Do You Listen to Your Dreams?
By James and Robin CapersDreams are a language of communication (Jung, 1964). That language is composed of symbols. Some of the symbols are smells, some are emotions, some are sounds, and most are visual symbols. Dreams take place in the mind. Not the conscious mind but the less conscious mind. Dr. Sigmund Freud called that part of the mind the subconscious and Dr. Carl Jung called it the unconscious. Thus, the language of that part of the mind is not intentionally processed through the logical, left hemisphere or the creative, right hemisphere of our brain. What is left for dream language, then, is informal and less structured. However, there is still a language and its purpose is communication.
Some people regard dreams as a viable means for God to communicate with humankind because about one-third of the content of both the Jewish and Christian Bibles is about dreams and visions and the resultant actions of the people who believed their messages (Riffel, 1990). Sometime between the 9th and 5th centuries BC, the prophet Joel wrote that God said, "In the last days, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28, King James Version).
In the 5th to 4th centuries BC, Plato had a strong comprehension of the spiritual and incorporated it into his philosophies (Plato). Unfortunately, as happens rather cyclically through time, students tend to think they are smarter than their elders whom they consider superstitious rather than logical. Why? Because elders do not limit their knowledge to what can be observed by only the five senses. Such was the attitude of Aristotle, the student of Socrates who was, himself, the student of Plato. Aristotle premised that valid knowledge is attainable through only tangible means, that is, by the five senses and reason (Riffel, 1990).
Since the dark ages, Western society has bought into Aristotelian philosophy (Riffel, 1990). This has included the Christian religion, beginning with the pope as the seat and controlling authority of Roman Catholicism and the Western world. As a result, Western society has regarded dreams as meaningless and, more and more, the spiritual realm as invalid. By the 1800s, even Freud held the belief that our dreams are simply random thoughts (Jung, 1964).
In the beginnings of a disbelief in Aristotelian thinking, Freud's colleague, Jung, realized one of his dreams had nothing to do with Freud's interpretation (Jung, 1964). From that insight, Jung began to consider his dreams had continuity and purpose. He developed and taught the concept that dreams are the unconscious mind’s method to bring balance to the psyche; and the characters in our dreams most often represent different parts of our own personalities (Riffel, 1990). To Jung, dreams have value and meaning for us when we learn to interpret their symbols and identify our out-of-balance parts.
In modern times, increasing numbers of people have been believing their dreams are communications from God that have ignited a passion and desire within them to accomplish feats of significance (Riffel, 1990). Robert Lewis Stevenson wrote a book based on one of his dreams; Einstein attributed his theory of relativity to a childhood dream; and General Patton received military direction from dreams.
Jung said, “Eternal truth needs a human language that alters with the spirit of the times” (Jung, 1966, ¶ 396, p. 196). In our present world, entire societies exist who hold their dreams in high regard and share them communally (Riffel, 1990). This is evidenced in Western society by the increasing use of dreams and dream symbology in the arts and film.
Jung, C. G. (1966). XVI: The Practice of Psychotherapy. NJ: Princeton University Press.
Riffel, H. (1990). Dreams: Wisdom within: Unlocking the mysteries of the dream world. Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image.