Carl Jung on Dreams

Carl Jung on Dreams
(Based on Dream Interpretation Class in Divination)

Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist and one of the founders of modern psychology, delved into the collective unconscious of the dream state. He once wrote, “My situation is mirrored in my dreams”, symbolising his early beliefs that the subconscious and the psyche worked through the daily occurrences within a persons every day life.

What is the psyche?

The psyche within the psychology of dreams is the whole of the physical aspects of a person.

Carl Jung focused upon the psyche within the collective subconscious. In contrast to the material world of the awake state, Jung studied the underlying subconscious which came more alive when in a dream state. The symbolic communications of dreams can only, according to Jung, be examined fully within dreams, art, myth and the themes of human relationships and behaviour.

Though not the first person to analyse dreams, Jung has perhaps become the biggest known pioneer in the field of dream analysis.

Some of Jungs symbols of the unconscious, which fall under his archetypal theory, are as seen below:

The child, which can take the form of an adult with child-like qualities or a young child who might give wise advice to their friends. An example of this could be as simple as Tommy from the childs television programme, ‘Rugrats’.
The Hero, for example, Harry Potter, a character who stands out from the crowd, often with superhuman strengths.
Others include, the trickster, the great mother and the wise old man.

Anima and Animus

Jung identified the anima as being the unconscious feminine side of males and the animus as the unconscious masculine side of females. Jung stated that the anima and animus act as guides of the subconscious within elements such as dreams, forming a deep awareness that may lie hidden and aiding psychological growth and providing an inner voice. Jung states that often people ignore the anima and animus, therefore struggle with their waking hours due to not allowing their subconscious to come alive and deal with the deep emotions a person holds.

There is so much more of Jungs work with the subconscious and dream interpretations, and I have mealy glanced over the surface. I am split between whether I believe his theories or not, but one thing is for certain. Carl Jung paved the way for future psychologists to analyse dream interpretation and provide the world with many in depth theories.


Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyche

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung#The_collective_unconscious

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_%28archetype%29

Really makes one think, doesn't it? - 50 points.