“The key is not so much to interpret a dream as to appreciate it and befriend it.”
I first learned about the idea that dreams have a purpose when I started therapy with a Jungian psychotherapist. Writing down the dreams that I remembered and talking about them during our sessions was a part of the therapeutic work. I also started reading books about how dreams help us to learn more about ourselves; how they reveal information from our unconscious that can then be integrated into consciousness. Two Jungian authors whose writings have been especially insightful to me are John A. Sanford and Robert Johnson. The above quote is from Johnson’s book Balancing Heaven and Earth.
Johnson’s statement that it is best to appreciate and befriend dreams rather than to try to interpret them corresponds to my experience doing dream work. When I remember a dream, I first try to get a sense of its possible meaning by noting my associations to people and places in the dream. I ask myself what stands out for me about that person and how might that trait apply to me. If I’m familiar with the setting of a dream, I think about what that place might symbolize for me and pay attention to any feelings it might evoke. For dreams in which persons and/or places appear who are not familiar to me, I also pay attention to any feelings I have about them as I’m writing down the dream. When pondering a dream, I also take note of images that frequently symbolize certain concepts or qualities. The ocean, for example, often symbolizes the unconscious, and dragonflies often symbolize transformation.
There are times when I feel some frustration that I’m not able to discern a dream’s possible meaning. According to Jungian dream theory, each dream has a purpose and the timing of when we have dreams is significant. When I cannot get a sense of why I had a certain dream, I need to remind myself that I must not try to interpret the dream or to expect every dream to have a clear and obvious message. Instead, I need to “let it be” and accept it as the gift it is, a gift to be appreciated.
Sometimes a day or two after having a dream, a thought will come to me or something will occur that helps to clarify the dream’s message. Sometimes a dream’s images and story resonate with me quite readily. And sometimes I never get a sense of a dream’s meaning. I share these experiences because I don’t want others to be discouraged when that happens to them. The fact that we put the effort into paying attention to our dreams and knowing they have value is what matters.
