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Shaheda; this may be the quote you mean; and also I would suggest checking other sources as far as what I said is concerned because there is much that has been written about Jung concerning emotion and symbols; (a lot). My suggestion was just to get you started and a search may take you in quite a few directions.
(I said):
“There are two things that seem to be what I hear most often since interpreting dreams is a subjective or personalized vehicle of consciousness. 1) Often you may have a series of dreams that may be pointing towards something; (in other words your subconscious may be trying to communicate something going on under the surface. 2) Emotion; especially strong emotions surrounding the context of whatever is being displayed.Jung was very insistent about emotions being tied to meaning; especially concerning dreams. This is often quoted: “Emotion is the chief source of all becoming conscious” I did a quick google of Jung and emotion and that phrase is one of the items that popped up that might be helpful. But as I mentioned Stephen would be a better source to advise you on this. I will say though that “symbols” I would think is a good place to start.”
(After looking over the link I suggested I really don’t feel comfortable using that as a reference; but I’m sure on your own or with Stephen’s kind assistance you can find much better sources. It’s worth the extra time and effort because your search may lead you into new insights that link would not necessarily yield.) For instance Stephen mentions in his kind response to my suggestions:
“dreamwork is actually a portal into so many related fields, from psychology to mythology to divination and more. Though we think of dreams as subjective, they really can’t be properly studied in isolation; in many ways, they pull us out of ourselves and back into the larger world.”
Hope this is helpful!
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Hello James,
Thank you for all your suggestions. Dream work is a portal into so many related fields, and also many aspects of self too. When I am recalling and writing my dreams, I am also mindful of what other forces are in play in my life — emotions included.
Thanks James. Testing this too.
Shaahayda
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James – I do apologize. I’d like to keep the thread on Helpful Books on Dreams as a resource of works on dreams recommended by forum participants – so, as admin, I moved a few posts where you and Shaheda were discussing dreams in general, and not sharing helpful titles, to her thread on When Is a Dream a Future Dream. I was successful with with some of that, but this post of yours ended up a separate topic, and this is where it will stay.
You are on to something about Jung’s stress on the emotional charge of a dream image. In Man and His Symbols, a work unfinished at the time of his death. Jung describes how
… archetypes appear in practical experience: They are, at the same time, both images and emotions. One can speak of an archetype only when these two aspects are simultaneous. When there is merely the image, then there is simply a word-picture of little consequence. But by being charged with emotion, the image gains numinosity (or psychic energy); it becomes dynamic, and consequences of some sort must flow from it.” (p. 87)
Though it is possible to train oneself to remember dreams, for most people most of the time, generally only dreams with emotionally charged imagery make it across the divide into consciousness when we wake – which are primarily nightmares, and some dreams with erotic overtones.
I wouldn’t necessarily call Shaahayda’s dream of Campbell’s irritation with her questions (in the thread linked above) a full-blown nightmare, but she did find Joe’s reaction to her disturbing. That emotional charge gives the image enough energy to etch itself into her memory.
Stephen Gerringer
tie-dyed teller of tales -
Thank you Stephen for setting this up as a separate topic; and actually on thinking about this further could actual contain 2 different ways of approaching it: the way we look at our dreams; and also how we think about emotion itself.
One of the things I keep coming back to is Joseph’s description of the (blind spot) we “all” have without being aware of what that actually is; and by that I mean Joseph used that term to describe that area in our personal consciousness of which we are unaware that affects how we perceive and respond to the people and things around us and informs our thinking in ways that may be very “inaccurate”. The famous comedian; Will Rogers; had a popular saying that might be a way of thinking about how our shadow for instance activates our blind spot when see someone and form an opinion without actually knowing them: “I don’t like that guy over there; I need to get to know him better.” What he is talking about is this blind spot that sets up a pattern of response to an individual that will color the way they think about them which will grow until it is dispelled because it is based on a false impression or assumption that is not accurate Think about how dislike can turn into distrust and then grow into something even worse like despise and then possibly even hatred. The point being that we all have this human tendency to form impressions about things based upon “projection” that may or may not be accurate because of this blind spot; and emotions as a bridge are directly related to the way we interact with people and how we think about them and this is especially evident in what informs our dream life.
Now that’s one example of emotion and it’s affect on dreams. But what if I have deep “feelings” about something in my dreams? Feelings are directly tied to an emotional interpretation of something; and feelings can have all kinds of expressions concerning our emotional life; (especially in dreams as a window into the personal unconscious); which our dreams are showing us all the time; (except we don’t know how to read them or what they may be trying to communicate). Symbols and images and feelings charged with emotion are a language sending us a signal a dialogue is taking place in the unconscious we should be paying attention to because there is something going on that may need addressing we don’t realize or are not looking at. “But”; not all emotions or feelings have negative signals and may be quite the opposite expressing warmth or happiness or any number of other human connections to something that is being expressed in our dreams; (and they may be playing out in a sequence we don’t realize). And then there is the distinct possibility these dreams may not express what we think they do; which may or may not be related to this Blind Spot. Sometimes dreams mean nothing or have some obscure connection to something that has no real message (or) may seem inconsequential but are exposing something without us realizing there is a problem we can’t see without emotion involved in it’s expression. Also a review of recorded dreams from time to time can reveal a pattern that is taking place we don’t realize; “or” we have misinterpreted how we have originally perceived their meaning.
Now I am not an analyst; and Stephen or Shaaheda may have their own thoughts on my interpretations of this subject of which sharing them is the goal of this thread. We are all a “work-in-progress” as the saying goes; and we can all benefit. One other thing worth thinking about is “emotion” as a separate subject might be something to consider as this topic concerning “dreams” evolves and may wind up being a bit confining as we go along; but I don’t feel qualified enough to make that distinction concerning this particular thread; and Stephen as moderator would be a better judge on that. For now it seems fine since we are using emotion as a “bridge” to inform or illustrate this idea of an inter-connection of emotion to how we interpret our dreams. But that’s the way I see this so I’ll leave it up to everyone else to decide if this rings true for them or not.
Again; thank you very much for setting this up as a separate topic Stephen.
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JamesN writes:
thank you very much for setting this up as a separate topic Stephen.”
I am not the one to thank. That gratitude is due the Trickster, or perhaps Fate. I thought I was moving your comment to Shaheda’s dream thread but must have clicked the wrong button, for now it stood alone as its own topic – and this particular forum plug-in only allows one move of a reply.
So, apparently, it was meant to be . . .
Stephen Gerringer
tie-dyed teller of tales
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Thank you Stephen and James. Yes, charged emotions and feeling in dreams as a separate topic will make for a rich subject.
Quoting Stephen, who quotes Jung,
You are on to something about Jung’s stress on the emotional charge of a dream image. In Man and His Symbols, a work unfinished at the time of his death. Jung describes how
… archetypes appear in practical experience: They are, at the same time, both images and emotions. One can speak of an archetype only when these two aspects are simultaneous. When there is merely the image, then there is simply a word-picture of little consequence. But by being charged with emotion, the image gains numinosity (or psychic energy); it becomes dynamic, and consequences of some sort must flow from it.” (p. 87)
This is such a powerful message Stephen. Whenever Joe Campbell comes in my dreams, his image has been charged with emotion or passion, never as if just silently there. In one recent dream, I found myself at Esalen, and we were going in opposite directions. I was exiting Esalen grounds, and he was just entering. I said, “Good Morning Joe”. Joe looked at me, as if hurt, surprised, or a fusion of hurt and surprise. And so when I awoke, that dream stayed with me all day, and of course to this day. Now I recognize why. I had been doubting one specific area of my life, viewed from Joe Campbell’s lens.
Quoting James: “Symbols and images and feelings charged with emotion are a language sending us a signal a dialogue is taking place in the unconscious we should be paying attention to because there is something going on that may need addressing we don’t realize or are not looking at.”
Indeed so James, there was a dialogue going on, consciously and unconsciously. Recently, I had been dwelling more on the “Grand Egress” instead of enjoying my time on earth —-or simply put “Joyfully participating in the sorrows of the world” was fading with each passing day. And, lo and behold, here comes Joe Campbell in my dream, annoyed, unwilling to engage with my silly questions. (Of course, in real life, he would never have done so, Stephen).
Shaheda: Quoting Dreams: A Study of the Dreams of Jung, Descartes, Socrates, and Other Historical Figures (C. G. Jung Foundation Books Series Book 9) Marie-Luise von Franz
Mari-Luise von Franz writes,
1) A dream represents an unconscious reaction to conscious situation.
2) Describes a situation that has come about as a result of a conflict between the conscious and the unconscious.(My very recent Joe Campbell dream)
3) It represents a tendency in the unconscious whose purpose is to affect a change in the conscious.
4) Represents unconscious processes that have no recognizable relation to the conscious.Robert Moss: In his book, “the Three “ONLY” Things”, Moss describes the power of emotions, desires, and passion in our lives and in our dreams, and the impact of our emotions and dreams on the energy field around us.
Quoting Moss:1. “The stronger the emotion, the stronger its effect on our psychic and physical environment. And the effects of our emotions may reach much further than we can initially understand.” The Three “Only” Things: Tapping the Power of Dreams, Coincidence, and Imagination (p. 145).
2. Dreams in which we go back to a scene from our earlier lives, especially when this happens over and over, may indicate that a vital part of our energy and identity is still in that old place. We may find ourselves returning in dreams, again and again, to a childhood home (p.67)I have found myself many times, in my dreams, in Esalen, feeling strongly about an issue or issues, as in my dream where I was exiting Esalen, and Joe was entering and I said, “Good Morning Joe”.
Quoting Dreams: A Study of the Dreams of Jung, Descartes, Socrates, and Other Historical Figures (C. G. Jung Foundation Books Series Book 9) Marie-Luise von Franz
Commenting on Jung’s ‘compensatory and complementary’ function of the dream, Marie Luise writes, ” dreams almost never represent something that is already conscious.”
Hence the surprise when one encounters a situation, an emotion, or a play that was never imagined.Yes “We are all a “work-in-progress” as the saying goes; and we can all benefit. One other thing worth thinking about is “emotion” as a separate subject might be something to consider as this topic concerning “dreams” evolves..” Sometimes, we are pleasantly surprised by our dreams, and sometimes confused, and many times left wondering. My personal view is that the real function of dreams is to get us to wonder, to dream of the magical, and per chance to see one’s dream world coincide with the real world.
Again, so many thanks Stephen and James.
Shaahayda (wondering and dreaming)
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