dream interpretation

Who was Joseph Campbell? What is a myth? What does "Follow Your Bliss" mean? If you are new to the work of Joseph Campbell, this forum is a good place to start.

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kahloosa
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dream interpretation

Post by kahloosa »

I am reading Joseph Campbell's book, The Portable Jung. I am interested in dream interpretation.

How can I, using Jung and anyone else, interpret my own dreams? After searching the subject "dream interpretation" in my local library catalog, found 43 books on it! How am I to choose a given book? Can you recommend any books on this subject?

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Post by Clemsy »

Hi kahloosa! You may find the resources HERE of interest.

My recommendation is to treat your dreams as you would a poem. The imagery is figurative, but, from the Jungian perspective, all aspects of a dream are aspects of you. How do you feel about the dream? What stands out? Free write about it, let your imagination run with the ball. Journal your dreams and look for patterns. The more you think about them and write about them, the more accessible they will become.

It's a great adventure!

Cheers,
Clemsy
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

kahloosa
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journey

Post by kahloosa »

Clemsy,

Thanks for your suggestions on helping me to interpret my dreams. Since dreams are such an important part of both Jung and Campbell, I need to learn what they say about dreams. However, I have had a great difficulty in understanding Jung in general. My first task is to try to understand Jung and then work with dream psychology.

I am starting a journey of understanging Joseph Campbell by first trying to understand Jung. Dreams are one part of this journey. Also, I am very interested in interpreting my own dreams and will explore Jung and others, e.g. Freud.

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Post by creekmary »

People were interpreting dreams before there even was a Jung. And it's so personal. A dream about a cat sitting on a house would mean different things for you than it would for me. There is no one right thing. It's a way of examining yourself. What does it mean to you? Where do you think it came from? Why did it come today? Dreams came before Jung. I think he just used them as a tool to look inside. A peep hole into the mind. What does it mean to you? What are you trying to tell yourself?

Susan

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Re: dream interpretation

Post by Evinnra »

Hi kahloosa,

Since I am in the process of writing one of these dream interpretation books, and I have been analyzing my dreams since I was a child, my recommendation to you would be that you go for the dream interpretation book that provides universal meaning of the dream content. Objects, colors, weather events, animals, landscapes and persons in our dreams are actively referring to things going on in our conscious life. Some dreams have predictive value about the future but the vast majority of dreams just deal with the events that occupy the dreamer’s mind during day. If the symbol immediately 'rings a bell' when you look up the meaning of it in the dream interpreting book - for instance that palm tree you mention - then the book is probably a good guide. In my book the palm tree signify a social gathering and some luck. However, when you find the right book to interpret your dreams and you start making your dream journal, remember that a signifier is just a signifier, nothing more, nothing less. To interpret the palm tree in your dream that you will ‘get lucky’ at the next social gathering you attend would be quite unwise. For although it might be the correct interpretation of your dream, it is just one interpretations of one signifier. For instance, if you dreamed about this palm tree standing on a sunny beach, it could mean that you consider yourself lucky to have met a certain person at a social gathering. If you dream that the palm tree is being transported on a truck, that could mean that you fear loss in your life, especially loss of your health. Similarly, if a part of your dream signify death or illness – for instance when a black dog or creaking furniture is present in the context of the dream - it does not mean that you or anybody near you is just about to die. It means that the idea of death in connection with the other signifiers is present in your thinking. After writing your dream journal for a while, you will get the hang of it, you will notice that the contents of dreams are but an extension of your daily mind activities. Occasionally dreams have predictive value, in fact it is possible to get timely warnings from our dreams, but to be honest, it is the very act of interpreting your dream that helps you the most. By analyzing your dreams you learn a lot about your self – a bit like ‘ DIY therapy’ . Besides, if you lucky, you may even learn something about the future. Next weeks lotto numbers would be rather handy, no?
:lol:
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Post by N8N »

I think if I had a dream about a creaky chair and a black dog. It would be that the chair needs more glue and my dog was sitting beside me. I don't see any death in there. Dreaming of the future I'm not sure how thats done. Kinda like drinking a glass of water before you fill it up. Makes no sence to me how sombody else can know what I think if I don't know myself. But maybe I'm missing something.

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Post by Clemsy »

Dreams come from your 'deeper wisdom.' The problem is, your deeper wisdom is a damn good poet.
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

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Post by N8N »

Clemsy wrote:Dreams come from your 'deeper wisdom.' The problem is, your deeper wisdom is a damn good poet.
I wonder if its just too much being read into a mind just reorganizing its thoughts at nite time?

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Post by nandu »

N8N,

It's just how you look at it. You can kill your inner life by simply ignoring it, the same way you can build it into a beautiful edifice by nurturing it. If you are unwilling to listen to the voice of the collective unconscious, it ceases to exist for you. But you cannot generalise that it does not exist at all.

Like I said in another thread a long time ago, a tone deaf person does not hear the music... but it does not mean that the music is not there.

Nandu.
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu

N8N
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Post by N8N »

nandu wrote:N8N,

It's just how you look at it. You can kill your inner life by simply ignoring it, the same way you can build it into a beautiful edifice by nurturing it. If you are unwilling to listen to the voice of the collective unconscious, it ceases to exist for you. But you cannot generalise that it does not exist at all.

Like I said in another thread a long time ago, a tone deaf person does not hear the music... but it does not mean that the music is not there.

Nandu.
Very wise words I agree. I just don't try to read dreams like a story I accept the dream for what it is and not what a book says it should be. If I write the music should I not sing the song?

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Post by Clemsy »

I wonder if its just too much being read into a mind just reorganizing its thoughts at nite time?
N8N, the ancient Greeks had a thing about this. They said that there were two gates in Hades through which dreams came to people. The dreams that came through the Ivory Gate were false dreams,and those coming through the Gate of Horn were true dreams. I think it likely that some dreams may be, as Scrooge put it, 'just a bit of bad beef.' Others, however, have something to tell you. I'm very confident, myself , about this.
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

N8N
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Post by N8N »

Clemsy wrote:
I wonder if its just too much being read into a mind just reorganizing its thoughts at nite time?
N8N, the ancient Greeks had a thing about this. They said that there were two gates in Hades through which dreams came to people. The dreams that came through the Ivory Gate were false dreams,and those coming through the Gate of Horn were true dreams. I think it likely that some dreams may be, as Scrooge put it, 'just a bit of bad beef.' Others, however, have something to tell you. I'm very confident, myself , about this.
Hmm very interesting. I never heard this story before SO what I would do to figure this out is to look what it says drop the curves and get it straight.

Greeks, Hades, Horn, Ivory, Scrooge. Thats the story
roo k, A, ivor, or, roo
here is what is said, The Male Pupil Kings (Greeks), Say there are two gates to the mind (A Hades) The left pupil (Ivory) and the right pupil (horn) one feeds creativity the other feeds logic the creativity is false while the logic is true. and The Man Pupil, (Scrooge) learned a good lesson. Dispite the beef. As you can clearly see I am not in my right mind. But so is our tribe were are all what you would call dyslexic. But we say the same of your peoples :lol: A good example of this is the song Yankee Doodle read this song in a dyslexic manner called macaronic latin, a soft wet curved noodle fed to meatheads. And the largest signature on the American declaration of independance, John Handcock....

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Post by Evinnra »

N8N wrote:I think if I had a dream about a creaky chair and a black dog. It would be that the chair needs more glue and my dog was sitting beside me. I don't see any death in there. Dreaming of the future I'm not sure how thats done. Kinda like drinking a glass of water before you fill it up. Makes no sence to me how sombody else can know what I think if I don't know myself. But maybe I'm missing something.
You most certainly do, to say the very least.
'A fish popped out of the water only to be recaptured again. It is as I, a slave to all yet free of everything.'
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Post by Clemsy »

N8N, to be honest I'm skeptical about that whole dreams foretelling the future thing, myself. But, as Hamlet said, "There is more in heaven and earth, Horatio than is dreamt of in your philosophy."

So who knows?

Now about this:
Makes no sence to me how sombody else can know what I think if I don't know myself.
Here I agree with you 100%. There may be some general accuracy here and there in published dream symbology, but the only person who can interpret a dream is the dreamer. A trained psychologist may be able to guide along general lines, but it's up to the dreamer to figure it out. The elements of dream are elements of you.

When others attempt to interpret another's dream, the result is what's meaningful for the interpreter, not necessarily the dreamer. This can cause complications. One associate shared a dream here some time ago. Another associate's interpretation was so off base that associate never posted here again.

Certainly one can point out important imagery, or whether a particular dream has a positive or negative tone, but the specifics are up to the dreamer.

Always.
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

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Post by N8N »

Yes indeed Clemsy I see a question as asking for someone elses thoughts and ideas. I might as well be listening to their interpitation of their dream. They could be so far off its not even funny and their interpetation of my dream becomes part of my mythology.

I don't think if Mr. Campbell believed the definitions of myths imposed by others would he have written what he did?

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