Perchance to Dream
Seminars for Fellow Travelers
"Perchance to Dream" is designed as a weekend encounter with C. G. Jung's approach to working with dreams: those "little hidden doors in the innermost and most secret recesses of the soul." Typically beginning with a Friday evening lecture providing a theoretical orientation, the seminar continues on Saturday with one or two of the workshops listed below, addressing particular types of dreams through which the unconscious communicates its unique messages. These workshops are more participatory, offering opportunities to experience and to reflect upon the power of dream images which come as a natural part of the psyche's self-regulating system.
Seminars are presented jointly by Karen Hodges and Howard Tyas, Jungian analysts. If you are interested in hosting or sponsoring such a weekend, please contact Howard or Karen at (704) 377-0688 for more information on availability, scheduling, and costs.
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Basics of Jungian Dream Interpretation Dreamwork can be a means of
deepening one's connection with inner sources of creativity, as well as
a resource for dealing with therapeutic issues. In this introduction, we
will examine some of Jung's basic insights into the nature of dreams and
explore techniques useful in dream interpretation, using clinical
illustrations. Appropriate attitudes toward the dream, its structure,
content, and images, and its potential function for the dreamer will all
be addressed. Participants may bring their own questions and concerns,
to be addressed as time allows. "Dreams are impartial, spontaneous products of the unconscious
psyche,... and are therefore fitted, as nothing else is, to give us
back an attitude that accords with our basic human nature when our
consciousness has strayed too far from its foundations and run into an
impasse." (C. G. Jung) |
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Dream As Story While dreams take diverse forms - sometimes the briefest snapshot, sometimes a saga - the archetypal form of a story, with beginning, middle, and end, may often be glimpsed in their twists and turns. Following the story's thread may be an invaluable aid for bringing order to the chaotic array of characters, objects, and actions encountered in many dreams. At the same time, dreams present us with variations on the stories we are living in our outer lives, illuminating our blind spots and stimulating our creativity. We will develop these ideas through specific examples, not forgetting the greater story within which all dreaming takes place: what C. G. Jung called the individuation process. |
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Meeting the Shadow in Dreams |
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Jung once gave a very simple and straightforward definition of the shadow: "the things a person has no wish to be." At the same time, the shadow is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon. It contains archetypal as well as personal aspects, bright as well as dark manifestations, helpful as well as destructive tendencies. It is often the first figure we meet when we begin working with our dreams, as well as the most difficult to face. This seminar will examine the phenomenon of the shadow as that inner figure who holds the key to undeveloped facets of ourselves. The participants will examine dreams which illustrate the shadow's helpfulness in recovering and integrating neglected aspects of the "true personality." |
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The Seduction of the Dream Individuation may be characterized as a relationship worked out day by day: a balanced relationship between one's conscious personality and what lies in the shadows of the unconscious. This task is complicated by powerful forces of both attraction and repulsion which often constellate between the two realms. For Jung, the seductive anima embodied much of the ambivalence of this work, where genuine peril may be encountered alongside the highest values. Will the vulnerable ego end up locked in an enchantment, or will hidden springs of energy be cleared to flow into the enterprises of life? This seminar will focus on erotic dreams of anima and animus and ways to approach them without losing one's own standpoint as an individual. |
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Animal Wisdom in Dreams |
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When the man or woman of archaic times was visited by Spirit, it was often in animal form, ranging from an individual totem or helper to a god endowed with world-creating powers. Animal imagery in modern dreams and fantasies is often interpreted in terms of instincts closely connected to the body, such as sexuality and aggression. Yet the archetypal idea of the animal as autonomous representative of the spiritual world continues to find compelling expression in dreams. Might such dreams perform a compensatory function, challenging contemporary fantasies of psyche and world? In this seminar we will examine symbolic expressions of animal wisdom. Our affinities with particular animals will be viewed within the context of "the symbolic life." |
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Dreams from Childhood In The Soul's Code James Hillman writes, "I want us to envision that what children go through has to do with finding a place in the world for their specific calling. The entire image of a destiny is packed into a tiny acorn, the seed of a huge oak on small shoulders." Many of us remember or are haunted by childhood dreams which have not lost their mystery or enchantment. Often they seem to presage a vocation or passion in life that could not otherwise have been foreseen. This seminar will examine several childhood dreams in an attempt better to understand how our acorns have held the blueprint to our lives' unique unfolding.
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Working with Archetypal Dreams Not everything that comes to us through dreams makes sense in terms of our own personal histories, problems, and aspirations. Since time immemorial, dreams have had the power to carry us over a threshold into experiences which, baffling as they are, belong to the human heritage of symbol and myth. We will explore practical ways of feeling more at home here, where psychic life is renewed, and of recognizing the archetypal in the everyday life of the dream.
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Riding the Nightmare Although many people say they do not remember their dreams, most would have no difficulty recalling a nightmare. These are the dreams which wake us with a racing heart, night sweats, and a heightened sense of fear and anxiety. We are not sure whether we have been riding the nightmare or it has been riding us. Both explanations hold a certain element of truth. Although very unpleasant to experience, the nightmare comes in the service of the psyche and the personality's development. This seminar will examine the psychological and physiological significance of nightmares, while seeking to uncover the valuable messages hidden within the frightening images. Anonymous nightmares submitted by the group will be addressed as time permits. |
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Enacting the Dream Dreams will often yield up their treasure by our simply reflecting upon the images they present. But many times there are deeper layers of symbolic meaning which can only be mined using the tools of enactment. Through this approach, the dream and its images are actively given form, body, movement, and imaginative expression. This seminar will explore various techniques of enactment, such as sand tray, active imagination, sculpting, drawing, and psychodrama. Participants will be given the opportunity, if they desire, to enact personal dream and fantasy material within a safe and structured environment.
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The Never-Ending Story: Dreaming in Series How often do we find ourselves repeatedly dreaming a certain image, we know not why? We work with the dream and assume we have plumbed the depths of its meaning, only to have the image reappear, in perhaps a little different form or context. Our feeling response ranges from confusion to frustration to awe. What is the unconscious trying to tell us that we are not getting? This seminar will address those "dream series" which present images, persons, places, or things that will not go away. Perhaps it is not that we are misunderstanding the image, but rather that the image is undergoing a transformation in keeping with our never-ending individuation process.
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Religious Images in Dreams |
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From time to time, a dream hosts the unexpected appearance of a decidedly religious image, person, feeling or theme. We may be overwhelmed by an accompanying sense of holy awe which shakes our foundations. Furthermore, we may be surprised to find that the imagery presented does not seem to reflect our consciously chosen faith perspective, if we even have one. History is replete with stories of individuals who had a profound "numinous dream" which then either led to a conversion or in some other way dramatically changed the course of their lives. But what are we to make of such visitations today? Are we being called to follow strange gods? Is the message given to be take literally? How are we to respond, if at all? This seminar will examine religious images in dreams, both ancient and modern, with an eye toward the effect, the message, and the response they evoke. |
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Dreams of Initiation In the past, collective life almost always provided rituals of initiation to mark important life transitions. Such transitions might be anything from first attaining adulthood to the acquisition of esoteric knowledge or entry into an altogether new mode of being. Today, we are more often on our own in acknowledging these passages and clarifying their meaning for our lives – except for our dreams. Join us to explore initiation motifs and stories in the dreams of contemporary men and women, including our own. Dreams and Death Many people spend their entire lives looking away from death—stymied by an event which is as difficult to accept as it is inevitable. But, death is a subject of the liveliest interest to our dreaming psyches—and not always in a negative guise. Dreams usually begin to take up the issue of death as soon as we have passed our lives’ mid-point. But the loss of loved ones or a serious illness may bring us to this point at any age. And when death is actually imminent, dreams may take the lead in preparing us for what is to come. The very fact that death is a great unknown seems to throw us back upon archetypal motifs familiar to the unconscious, whether or not our religious institutions make them available to us. As a scientist, Jung respected both the mystery of death and the need for an instinctual response. He discouraged people from reading into their dreams concrete answers to unanswerable questions. “But [he wrote] while the man who despairs marches toward nothingness, the one who has placed his faith in the archetype follows the tracks of life and lives right into his death.” In this spirit of openness, we will examine dreams of death and invite participants to share their own. "She Was on the Moon" An often-neglected aspect of interpreting dreams is consideration of their settings. “I was in my grandfather’s house….” “I was flying through space….” “I was caught in a no-man’s land between warring armies….” This seminar explores the many ways that time and place may be represented in dreams and the power of these images to evoke emotion and meaning.
The Self in Dreams
Jung wrote that the concept of the Self can be described in terms of a magic circle: Imagine some “unknown agency” selecting parts of the collective unconscious and setting them within this space, as if to preserve a work of art that is now finished and perfect. What could be more static than this image of the magical enclosure? Yet it was not the circle so much as its formation that intrigued Jung, who wrote, “This selecting, and rejecting of what does not belong, is what we call the process of individuation.“ How can we make sense of this brain-teaser? Might a dream image be your window onto the mystery of creative process as you are living it?
“Carl Gustav Jung: Artist of the Soul”
In this 50-minute film, director Werner Weick captures the often uncanny quality of Jung’s personal world in a unique way. Surviving children and grand-children bring vivid memories of their intimate connections with the great man, adding a human dimension that cannot be extracted from the Collected Works. A stream of visual imagery adds immediacy to key passages from Jung’s own reminiscences. Jung believed that every psychology is shaped by the “personal equation” of its author. Nowhere is this more apparent than in his own work. A viewing of the film will be followed by open discussion that may serve to clarify this link.
Dream Visitors from the Past
From time to time we are visited in our dreams by figures from the past. They may be historical people long dead, relatives who passed away some time ago, or figures who claim to be long-gone relatives, even though we do not recognize them. These visitors often produce a feeling of wonder and awe. This seminar examines such dreams to determine what messages, personal or otherwise, are being brought.
“The Spoon in God’s Kitchen” One of the commonest ways to discount dreams is to attribute them to indigestion. Jung, a man who loved both cooking and eating, took the opposite view that these simple acts are especially apt symbols for the life of the imagination. “We are the spoon in God’s kitchen” were words that presided over Jung’s kitchen at Bollingen. And, whether in an alchemist’s laboratory or an ordinary home, he saw the transformational process of cooking as an image of individuation itself. This seminar will sample an array of dreams about food, the preparation of food, dining and its rituals, appetite and revulsion. And as usual, the meal will be potluck: Contributions by participants are welcomed.
Sexual Images in Dreams
Nothing can be as embarrassing or as titillating as waking from an arousing dream full of sexual images, situations or activities. Such dreams may provoke feelings of guilt, surprise, hope or disgust. Freud saw such dreams as wish fulfillment. And although there may be an element of this, depending on the circumstances, dreams with subtle or overt sexual imagery can also be pointing to something much deeper in the human psyche which has nothing to do with sexuality at all. This seminar approaches sexual dreams from a Jungian perspective. It examines the symbolism of sexual images, situations, and activities in dreams with an eye toward understanding their underlying message, while remaining open to the possibility that the dream may be saying exactly what it means.
"Suddenly I realized..."
We in the West have long valued consciousness as a precious resource unique to humanity. Our zeal for expanding & refining consciousness is boundless. But Jung took delight in exposing an absurd fantasy that may come along with that, namely, that we create our own thoughts. How do we actually experience the emergence of something new into consciousness? Jung likened this process to the budding of a flower which cannot, at first, withstand the direct light of the sun. Is it any wonder, then, that it is so often in dreams that we find ourselves experiencing an "Aha," a "Eureka!" or one of those moments articulated as, "Suddenly I realized...!" We will examine such dreams, including any that participants may wish to share.
The Archetype of the Horse The first meetings between man and horse are lost in the fog of pre-history. One early glimpse takes us back perhaps 17,000 years to a cave in southern France, where our ancestors painted a giant equine figure trailing enigmatic markings. (Do they count out the nights of the lunar cycle.? We may never know for sure.) The Horse - however useful as servant, however gratifying as companion - was much more from the very beginning: a magical being with cosmic associations, around whom marvelous stories have been woven. Images of the Horse still stir us in dreams. We will look to some of these dreams and stories to experience how powerful and complex an archetypal image can be, transcending every definition in the symbol dictionaries.
"Something Wicked This Way Comes"
To encounter Evil in the world can be a shattering experience; meeting Evil in our dreams is disturbing in a different way. Jung suggested that we interpret everything in a dream as an aspect of the dreamer‘s psyche. Do I, then, carry Evil within me? Does Evil reside somewhere in every individual as part of the universal human endowment? Join us to explore images of Evil in dreams (you are invited to bring your own) - but also to have some fun with Shakespeare’s infamous witches on the moors of Scotland.
The Good Being Let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like a never-failing stream: This verse from the Hebrew scriptures captures the profound longing inspired by images of Goodness triumphant. In another mood, Goodness takes the form of compassion, awakening deep devotion in the followers of deities such as the Buddhist Kwan Yin. To live these ideals can be a tricky business. Yet a world without human saints, altruists, benefactors - and ordinary citizens hoping to leave the world a better place - is as unimaginable as it would be unlivable. Last fall we examined archetypal Evil: Now Goodness takes its turn. |