous way. And, no doubt I was in need of some humour at that time... I have that infliction of being too serious at times. I just love dreams!

So, expect 'to the point' creative and wise messages from your inner dream guide. 

This metaphorical language

Dream language is different from the language we use when we communicate in the outer world. When we speak or write, we usually explain things in a logical, linear, factual way.. unless you are a poet and naturally think in metaphors. Metaphor is a thing that is symbolic of something else (from the Greek "to transfer"). As in fairy tales, fables, and myths, the things that happen in dreams are symbolic representations of underlying truths about us. They are rarely meant to be taken literally. Here's an example... a line from a Zen koan: "Hide yourself in the middle of the flames."

We see this picture and, ...we don't smirk and say, 'who'd be dumb enough to hide in a fire?' We will understand that in some way we're being challenged to live passionately, perhaps to risk being 'burned'. The metaphorical images in your dreams, and the metaphor of the whole dream, are very personal and imbued with feelings and experiences from your life. So, don't think you can go to a dream dictionary and find the truth in the symbolism in your dreams.

I'll leave you with a quote by Jill Mellick, Jungian-oriented psychologist and artist, which is rich in symbolism...

"In the ocean of the unconscious, dreams are swells that rise and pause and break on the shores or personal consciousness, only to suck back, leaving precious flotsam and jetsam on the beach of waking awareness. We cannot influence the tides or currents, but we can ride the crest of the wave into shore and gather the treasures to us as we walk at dawn."

Reaching Out...

The sun has set on a gorgeous summer here in New Brunswick. Now that I am acquainted with my new environs, I am eager to reach out to like-minded, like-spirited people, who want to share dreams, keep learning about themselves & others, and become more conscious along the way.

Where do dreams come from?

Swiss psychiatrist and visionary Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) who worked with thousands of dreams with his colleague Marie-Louise von Franz, believed dreams were messages to the self from the Self. Simply put, the Self is that within us which knows us better than we know ourselves and encourages our wholeness.

Dreams are spontaneous revelations from the unconscious.They are messengers from another realm... that can disturb, amuse, intrigue and inspire... and best of all, they can guide you in your relationships and along your path. Working with your dreams requires learning the language of the unconscious... the language of metaphor.