According to thinkers like Kant and Jung, the human mind is not a blank slate, but is comprised of deep psychological structures that shape the way we experience and interpret reality. Not only do these structures influence our perceptions, but also our psychological needs and desires, including our desire to understand and find meaning in our lives.
Back to Front Page    Why Interpret Dreams   What Is Jungian Psyche   Dream Basics   Amplification of Images   Interpret A Dream

Introduction
There is very much a consensus among those who study the unconscious that dreams are no longer a mystery.
We know the purpose and function of dreams and how to interpret them {using Jungian concepts}.
There are literally 100s of websites that use Jungian theory. Of all the concepts, theories and methods on dreams it is the Jungian position that is now the widely accepted science used in dream analysis.
Skeptical? Read on and perhaps you will change your mind. .
The science on dreams is evolving and the new science {Oneirology, psychology and neurology} has pretty much confirmed Jungian concepts and theories. In short, Jung got it right and those of us who use the 'modus operandi', or methods and procedures proposed by Jung, are able to analyze dreams and provide a proper interpretation. Doesn't take an Einstein, just a good knowledge of Jungian concepts, a developed intuitive mind and some common sense. After all, Jungian psyche is based on the inherent {built-in} universal emotional patterns we all possess. What Jung did was to provide a blueprint of how these patterns translate into images and actions when we dream. And how to analyze and interpret dreams. Freud started us down the path of understanding dreams but it was Jung who provided the vital research in properly understanding dreams.

What we do know about dreams**:
  • 1. Dreams are about the emotions, emotional energies of the person who is dreaming. They offer advice and a deeper understanding of the waking life as well as the foundations for the emotional energies of the dreamer. They provide insights to the emotional energies that 'drive' {example: driving a car in a dream} the dreamer in their attitudes, actions, perceptions, judgements, etc. in the conscious waking life. They expose the underlying causes and conditions for these aspects in life. They are unconscious stimuli for how the dreamer lives their life. The dreamer is usually unaware of these energies, the energies being stored within the unconscious hidden from the conscious mind.

  • 2. The language of dreams is symbolic {representative of emotional energies} but can also have literal applications {actual/literal waking experiences}. The images and actions are metaphors {implied comparison} for the patterns or motifs for the dreamer's emotional/psychological/physical life. Every character and action in a dream represents a different/specific element for what is usually an unacknowledged aspect of the dreamer, and/or a prevalent situation in the person's life involving actual persons/experiences that cause or/and possess strong emotional energies.

    Example: A dream involving a car accident would symbolically represent the emotional state of mind of the dreamer {current emotional stresses}but could also depict a real life experience if the dreamer were in a car accident. The emotional energies could be from the actual car accident but it wuld also point to deeper reasons/stimuli for why a person is experiencing emotional trauma in later life {other than a car accident}. If there were not an actual car accident then the image would be purely symbolic. Look to childhood for such underlying causes. It would be from those early years where emotional 'trauma' created emtional energies that what 'drive' the dreamer is later life {along with other experiences that possess strong emotional energies}.

  • 3. The purpose and function of dreams is to guide the conscious self to achieve wholeness and offer a solution to the problems in waking life. Solutions to problems and conflicts from everyday life, as well as the deeper underlying issues, 'emotional injuries' that stem from the foundations of the dreamer {early life experiences and trama experiences in life}.
    ---Dreams reveal vital information that expose the authentic emotions and feelings that are often concealed from the conscious mind.
    ---Dreams compensate for conscious attitudes and personality traits that are out of balance.

  • 4. Dreams are intentional. Nature provides us with dreams to understand and help heal emotional conflicts/issues. Just as the body has the immune system to heal and protect, the psych{ology} has the dream. Dreams are valuable allies in healing people suffering from various kinds of mental illness as well as providing insights to the emotional energies to that 'stimulate' the dreamer in their attitudes, personaliy and actions in life.

  • 5. Dreams possess 'Archetypal' representations. Archetypes are universal, original patterns and images that derive from the collective unconscious{*see note} and are the psychic counterpart of instinct. An archetype is an inherited tendency of the human mind to form representations of mythological motifs-representations of the symbolic images/actions without losing their basic emotional pattern. Dreams and mythology share the same archetypal images, myths as illustrations of the universal patterns and dreams as illustrations of personal patterns.
    Note: {In Jungian psychology} the collective unconscious is the part of the unconscious mind which is derived from ancestral memory and experience and is common to all humankind, as distinct from the individual's unconscious. Mythology {inherit cultural experiences, usually exaggerated} share the same archetypal images as does dreams.

  • 6. All dreams have at least two meanings or applications. There is always a symbolic representation metaphorical of the emotional energies. A literal application is possible but not always applicable. One primary application will focus on recent experiences that created an emotional response {conscious or unconscious} and is stored within the unconscious as an emotional energy. At the same time the images/actions that symbolically represent the recent experience will also point to early life experiences that possess strong emotional energies. An example:

    A recent argument with the dreamer's work supervisor would be the subject of a dream pointing to the strong energies created by the personal conflict with the supervisor. The 'supervisor' is both symbolic and literal. The same images/actions would also address conflict{s} with an early life 'supervisor' where experiences with that person possessed strong emotional energies. If the dreamer's real work supervisor is a male then the early life person would also likely be a male. A likely person who fits the early life experience would be the father. If a female supervisor then the mother would be a likely candidate. But it could be anyone where there are strong emotional energies attached.


    • Next Read: Major Archetypes