DREAMWORK, Active Imagination, Expressive Arts & Movement

JUNGIAN DREAMWORK

"The dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and most secret recesses of the soul, opening into that cosmic night which was psyche long before there was any ego-consciousness, and which will remain psyche no matter how far our ego-consciousness may extend. All consciousness separates; but in dreams we put on the likeness of that more universal, truer, more eternal man dwelling in the darkness of primordial night. There he is still the whole, and the whole is in him, indistinguishable from nature and bare of all egohood."  ( C. G. Jung, Collected Works, volume 10, para. 304-305)

The Meaning and Significance of Dreams

It is through the understanding of dreams that we are able to explore the nature of the unconscious, that part of experience that runs below our awareness, a subliminal aspect, and reaches consciousness only indirectly.  The task of working with dreams is to bring that which is unconscious into consciousness, and then to explore the meaning and message of the dream as it is expressed through symbolic imagery, instinctive reactions, sensations, and emotions. As we tend to our dreams, we can witness changes over time in the symbolic imagery that arises which reflect changes that we are experiencing in your waking life  in relationship to self/Self and others. 

Dreams can also connect us with the spiritual dimensions of life and bring to light the dreamer’s relations to the Self and to archetypal dimensions of the psyche that are inherited and innate. They can also assist us during times that we find our conscious life is off balance and far removed from healthy instincts, nature and truth. Dreams try to re-establish equilibrium by restoring the images and emotions that are part of the deeper layers of the psyche. These dreams may be experienced as healing balms.  There are  also “big” or “great” dreams that are experienced as an illumination and may also be  “prospective." Such dreams often emerge at transitional periods in one's life when we are especially open to collective, archetypal energies that may be important personally or culturally. 

In dreamwork, we will work together in understanding the meaning of your dreams so that we can process and integrate that which is most essential for your healing, for facilitating change and growth, and for the purpose of living a fulfilling and meaningful life. 

I will end this overview with another quote from Jung. He writes, “The dream itself is a natural and necessary expression of the life force—one that manifests in sleeping consciousness and is sometimes remembered and recounted across the threshold of waking. Like a flower or a hurricane or a human gesture, its basic purpose is the manifestation and expression of this life force. It gives us images of energy, synthesizing past and present, personal and collective experiences.” (Memories, Dreams and Reflections, p. 161-162) It is through the understanding of dreams that we are able to connect with the life force that is the source of all psychic energy, creativity and Self realization. The task is to release the natural energy of the dream, the life force that is the motive power of the process Jung calls individuation. 

DEEPENING INTO THE WISDOM OF THE IMAGINATION AND BODY

"We know that every good idea and all creative work are the offspring of the imagination, and have their source in what one is pleased to call infantile fantasy. Not the artist alone, but every creative individual whatsoever owes all that is greatest in life to fantasy. The dynamic principle of fantasy is play...[and] without this playing with fantasy no creative work has every yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable." (C. G. Jung, Collected Works, volume 6, para 93)

Active Imagination

Active imagination is the process of allowing contents of the personal and collective unconscious to emerge freely while maintaining some working relationship to images, feelings, sensations and thoughts springing forth from the unconscious into consciousness. It is the process of turning attention within, toward one's inner world and then expressing it creatively, while maintaining a reflective and psychological point of view. About the use of this method Jung writes, "The essential thing is to differentiate oneself from these unconscious contents by personifying them, and at the same time to bring them into relationship with consciousness." (C. G. Jung, Memories, Dreams and Reflections, 1961, p. 187) 

My approach to working with the expressive arts and authentic movement is based on the principles of active imagination and somatic psychology. 

Authentic Movement

Authentic movement is a practice in which attention is paid to the somatic unconscious, the unconscious as it is experienced and expressed on a bodily level. In this practice of authentic movement, the mover is guided to allow oneself to be directed from within and to give form, through movement, to the images, sensations, feelings which arise from attending to one’s somatic experience, as well as any somatic memory that may arise. This material can be explored as communication from the unconscious or a deeper aspect of the Self. 

What does it look like to utilize this method in psychotherapy and Jungian analysis? 

During a session, you may want to amplify some aspect of your experience that is arising in the moment while we sit together in dialogue, such as a dream image, a feeling, a memory, a sensation, or an intuition. I may suggest that you notice your breath so that you can begin to focus on your inner world. The aim will be to assist you in actively engaging with the material in your imagination and notice what arises from your unconscious into consciousness. We may also notice what is arising in your body-felt experience in order to access that which lies in the somatic aspect of psyche. There is a kind of "impregnating" of the psychic material in order to deepen in your experience. As we explore this material, you may want to utilize an expressive arts modality, such as drawing, writing, movement, or you may chose to employ the method of sandplay. 

When we engage with your dreams and embodied imagination, we can also  "dream the dream onwards." Jung writes, "I therefore took up a dream-image or an association of the patient's and with this as a point of departure, set him the task of elaborating or developing his theme by giving free rein to his fantasy. This according to individual taste and talent, could be done in any number of ways, dramatic, dialectic, visual, acoustic, or in the form of dancing, painting, drawing, or modeling." (C. G. Jung, Collected Works, volume 8, para. 400)

Whether we sit together in conversation and/or engage with your dreams , imagination, authentic movement and body-felt experience, we aim to help you make changes so you can live a more satisfying and meaningful life.

Picture: "Doors," Chaco Canyon, New Mexico