About Gerald Gifford

In the Beginning, A Transformation

In 1995 at the age of 45 I began my journey of self discovery with an introduction to American Mythologist Joseph Campbell in the popular PBS series program The Power of Myth {with Bill Moyers}. That experience led me to Carl Jung and his philosophy and concepts on dreams and psychology. In a single night I began a transformation from being guided by social and unconscious energies to the true person I was meant to be. I discovered I possessed an intuitive 'knowledge' of the concepts Jung expound and began to use those skills to help others understand their dreams, and in the process themselves. After 30+ years of study and personal search I am now in retirement, working with dreams, designing/maintaining my websites and, a task that was cast upon me working with the rescue of homeless animals. My Kitty Fund .

Creativity

In 1998 I began a self taught education into web design and later that year began the construction of my first and most comprehensive website Myths-Dreams-Symbols . That website became my tool of expression which has helped me to develop personally, psychologically and spiritually. In Jungian psyche creative is an inherent and integral aspect of a balanced life. I designed and established the Dream Forum in 2005 and built a condensed version of MDS in 2012 with the Power of Dreams.

Dreams

I first began analyzing/interpreting dreams in the mid 1990s at various dream websites when the internet was still relatively in its infancy. There were many and varied methods of dream interpretation but I discovered by using Jungian concepts I was able to provide sound interpretations. The more I applied Jungian concepts the greater success I had. As a lay person working in a field that is very much academia I felt I had gained insights into the dream world that would normally require many years of deep study in an university environment. As the years passed and with my practical work with dreams I gained greater insights to the natural processes of dreams {which fit with Jung's basic concepts}. I now feel/know from my many years of experience I can confidently and competently analysis any dream. I am not alone in this ability. The internet is full of websites where Jungian psyche is the prime premise for understanding and interpreting dreams.

Dream Forum

In 2005 I designed and placed on line my Dream Forum . The forum allows visitors to post their dreams for analysis and interpretation {my interpretations have always been free}. I have interpreted more than 4,500 dreams with the follow-up responses from the dreamer and other comments totaling more than 15,000 posts. From this experience I have gained insights to dream structure as well as the many applications within a dream. My success in analyzing dreams has led me to the strong belief that all dreams can be interpreted by an experienced dream analyst {using Jungian concepts}.

Contrary to popular I have found dreams are no longer a great mystery. Their language of symbol and metaphor {with a focus on emotional energies and patterns} allows true insights to what lies within the dreamer's unconscious. My Dream Forum is a catalog of my work and what I not only believe to be a verification of Jungian concepts but also a validation of my own abilities when working with dreams. There are many like myself who have found great success in properly and successfully analyzing and interpreting dreams using Jungian concepts. When I began interpreting dreams in the mid 1990s there were few who used Jung. Today his concepts and philosophy on dreams are the prevailing theory. Most pages on the internet today are either Jungian or based on his principles of the psyche.

Animal Rescue

In 2013 I became involved with homeless and sheltered animals and as of today {2025} care for 15 rescued and feral cats {see Kitty City }. This was not what I had planned in my retirement years but having had rescued cats in my life for nine years prior to my involvement in animal rescue it did fit with the fulfillment of the 'hero deed' where one responds to the 'call to adventure' {a noted Joseph Campbell concept}. It is pretty much a fulltime job, often limiting my time with dream analysis and my web sites. But having failed too many times in my responsibilities in personal relationships it is obligatory that I not fail this test. And let's not forget my one time response 'it is only a cat'. Those words have made it imperative I follow through with this responsibility to my furry felines atoning for an aggrieved action on my part some 40+ years ago {better known as Karma}.

Physical Fitness

Physical fitness continues to be a vital part of my lifestyle {a discipline I began in 1980} which I have found to be vital in maintaining a balanced, healthy life. While pressures are inevitable in life physical fitness has allowed me to manage these pressures along with providing me with a healthy body. I always take time to counsel anyone who wishes to listen about the virtues of physical fitness. Experience is wisdom and I have learned from experience life, at age 70+, is much more pleasurable and livable when you have good health. And contrary to the belief that it takes 20, 30, 40 hours to be and be physically healthy I can state as fact that is not true. My physical routine is a 30 minute workout 3 times a week. Along with a proper diet {but not unsustainably strict} I am able to live life without medications and other than the normal aches and pains of older life, any major physical impairments. The old adage of 'pay me now or pay me later' comes much sooner than one may think.

Life Today

Today I am retired and living in Altoona, Florida. I work one day a week with the family fence business that I founded in 1978 and my son now owns in the Orlando, Central Florida area. This supplements my SS income and pays for an activity 'cast' upon me after I retired and moved to Florida {see next paragraph}. My real passion is in working with dreams and my websites but life sometimes alters the inner desires and requires changes to laid out plans. At the same time I have continued to work through the personal issues that plagued my early adult life that prevented me from fulfilling my responsibilities to others. In resolving my 'shadow' and understanding the strong emotional energies that have led me in my earlier adult life {until my discovery of Jung} I have been able to discover and become my 'true self', able to discipline myself to fulfill my duties and responsibilities to others. Responsibilities in life {particularly 3 failed marriages} had been a failing, albeit unconsciously driven, my consciously seeking what was missing from childhood, not having a 'father' figure to guide and support my young developing psyche {this is a common theme related to childhood experiences}.
Note: See PERSONALITY SET FOR LIFE BY THE 1ST GRADE.

In Conclusion

My religion is of the spirit of soul and nature. I see my purpose in life as no longer unknown and misguided, life being more than merely living by the norms. I have cast aside the old self of social duty and have learned new rules of creativity and true spiritual living {trying to live WWJD without the dogma}. Living by the rule 'think psychologically, live spiritually' my life cycle is in the final stages. I have no fear of death. What comes after this life I do not know but I do not dwell on what can't be known but instead what has been experienced. I have to accept what life has been in its short existence. Regrets, I have many. So many things I would change if it were possible.

I am the philosophical type but I also see this life as a journey of spirit, an experience of being alive in the human condition with more to come after the body passes. I have come to believe that life is an experience for the soul. I believe in the soul. The body will die but the soul continues on its journey to its next experience. Nothing tangible can be known about what that 'next' is but I see it as a truth. Unlike those who need a personal god to sustain their existence, and what comes after the body dies, I look to the natural world to understand the possibilities. We all have to have something to hang on to but with death the soul is free to further its experience. The cosmos is without end and so too the journey. To be free to travel.........

As Woody Allen stated about death, "I am not afraid of dying, I just don't want to be there when it happens." And it will happen.