One of several authors who have helped me to better understand Jungian concepts is psychotherapist Mary Ann Mattoon. In the introduction to her book Understanding Dreams, she writes that her principal objective for writing the book was to organize and clarify Carl Jung’s ideas to help people better understand and gain from his findings. It was quite an undertaking because Jung was a prolific writer, writing many volumes stretching over many years. The result of Dr. Mattoon’s work is an informative and insightful guide.
Dr. Mattoon writes: “Dreams express what the ego does not know or understand: inner reality, not as the dreamer would like it to be, but as it is.” When trying to discern what a dream might be saying to us about ourselves, it’s important to keep an open mind and to be receptive to hearing something that our egos might not want to hear. If we’re serious about learning from our dreams, this approach is essential. And I admit that there are times when I need to remind myself of this.
I recently had this dream that demonstrates this principle: I’m in the yard of my home and see some boys in the yard next door. I’ve seen them before; I think two are brothers who live in the neighboring house and the other two boys are their friends. The boys are loud and disruptive and come into my yard. I tell them to stay in their yard, that there’s no reason for them to come into mine. They don’t listen and run around yelling and laughing. I tell them if they don’t leave I’ll call the police, but this threat doesn’t have any effect on them and they’re still in my yard when the dream ends.
Keeping in mind that, according to Jungian theory, the people who populate dreams usually reflect aspects of the dreamer, I need to accept that part of me, as shown by the boys’ behavior, is belligerent, self-centered, and disrespectful. Even though in outer reality I try to be respectful and helpful to others, it’s important that I accept that in “inner reality” that is not always the case. And the message of this dream resonates with me because I recognize that the wishes of my ego are not always in line with the direction given by the Self, to use Jung’s terminology, or by the Creator, to use spiritual terminology. Because my dream showed me that part of me who is insolent and egocentric, I can be watchful of those tendencies as I make choices about what I do each day.