Among the many ways that our dreams are beneficial to us is that they bring to our attention qualities that have the potential of becoming part of our personality. The images and symbols of our dreams bring to consciousness aspects of ourselves that were previously unconscious, making it possible for us to try to integrate what our dreams make known to us. I recently had the following dream that exemplifies this:
I appear to be in my 40s and have been attending a conference. There are about 30 people there, including a woman who is younger than I am, perhaps in her early 30s. She’s wearing a brightly colored dress that has large designs on it and she’s also wearing large earrings. I, on the other hand, dress more conservatively and I’m wearing a dress with subdued colors and small print. When I return after lunch break for the afternoon presentations, I have changed clothes and am now wearing a dress the fabric of which is a print that has large designs and bright colors; it is similar to a dress the younger woman would choose. Although the younger woman and I hadn’t interacted previously, she now comes over to me, tells me she likes my dress, and we walk together. It’s as if my wearing that dress caused a connection to be made between us.
According to Jungian dream theory, images of people in our dreams represent various aspects of ourselves. When a person whom we recognize appears in a dream, it can be helpful to think about our associations to that person. Are our associations to the person positive or negative? Does something stand out about him or her, such as being helpful or being self-centered? Irresponsible or perhaps overly responsible? And so on. The image of the person in the dream might be someone we know and have interacted with, such as a friend, relative, or coworker, or the person might be someone we haven’t met but with whom we’re familiar, such as a public figure or a celebrity. Either way, we will have associations to that person.
In this dream, the younger woman is someone I don’t recognize from outer reality. Therefore, I can make no associations to her based on my personal experience. Instead, I can pay attention to the qualities about her that are portrayed in the dream. Unlike myself in the dream, she symbolizes someone who is outgoing and vibrant, qualities that are portrayed symbolically by the clothing and jewelry she is wearing. The dream shows an obvious contrast between her and me, for I am shown as being more conservative by the clothing I’m wearing which symbolizes a more conservative approach to life in general. And I do have what could be considered conservative tendencies in the sense that I’m more introverted and quiet than extraverted and outgoing. I also have learned over the years that I need to watchful of my tendency to be a creature of habit and that I’m sometimes too set in my ways.
By showing that I have changed clothes and am wearing a different, more colorful outfit when I return to the conference, I believe the dream is bringing to my attention that I have the potential of being more open to new ideas. The actions and images of this dream enable me to consider that a part of me wants to broaden my life experience and the way I look at things, lets me know I am capable of doing that, and encourages me to do that. Because I had this dream, I will try to be more aware of when I’m too satisfied with my usual routines and I’ll consider and try new approaches. The fact that the younger woman in the dream compliments my dress and then walks with me adds emphasis to what the dream is showing me. The fact that this takes place at a conference further adds emphasis to it, because people generally attend conferences to add to their knowledge.
I hope that my sharing my dream and my thoughts about it will help you to better understand dreams you are given and their possible messages to you.