by Phil Goss
However, the slowing down of the planets, and the appearance of Pluto, with its link to ‘the underneath’, suggests it is possible that something else can happen. If the unconscious is listened to, perhaps a new way through, which supersedes the apparently imminent conflict, can be found? By its nature, this aspect of dream analysis has a speculative dimension, but by always following psyche and the associations of the dreamer, the way a dream offers up archetypal aspects for amplification can enrich and enlighten.
Key idea: Repeating dreams
Some people report experiencing the same dream a number of times, sometimes over a long period of their life. A classic example is dreaming of being in a familiar house – usually a home one grew up in – and discovering a part of the house one has never seen before. This often points to some aspect of our selves which has been overlooked and not lived out (though it could, among other explanations, also be to do with difficult memories that have been repressed). The image of a house, home or building is often seen symbolically in Jungian terms as representing the whole of the psyche which we ‘live in’ (or the temenos, to give it its Latin term).
The structure of a dream
Jung identified four archetypal stages (as he had done for analysis in general) of a dream. In brief, these are as follows:
1 Exposition – The opening scene, which introduces the characters, the setting and the problem symbolically portrayed by the dream.
2 Development – How the plot in the dream emerges.
3 Culmination – Something significant happens.
4 Lysis – This is the conclusion and the most important stage, as it suggests how the dreamer might attend to the problem portrayed in the opening scene.
While it is important to acknowledge the sometimes chaotic and variable structure of our dreams, this can nevertheless be a useful frame of reference for working with dreams. Likewise, none of the ways of looking at dreams portrayed in this chapter is straightforward, and the maxim of treating every dream, dreamer and dream analysis as individual is pivotal. There is also a risk that we may uncritically accept whatever the unconscious seems to be saying to us. As Samuels et al. put it (1986, p. 49):
‘Jung repeatedly cautioned against overrating the unconscious and warned that such a tendency impairs the power of conscious decision. In this regard, an exceptionally beautiful or numinous dream may have an unhealthy seductive attraction until one looks more closely at it.’
This therefore calls for an open but critical attitude to collaboration with the unconscious in deciphering dream meanings. It should also not put too much weight on theory but, rather, treat the dream as a ‘friend’ who needs to be allowed to speak their truth, because:
‘we must renounce all preconceived opinions, however knowing they make us feel, and try to discover what things mean for the patient… if the practitioner operates too much with fixed symbols, there is a danger of his falling into mere routine and pernicious dogmatism, and thus failing his patient.’
Jung, 1966, para. 342
Instead, Jung advocates an attitude of circumambulation. That is, to hold the dream in mind and ‘walk around’ it, revisiting aspects of the dream where this is pertinent to more fully understanding its meaning(s).
Jungian dream analysis
Soon after Jolanta begins analysis, she reports the following dream:
‘I am standing in a wide corridor in an airport. In front of me I can see the horizontal moving walkways which will take me to the exit of the airport (in the UK) but I cannot carry all my bags, which are very heavy, and I’ve forgotten to put them on a trolley. I drop one bag, which has a wig of long curly hair pointing out of the zipped top of the bag, on to the escalator which heads back up towards the baggage hall I have come from. I watch as it disappears from view and think, “Now I will have to buy some new hair.”’
The analyst asks Jolanta to share any general associations she might have; which she does in terms of remembering how she felt (scared, alone but excited) when she first arrived in the UK, that she lost an important item of luggage, which included some correspondence with a woman she had been close to in Poland, and she found the horizontal walkways/escalators at airports ‘irritating because they are so slow’. She said it felt as if the ‘hair’ had something to do with her relationships and sexuality (she mentions pubic hair).
Then the analyst invites Jolanta to explore the dream using Jung’s four-stage model (though she uses her own words to explain how the dream might be worked with this way). So the dream is broken down as follows and Jolanta is invited to reflect on each stage:
Exposition: The dreamer stands in front of the walkways towards the airport exit but she has too many bags to carry. Jolanta (J): ‘Reflects my problem, too much baggage from the past and I can’t adapt well to changing circumstances and complicated relationships.’
Development: The dreamer notices she has no trolley and has dropped a bag with her ‘hair’ in it on the reverse escalator back to the baggage hall. J: ‘Carrying too much… have dropped what really matters…’ (she sobs a little here).
Culmination: The dreamer watches the bag with the ‘hair’ disappear out of view. J: ‘Feels like it will slip out of my hands again, like the last two relationships I messed up.’
Lysis: The dreamer is telling herself she needs to buy some ‘new hair’. J: ‘Not sure, other than I feel the need to do something about how I deal with people I care for and have sexual relationships with.’
There are further reflections on the dream but Jolanta’s responses here demonstrate the value of breaking a dream down into stages, though some dreams fit this better than others.
Reflective exercise
If you want to, and have a dream in mind, try writing it down, following the four-stage approach used above, and noting your responses. You may also consider keeping a dream diary: jot down in a few words the main elements and developments in your dreams, as you remember them each day.
The key bit of advice here is to do this as soon as you wake up (best to keep a pad and pen next to the bed). If you don’t, it may all be lost by the time you brush your teeth! Then, when you have a moment, play around with what it might mean. You could even try putting yourself into the place of each character or object in the dream; this can illuminate the part of you they represent.
As with all work with the unconscious, dream material needs to be handled with care, so do not work with dreams unless you have a good grip on reality and feel settled in yourself. If a dream disturbs you, it helps to talk it through with someone you trust. Also, remember that other people’s dreams belong to them, however much we might feel like interpreting them on their behalf!
Working with dreams
This chapter has illustrated some key aspects of how dreams are perceived and worked with from a Jungian perspective. The exploration has been by no means exhaustive – for example, space precludes a full discussion on how far dreams may be prospective, which means how dreams may show us what ‘future conscious achievements’ we might manage, thus helping us move out from where we are stuck in the present (Whitmont and Perera, 1989, p. 56). However, this chapter should have provided you with a sense of how much potential there is in this area for therapeutic and personal development.
Key terms
Amplification: To explore associations and meanings relating to all archetypal aspects of a dream, in order to draw out valuable associations which deepen the meaning of the dream.
Circumambulation: To ‘walk around’ something in order to see it from all angles. With dreams, this involves revisiting elements and exploring fresh angles, to deepen insights.
Compensation: In dream work, where deficient or mistaken conscious attitudes are pointed out, in order for the dreamer to address them for their own protection or individuation.
Four stages of a dream: Four archetypal stages of a dream (according to Jung): 1. Exposition, 2. Development, 3. Culmination, 4. Lysis.
Prospective: Where dreams may s
how us something of where we may be heading: not a ‘prophecy’ as such, more suggestions of what could be to help us make choices.
Symbol: Something representing something else. In dreams, symbols represent what has not yet come to conscious awareness, portrayed in a related, but still obscure, form.
Synthesis: How dreams often combine archetypal and unconscious personal symbolism, to convey meaning(s). Jung advocated a synthetic approach to work with analytic material – focusing on meaning and purpose, rather than a reductive or purely causal approach.
Dig deeper
Casement, A., Carl Gustav Jung, Ch. 3 (London: Sage, 2001)
Freud, S., The Interpretation of Dreams (Ware: Wordsworth Classics, 1997)
Jung, C. G., ‘The Practical Use of Dream Analysis’ in The Practice of Psychotherapy, CW16 (London: Routledge, 1966)
Jung, C. G., The Undiscovered Self: with Symbols and the Interpretation of Dreams (Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2011)
Rosen, M., Sleep and Dreaming (Grey Matter) (Broomall, US: Chelsea House, 2005)
Rycroft, C., A Critical Dictionary of Psychoanalysis (London: Penguin, 1995)
Samuels, A., Shorter, B. and Plaut, F. (eds.), A Critical Dictionary of Jungian Analysis (London: Routledge, 1986)
Whitmont, E. C. and Brinton Perera, S., Dreams, A Portal to the Source (London: Routledge, 1989)
Fact-check (answers at the back)
1 Why was Jung’s approach to dreams different from Freud’s?
a He thought dreams fulfilled sexually based wishes, unlike Freud
b He believed dreams were a product of the ego
c He thought dreams could support individuation and revealed archetypal process
d He believed dreams were sent by God and always revealed the numinous
2 Why are dreams more than just a neurobiological ‘offloading’ to Jung?
a They portray what is happening in our psyche as well as collective influences
b Every element in a dream is worth its weight in gold
c They portray what is happening in the collective psyche not the personal one
d Every element in a dream goes back into the psyche
3 How can dreams be similar to complexes?
a They are hard to understand like complexes
b They grip the psyche and take control of it, while we are asleep
c They portray archetypal influences
d They contain a range of influences, like a complex
4 What is meant by a ‘compensatory dream’?
a A dream which points out how a person can claim compensation
b Where a dream makes up for the person not having dreamed the night before
c A dream which points out something a person is overlooking in their conscious attitude
d Where a dream makes a person feel better
5 What is the role of symbols for Jung and why is this different to Freud’s approach?
a Symbols are purely random, while Freud saw them as representing deeper processes
b Symbols reflect the conscious attitude; Freud saw them as representing the unconscious
c Symbols represent what is not yet known; Freud saw them as ‘signs’ of latent material
d Symbols come direct from the collective unconscious; Freud disagreed
6 How are archetypal images in dreams ‘amplified’ in analysis?
a By helping the analysand associate to archetypal images and generating relevant links
b By the analysand drawing the images as large as possible to clarify archetypal themes
c By encouraging the analysand to closely explore every detail of the dream
d By the analyst repeating back to the analysand the archetypal themes for them to reflect on
7 What mistaken assumptions can impede successful work with dreams?
a That dreams can be treated like complexes
b Deferring uncritically to the unconscious, and trying to interpret others’ dreams for them
c Treating the unconscious as if it is our friend
d Working with symbols too much, and failing to interpret others’ dreams for them
8 What are the four stages of a dream, in the right order?
a Development, Exposition, Culmination, Lysis
b Exposition, Culmination, Development, Lysis
c Development, Exposition, Lysis, Culmination
d Exposition, Development, Culmination, Lysis
9 What does it mean to ‘circumambulate’ a dream?
a Walk around it, in the sense of looking at it more than once and from different angles
b Draw images of the dream within a circle so that all the parts can be seen together
c Imagine within a dream in decreasing circles until the centre of the ‘mandala’ is reached
d Explore dream meanings while riding in circles on a bike, to free up the conscious mind
10 In what sense are some dreams ‘prospective’?
a They accurately predict the future
b They give us a sense of what may be possible
c They help us to assess our career prospects
d They show us in the exposition what will happen in the lysis
12
Active imagination
This chapter will look at ways of working therapeutically with the unconscious with an emphasis on archetypal imagery. Jung’s important notion of the transcendent function as the driver of meaning making, arising from work with the unconscious, will be described. Second, we will explore the powerful ways in which active imagination can enable us to benefit from encounters with the unconscious, including how it can better help us understand dreams. We will also consider the place of active imagination in analysis, plus potential pitfalls and ethical implications. The case study will apply these ideas.
Working with image, archetype and the transcendent function
Archetypal images do not just arise in our dreams, but also from spontaneous fantasy in our waking life. A key concept in unlocking the Jungian approach to working with image and archetype is the transcendent function. Jung used this term to describe the capacity of the psyche to hold both conscious and unconscious activity at the same time, and enable a blend of the two to emerge, though this was not a straightforward process and it involved a good deal of wrestling and confrontation, as well as negotiation, between ego and the unconscious. However, the way in which symbols can activate this function means new insights, and transitions into new psychological states, are made possible. This principle links to the one of homeostasis mentioned previously – Jung’s emphasis on the self-regulating priority of the psyche, which works to try to keep us ‘in balance’.
Jung describes the key role of the transcendent function thus:
‘the harmonizing of conscious and unconscious data is… an irrational life-process which expresses itself in definite symbols… In this case, knowledge of the symbols is indispensable, for it is in them that the union of conscious and unconscious contents is consummated. Out of this union emerge new situations and new conscious attitudes. I have therefore called the union of opposites the “transcendent function”.’
Jung, 1968, para. 524
Note his emphasis on the value of ‘knowledge of the symbols’. He is suggesting the value of an analyst having an understanding of archetypal imagery so they might help an analysand see possible links from images in night or day dreams to their own situation (or to their individuation process in general). Inherent in this approach is also a valuing of experiencing and engaging with images arising from the unconscious.
The transcendent function operates to enable us to do this so we can ‘transcend’ our current psychological position (e.g. feeling stuck). We take the conscious decision to engage with what is coming at us from the unconscious; and out of this engagement, this struggle, something new emerges which ‘transcends’ the previous impasse and enables change and growth to happen. The influence of the dialectical philosophy of Hegel (1770–1831), descr
ibed in Chapter 3, can be seen here. This is not a function of the psyche that ‘transcends’ in a spiritual or religious sense of encounter with something ‘transcendent’ (which is a confusion that sometimes creeps in when transcendent function crops up as a term, considering Jung’s association with the spiritual or numinous).
Spotlight: Jung and mathematics
Jung borrowed the term transcendent function from mathematics. It refers to the notion of a ‘transcendental’ number – in other words, one that cannot be derived from an algebraic equation (as ‘pi’ can be) but rather one that implies an ‘irrational’ number emerging unpredictably within its own logic, not unlike the workings of the unconscious.
Working with active imagination
Jung developed an approach to accessing the contents of the unconscious via the use of fantasy, because, as Casement (2001, p. 2) points out:
‘Unconscious material is needed for the transcendent function to be activated but Jung thought that dream material does not have sufficient energy for this purpose. Nor do unconscious slips because these are too fragmentary. Instead, fantasy is necessary and this must be allowed free play while the individual remains as conscious as possible.’
Jung had come to the conclusion that the predominating influence in modern, Western, humanity – rationalism and the use of directed thinking to preserve and expand the knowledge and well-being of civilization – had significantly suppressed the capacity to be open to unconscious influences. Therefore a conscious effort is required to open oneself up to them. This is in contrast to work with dreams. Here, the imagery is initially experienced passively, when asleep, while waking fantasy enables active engagement in the present. The active conscious effort involved has a moral aspect. We have a responsibility to ourselves (literally to our self and how it prompts us towards individuation), as well as to our place in the collective development of human consciousness, to engage with our unconscious and from it derive insights we can apply to our lives.