I just listened to Nightly News on NBC, which gave a report about the movie Inception, in theaters now, saying it has sparked much general discussion about the topic of dreams. I’m so excited about the developing interest, even if there is a lot of misinformation that gets dispersed by Hollywood or anyone lacking expertise on the subject. As they say, any publicity, bad or good, is good. It’s attention to the subject.
Most who read my blog know that I have been keenly interested in and a student of dreams since the age of 24. I’m 59, so those are a lot of years of writing down every dream I have and working with it. I got my Ph.D. in Depth Psychology so that I could study more on the subject, and I work with other people’s dreams regularly in private sessions and in dream groups.
I have been observing most of these years with amazement, given personal experience that continues to emphasize the priceless value of dreams, the general population’s ignore – ance of dreams. Dreams are ignored, as if they were the mind’s shit to be flushed away in a sewer rather than the voice of the eternal speaking in a symbolic language, tailored specifically for our most timely needs and purposes, with the most potent and powerful healing potential possible.
A couple of years ago when I was in London there was an exhibit at a museum on Sleep and Dreams. I went with anticipation to see what the producers of this exhibit had to share. It was all science, what neurons are fired when we are in a dream state, what kind of psychosis can be produced if we deprive the mind of sleep and dreaming, whatever data they were able to collect on their machines and with their equipment. One section of the exhibit posed the question, “Do dreams have meaning?” The unequivocal answer was, “No.” A PBS show recently presented on the subject struck me the same way. I wished I could say to those who present these things, give me one of your scientists for 6 months, let me work with their dreams consistently for that amount of time so that they can have the chance to see how, when the language is deciphered, they might experience the pertinence, insight and astonishing revelations in their dreams. Then let them review what they have postulated in these showings. I dare to say it would change everything. Have any of these guys ever worked with a gifted dream analyst before they make these statements? I sincerely doubt it. And part of me says, how dare they then even talk about it – as if there were only a body and no soul. But any publicity is good publicity, I suppose.
There was an article in the New York Times just about a month ago on dreams that I found very encouraging. Here is the link if you are interested: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/fashion/11dreams.html?_r=2&ref=fashion It’s exciting to me that the public is starting to shift toward interest in dreams. The movie Inception posits what it would be to purposely enter another person’s dream. I don’t think that is possible, but at least it’s publicity about dreams. And this NY Times article talks about people just getting together to discuss their dreams. I would add a caveat that someone in the dream group needs to at least know the general ethics and rules about the sacredness of the dream material, and how not to pollute its value in the mind of the dreamer. But otherwise, yes! Go for it. It’s bringing the dreamtime into real time which ultimately can only be a blessing. A relationship with the unconscious is what we lack in the Western World. This could be a beginning of reversing that loss.
Tags: dreams, Inception the movie, the unconscious
Doctortayria's Blog 
July 29, 2010 at 9:11 pm |
I’m astounded that, after all this time and about a hundred years of the writings of Freud and Jung–not to mention all the other psychological lions and lionesses out there–that our culture still undervalues dreams.
The dreamwork you and I did last Tuesday was mindblowing! For the first time in a couple of months, I really believe I’m going to survive to old age and not get cancer again. Why? Because of the amazing synchronicities that accompanied our conversation and the stories that emerged from my dreams as you and I discussed them.
Most important, talking about my dreams with you made me feel a huge confirmation of the value of my experiences, and a greater confidence that sharing my experiences could make a difference in the world.
I am willing to bet if you got one of those scientists to live with you and work on their dreams, it would take a lot shorter time than six months for them to start to “get” what dreams can accomplish. Maybe two months tops? All they’d need to do is to get into the morphogenic “field” of your experience, and they’d start to see the connections between life and dreams.
I loved Inception, by the way. I left the theater with my mouth hanging open and it stayed that way for days. I know it’s a Hollywood movie, but it’s #1 right now. That says something about the spiritual hunger in our culture. And I especially loved the idea that the mind “speeds up” in dreams. I’ve read how long REM sleep lasts, and I’ve been trying to figure out for years why some of my dreams seem to go on for hours.
July 29, 2010 at 9:25 pm |
Thanks so much Joy. Ok, I’ve got to see that movie! Soon. I appreciate all of your comments AND your new blog.