ELI 82 (5) – Spring 2003
M. Bell
2/27/03
Carl G. Jung and Dream Analysis
"The collective unconscious is common to all; it is the foundation of
what the ancients called the "sympathy of all things." -- CG Jung
Carl Gustav Jung lived from 1875 to 1961 and was a Swiss psychiatrist. In the
early years, he worked in an asylum and was motivated by a desire to
understand the human psyche. Freud and Jung were contemporaries. Jung was
fascinated by Freud's ideas about the unconscious and by his theories on
dreams. Jung did not agree with Freud on many accounts and he independently
research and developed an extensive theoretical framework regarding the
structure of the human psyche and the nature of dreams. The foundation of
Analytical psychology is the life's work of Carl Jung. He was a prolific writer and
was tenacious in his pursuit to understand the human condition. Jung's work
includes conventional and unconventional areas of study such as religion,
alchemy and astrology.
In order to appreciate the theories and thoughts of C. G. Jung an individual must
first have a general understanding, appreciation, and belief in the unconscious. It
is difficult to explain the unconscious because it is not a concrete object. One can
not hold it, look at it or examine it directly. It is something like wind. We can see
its effects and can feel it, but we can not grab it in our hands and examine it.
Science can not study the unconscious directly. The only proof of its existence
can be found in the complex workings of the human mind and spirit.
To give the unconscious validity and power is a leap of faith. To believe in its
existence is something like believing in a Higher Power. I don't mean to suggest
that the unconscious is like God. In my understanding, it is not. The unconscious
is a very private and individual thing. Our dream material may come from this
wonderful place that we have no access to during the day. The unconscious
mind may have the power to connect us to other levels, or dimensions, of
ourselves and eventually to everyone and everything else, including Divinity. C.
G. Jung said that the unconscious is not necessarily smarter, but that it holds
different information than our conscious mind. It enables us to see things that are
at times difficult to understand and admit. The unconscious experiences that are
revealed to us in dreams also allow freedom and mobility that would be
impossible to obtain through the conscious mind. In a dream we can fly and there
are virtually no limits to the possibilities in our dream experiences!
ELI 82 (5) – Spring 2003
M. Bell
2/27/03
In the dream state we have an opportunity to access the PRIVATE and the
COLLECTIVE unconscious. According to Carl Jung, the primary functions of
dreams are:
1. Dreams are a compensation for what is going on in daily life. They can
serve as a positive or negative compensation. In this way, they attempt to
balance the psyche. For example: If you experience unhappiness in daily
life, you may have a blissful dream. If you are very successful in a specific
area of life, you may have a dream about failure or disaster.
2. Dreams provide a reaction to a traumatic experience. For example: If you
were in a car accident, you may dream of it and the dream may be a
repeat of this negative experience. People who suffered great trauma,
such as rape victims or war veterans, may have nightmares that are
exactly like or very similar to actual life events. As the individual
assimilates these traumatic experiences, such dreams should become
less and less frequent and may take another form.
3. Dreams may be prophetic. Some dreams may provide the dreamer with
glimpses into the future about small matters, while other dreams may
reveal important events. However, keep in mind that most dreams are
symbolic and not literal. Prophetic dreams may have an emotional or
psychic charge that is different from other types of dreams.
4. Dreams may be telepathic. In the American Heritage Dictionary, telepathy
is defined as "communication through means other than the senses."
Telepathic dreams may be a means of communicating with others, as well
as a path for one part of the dreamer's psyche to communicate with
another.
5. Dreams may be mimetic of events occurring in the physical system or
body. Thus, dreams may attempt to bring to consciousness an unknown
illness or be a reflection of a current physical challenge.
*Taken from website: www.dreamloverinc.com
ELI 82 (5) – Spring 2003
M. Bell
2/27/03
DREAMS AND DREAM ANALYSIS
Part I. Main Ideas
On one copy of the Jung article in your group, underline each paragraph’s main idea. If
there is no stated main idea, then in the margins write what you think the implied
main idea is.
Part II. Guessing vocabulary from context
Below are the words that are underlined in the article. For each word, guess the meaning.
Also indicate if you “skipped” or “looked-up” that word when you read the article.
1. asylum ____________________________________________ skip or look-up
2. psyche ____________________________________________ skip or look-up
3. prolific____________________________________________ skip or look-up
4. tenacious____________________________________________ skip or look-up
5. alchemy____________________________________________ skip or look-up
6. blissful____________________________________________ skip or look-up
7. assimilates__________________________________________ skip or look-up
8. prophetic____________________________________________ skip or look-up
9. telepathic__________________________________________ skip or look-up
10. mimetic____________________________________________ skip or look-up
PART III. Group discussion ( just discuss—no need to write answers)
1. Why do you think we have dreams? What is the function of dreams?
2. What so you think about the idea of the “unconscious” and “conscious” mind?
3. How often do you dream? Do you usually remember your dreams?
ELI 82 (5) – Spring 2003
M. Bell
2/27/03
Part IV. Dream analysis
1) List the symbols that appeared in your dream.
2) With your group members, try to interpret what you think your dream means.