It often happens that people who appear in our dreams are people we know—friends, parents, or coworkers, for example. Other times there are people in our dreams we recognize but whom we haven’t met, examples being celebrities, professional athletes, or politicians. According to Jungian dream theory, as well as to some other approaches to dream work, the people who appear in our dreams represent aspects of ourselves, and that by identifying our associations to those people we can learn more about ourselves which in turn helps us to grow in consciousness.
If, for example, a friend of mine is in my dream, I might have both positive and negative associations. Let’s say I have the negative association that my friend tends to be set in her ways. By her being a character in the dream, the dream reminds me that I need to be watchful of my tendency toward rigidity. Ideally, my having been given this information will help me to be more aware of how being set in my ways affects what I do, choices I make. Embracing the dream’s message will help me to be more open to new ideas and approaches.
It’s also common to have dreams that include people we do not recognize and therefore about whom we do not have associations. An example is this dream I recently had:
I’m at work sitting at my desk. There are many more people in the area where I work than there usually are. All of the work spaces are occupied and some desks have been added in the hallway for additional staff. I notice there’s a new employee at one of those desks, so I go over to her and introduce myself. We smile at each other. I have a habit of saying Spanish words now and then, such as “muy bien” when asked how I am. I say a couple of words in Spanish and her eyes brighten and she asks if I speak Spanish. I say “un poco,” that I used to speak quite fluently but haven’t kept in practice over the years. It turns out her first language is Spanish, and she also speaks English very well. My impression is she would enjoy speaking Spanish with me more often, and I like that idea too.
According to Jungian dream theory, each person who appears in our dreams, whether we are familiar with them from outer reality or not, is a part of our psyche. I believe this dream shows that I have inner support, symbolized by the woman’s enthusiasm at meeting me and her desire to continue to interact with me. She symbolizes a positive feminine aspect of myself and is a reassuring presence.
I wonder too if speaking Spanish in the dream might be the dream’s way of saying the woman and I speak a similar language, the language of inner work that leads to becoming more conscious. There’s no way to prove this is the case; it’s based on thoughts that came to me as I was writing the dream. It’s an intuitive response. If so, perhaps the dream is also telling me I need to become more proficient in that language by putting more effort into doing inner work.
Dreams always have a purpose. Sometimes we have dreams that help us to get back on our paths. Other times, dreams give us the sense that we’re doing OK in general. Other times they help us to solve a problem. And other times, they remind us of the inner assistance we have as we travel our individual journeys. This was one of those dreams, and I’m thankful that I received it.