It was Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist and contemporary of Edgar Cayces, who found convincing evidence for a deep level to the unconscious mind. This profound depth, Jung felt, came from a genuine spiritual reality that hadnt been acknowledged by Sigmund Freud. Jung called this level the collective unconscious. Here all minds could communicate through the use of universal symbols—images which seem to have a common meaning among people all over the world. For example, a symbol such as a lion or a great cat has a universal or archetypal meaning of power and vitality. Birds frequently symbolize various kinds of love or concern; water is often suggestive of the Spirit itself. An old woman or an old man or a grandfatherly figure can symbolize our own Higher Self or our own internal wisdom. Myths or fairy tales often have similarities among cultures, and these similarities are shown through their universal symbols and themes. Of course, not all the symbols and images in our dreams represent the universal or archetypal. Many, if not most, are best interpreted by discovering the personal associations one has with that person or object. The dream symbol of a rifle, for example, would likely mean one thing to a gunsmith and something quite different to a victim of war. There is really no such thing as a bad dream, because all dreams have the potential of helping the dreamer. Dreams of disastrous events may simply be advice to us to change our diets or our attitudes, or they may be emotional releases from various situations in our lives. They can become invaluable tools for instruction and guidance if we would only begin to work with them.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 15:13:14 +0000