December 2017

If you have read my other blogs, you know I think highly of the writing of John A. Sanford, a Jungian analyst, writer, and speaker, who also was an Episcopal priest for 19 years. In his book Dreams and Healing, Sanford writes: “Dreams also help us by showing us what it is upon which we should focus our attention. It is easy to be overwhelmed by our fears, the confusion of life, and the myriad small and great worries that beset us. A dream gives us an image of what it is we most need to ponder. In this way dreams can lift us beyond the narrow confines of our ordinary conscious life, and present us with a larger picture.”

I have found this to be true. In my experience, and based on reading I’ve done, some dreams are more clearly meant to direct a person to take some type of action. And when a person has a dream like that, trying to take the steps toward accomplishing what the dream is directing is what matters most. As Sanford says, that is where we should focus our attention. Because dreams when properly understood help us to learn about ourselves by bringing unconscious content to consciousness, each person becomes more whole as he or she tries to follow dream direction. This takes courage because we don’t necessarily know what will result from following dream direction.

A number of years ago I had a dream where several women were busy packing my belongings, putting them into boxes and sealing the boxes. For a few months before having that dream, I had thought it might be time to move to a different city, and this dream confirmed that yes, I needed to move. I didn’t particularly want to move; it would be costly, I would need to find a job, I would be leaving friends I cared about. But this dream was so clear in its meaning that I knew I would be going against what was right for me if I didn’t follow the dream’s direction. And I’m happy to say I have never regretted moving to where I live. My family and I benefited in many ways because I followed the direction of the dream.

The other day something I read reminded me of the song “No Man Is an Island.” I remember singing it in elementary school. Here is the first verse: “No man is an island, no man stands alone. Each man’s joy is joy to me, each man’s grief is my own. We need one another, so I will defend each man as my brother, each man as my friend.” I believe that song coming to mind several days in a row was an inner prompting to write about it. I was hesitant to do so because of the masculine wording, but I hope people reading my blog will accept that the song was written at a time when using the word “man” referred to all people and “brother” referred to both men and women.

The lyrics certainly portray empathy, in particular where the song refers to feeling the joy as well as the grief that other people experience. I am concerned about the lack of empathy that many people display when talking about other people or groups of people, such as those of ethnicities and/or socioeconomic levels that are different from their own. The lyrics also portray support, being there for one another. In my work as a crisis line counselor, I hear from people who say no one understands what they’re going through. And many people who call say they feel very alone. I’m thankful they call the crisis line so they can talk to me, make a connection with another human being, and have a respite from their aloneness.

In Jungian thought there is emphasis on each person becoming more conscious and, through that, becoming the unique individual he or she is meant to be. And in addition there is emphasis on being of service to other people. Growing in consciousness and being of service are interconnected. I believe the song “No Man Is an Island” came to me to remind me of these truths and to share them with you

Month: December 2017

Dreams Provide Direction

We Need One Another