Dream Logic: Decoding the Mystery
Dreams: what are they? And where do they come from? Are they just strange little movies our minds play each night so that we can wake up and say, “Whoa, that was weird”? Are they our brain’s attempt at making sense of random neural firing happening in our sleep? Or could they be something else entirely? Something deeper. Some encoded messages from our subconscious, pointing out our blind spots, challenging our biases, pushing us past our current mental blocks.
I’ve been fascinated by dreams for as long as I can remember. Several of my earliest childhood dreams have stayed with me throughout my life. And I’ve always found it confusing that so few people seem to pay attention to the content of their dreams, brushing them off as nothing more than bizarre, meaningless narratives that emerge during lapses of consciousness.
For decades I longed to engage with these images without knowing how. The story lines were arcane and enigmatic, and online “dream dictionaries” were dogmatic and inflexible. But in my mid-twenties, I discovered the work of Carl Jung, and for the first time I learned how to make contact with the dream maker.
The Fragmented Self
According to Jung, a renowned Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of analytical psychology, dreams are messages from the unconscious mind—the reserve of the parts of ourselves which are closed off from our conscious, everyday awareness. These fragments splinter off during adolescence as our personality forms and solidifies. Our environment, both directly and subtly, shapes our sense of which behaviors are acceptable. As a result, we bury the parts of ourselves labeled “unacceptable” in the unconscious, believing this is necessary for our survival. So for example, if someone comes from a family where aggression is frowned upon and being mild-mannered and well-behaved are exalted virtues, that person might relegate their aggression and their anger into the unconscious.
This might work out fine . . . for a while. But on the flip side, a person who loses contact with their aggression also loses touch with their ability to stand up for themselves, so they may find themselves constantly playing the role of human doormat. Additionally, these shadow elements may unconsciously surface in shadowy ways. For example, the aforementioned person may find themselves irrationally irritated by someone they view as selfish or pushy. They might talk behind said person’s back and let them live rent-free in their head, completely unaware that they are projecting their own lack of assertiveness. In Jungian terms, this is called “shadow projection.”
Hey Jude, how does this relate to dreams?
Great question, dear reader. Some, including myself, believe that dreams are messages from these exiled parts of ourselves; they are ways in which these parts bang on the door of consciousness, asking to be let back in. When we’re sleeping, our conscious mind—our thinking, planning, logic-driven side—is shut off (except you lucid dreamers out there, you lucky bastards), but the unconscious mind is teeming with activity. With conscious thought on hold, the unconscious can finally take center stage and speak its mind on the myriad of ways we’re holding ourselves back from becoming the best version of ourselves.
So, in our example of the person who has banished their aggression, they might often dream of being berated by belligerent, aggressive characters. In these dreams, they might feel frozen and unable to respond. These dream characters, conjured up by the unconscious mind, represent the person’s own repressed autonomy. Due to being locked away for so long, these latent aspects can take on a negative, “shadowy” quality, hence the hostility.
The goal of Jungian dream interpretation is to recognize these shadow aspects and reintegrate them into our conscious personality so that we can access their positive traits and stop projecting their negative traits onto others.
But why, I hear you asking, are dreams so weird? Why do they have to be so cryptic? Can’t my unconscious mind just write me a letter, like, “Hey bitch, you’re spending too much time comparing your life to people on Instagram. The insecurity is very unbecoming”?
The Language of Symbols
According to Jung, the unconscious uses an entirely different language. Rather than explicitly verbalizing, the unconscious uses symbols and associations to drive its point home. In dreams, people and objects (usually) don’t represent themselves, they represent facets of you. Your favorite park from childhood might represent a mindset of freedom and limitless possibilities. An owl might represent your inner wisdom and intuition. A UFO might represent spiritual transformation or your connection to the universal big picture.
But why choose a less direct way of communicating? Are our unconscious minds testing us? Making us jump through hoops? Well, no, not intentionally, at least. It turns out that our brain’s right hemisphere—the side associated with creativity and non-verbal tasks—is more active during dreams. Unlike the left hemisphere, which relies on language and logical reasoning, the right hemisphere communicates with symbolic association.
In the 1960s, the split-brain experiments studied the effects on the brain in patients who had their corpus callosum (the part of the brain connecting the two hemispheres) severed. In these experiments it was found that when an object was presented in the right visual field (processed by the left hemisphere), the patient could name the object. But if the object was shown to the left visual field (processed by the right hemisphere), they couldn’t name it, but they could pick it out from a lineup of photos or draw it. These experiments demonstrated the difference in information processing between the two hemispheres, and the conclusions might help us make sense of the visual, emotionally intense, and narratively less logical nature of dreams.
Working with your dreams
Trying to figure out what your dreams mean is hard, especially when you are just getting started. But here are three tips I’ve found extremely helpful on my own journey.
Keep a daily dream journal
Keep a journal at your bedside, and, as soon as you wake up, write down anything you can recall: a person, a feeling, a word. Over time, this will help you remember more of your dreams and help you identify the patterns that arise between different dreams: settings, tones, scenarios.
Tell someone your dreams.
Preferably someone who knows you well. They can offer a different perspective and may have insights into the unconscious blind spots you can’t see.
Be honest with yourself.
Because our dreams often deal with shadow elements, they may tell us uncomfortable truths about ourselves—our insecurities and faults, ways we’re selling ourselves short, ways that we’re mistreating others. This is our mind’s attempt to refine us into the best version of ourselves.