The Inner Stage
Each night on the inner stage the psyche or soul creates an inner drama with a full cast of characters. Just as in a play, the scene is set, a plot begins to form in which the protagonist and antagonist take part, the action rises culminating in a crisis following which the action falls and there may or may not be a resolution. In dream work we learn that in most cases the plot, the landscape, the cast of characters, animals, buildings, objects etc. are aspects of ourselves. These images embody our feelings, aspirations, hopes, fears, secret desires, and spiritual longings and are the source of our imagination.
The Power of the Imagination
To imagine means to dream up something, it often supplies the impetus to create something new, to bring something into existence that has never existed before. We can realize the tremendous value of dreams and the profundity of the human psyche when we grasp the fact that everything that has been created by human beings was at one time in the imagination of the individual. We can thus arrive at the powerful realization that C.G.Jung expressed after studying dreams for a life time, namely, that the ultimate purpose of dreams is to enable us to be co-creators of the universe.
Recording and Relating to our Dreams
We all dream every night and there are approximately five cycles of sleep over a period of eight hours each cycle lasting about ninety minutes. To begin remembering and recording your dreams place a paper and pencil or recording device by your bed and make a conscious commitment to yourself before retiring for the night to record your dream in the morning. On awakening, lie still and go over the dream in your head then immediately write it down or record it , resisting the desire to change aspects that may seem strange or obscure. Record the dream in the present tense and include any strange details that you may inclined to discount. Be curious about your dream images and make as many associations to them as possible. What words and feelings come to mind when you recall the image.
In my next blog I will share with you the language of dreams and the use of puns and colloquialisms utilized by the dream which often make us laugh, or make us realize and appreciate the intelligence and playfulness of the source from which dreams arise.