So many of my DreamWork clients ask the same question:

"Why should I write my dreams down? I can remember them. I won't forget."

Well, the answer is not that simple and, like everything on this site, you have to take what you like and leave the rest. This is just what I believe. .. along with a few other people who are "Jung at heart."

First let's set the stage. We have that realm we are somewhat aware of while awake called CONSCIOUSNESS. Think of the conscious mind as one side of a sphere we'll call our "psyche." Then on the dark side of the moon there is the UNCONSCIOUS. We may not be aware of it, but is working all of the time compensating for every little extremity we push out here in conscious-land. if we consciously move away from our "true-self" by "+12" then the unconscious will produce something "-12" to compensate for it. This "self regulating" goes on all the time. Most dreams are exactly the OPPOSITE of some conscious extremity. (Wild, huh?)

This unconscious speaks in SYMBOLS. When these symbols TRANSCEND into our conscious mind, crossing over that mysterious boundary, we are often baffled by their real meaning. (This occurs during meditation also. We call this transference the "transcendental function.") Well.... if it is trying to SPEAK to us in SYMBOLS, then we must SPEAK back to IT in SYMBOLS so it knows we are trying to SPEAK it's language.

Sounds like alien stuff right? Science fiction? The man/woman with two brains movie on the late late late show? Some bad Steve Martin Flick?

Well.... it is sort of like that.

One night you awake from that dreamy state and your mind has just been flooded with all of these weird fantastic images. None of which may make any sense. No matter! WRITE THEM DOWN! The unconscious will KNOW you were listening and as soon as you start the process of digesting this mass of information it will start sending you MORE! That's right! MORE and MUCH MORE too!

I like to think of this as making a small doorway bigger. There is this boundary between that huge world of unconscious information and our pea-brained conscious. the unconscious gives us little drips.. . spoon-feeds us this "stuff " and will actually start SHOVELING it at us if it thinks we can handle it.

In order to "handle it", we have to WRITE down what comes OUT on PAPER! WRITE IT DOWN!! Don't speak into a tape recorder.... or call your best friend on the phone. Don't babble the dream into your lover's ear. ("psst...are you up? I had this wild dream...." "Not now. I'm sleeping.... snorrrrrrre")

It is equally important to share what you write down with someone who understands the dream language. (Yes, there is a LANGUAGE. NO, there is no DICTIONARY. I don't care what book you found in the New Age section of our store.... there is NO DICTIONARY. But there is a LANGUAGE.)

The more you write, the more you dream. The more you dream the bigger the doorway gets. The bigger the doorway, the more information.

Add to that some daily meditation and you'll be sitting under a tree on top of the hill over looking the city and feeling like a Yogi. YES! You Too can be an enlightened being! (See that line of people climbing the mountain? They're coming to see you!)

So, keep that pad by your bed and make sure your favorite pen is right next to it. (You know the one. The blue baby with the gel pad and the florescent cap?) Get some sleep and, tonight, when that dream pops into your head. WRITE IT DOWN and give your favorite Jungian a call.

- Dr. Toni

PS:

I strongly suggest learning from the masters.

Learn about symbolism from guys like Joseph Campbell and learn about the Psyche from the Grand master, C.G. Jung. In fact get both minds in one book!

Portable Jung This is a FANTASTIC book edited by Joseph Campbell and features the BEST of Jung!

Learn about Inner Work from our own Robert A. Johnson. (His book called INNER WORK is one of our favorites.)

Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth

Have questions? Feel free to write us!

Dr. T.

You can write Dr. Toni at staff.contact@RecoveryWorld.com. Make sure you type "e-mail for Dr. Toni" in the subject area of your email or it will be automatically deleted by our servers.

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