From the category archives:

AziMuth

Dreams are a bit like fish

by Richard Reeve on February 20, 2010

in AziMuth

“Fish frequently occur as symbols of the unconscious contents.” Carl Jung, CW VIII, par. 827

“The ambivalent attitude towards the fish is an indication of its double nature.  It is unclean on the one hand, but on the other it is an object of veneration.  It seems to have been regarded as a symbol for the soul…” Carl Jung, CW IXii, Par. 187.

Fish find themselves swimming through the Gospels and if you pay attention, you might notice them in your dreams as well.  Or perhaps you’ll find yourself with fish like qualities, speeding through the depths while mysteriously siphoning oxygen out of the water.  And then there’s the whole posture and process that goes with hooking and netting what dwells beneath the surface.

When I’m asked “how do you remember your dreams?” I often respond with the analogy of fishing.  Remembering dreams is a bit like catching a fish.  You certainly do not catch a fish on every cast, nor on every fishing excursion for that matter.  And you’ll never catch a fish if you do not cast a line into the water.

So find a good fishing hole, bring a boat load of patience with some unwavering intent.  Then see what happens…the dreams will come, I promise.

What about lures or bait for dreams?

With our attention turned (tropos) toward the dreams there opens a beautiful space of reverie, we again have time to ponder, just as one does while fishing.  Question the waters. What’s going on down there? What do the waters have for me tonight?  What will my nets drag up?

Indeed, each dream that manages come over the rail of my small boat (crossing the threshold of consciousness) is piece of the soul mystery unfolding through my life.  And as the dreams pile up like sardines in my dream journals, it dawns on me that I’m actually the bait.

{ 0 comments }


If I had time to go in search of it, I’m sure there must be an interesting quote from Shakespeare on the dangers of certitude. Once I’ve locked reality to meet my assumptions, I’m no longer able to admit any wider possible aspect within reality that challenge those assumptions, and in effect, the power of my bias begins to work unconsciously. The bias becomes a lens whereby each and every piece of incoming data must meet the demands of given prejudice.

I’m saddened by the overt racism that is leaking from so many quarters in these days of suffering in Haiti. Do you see what I see?

A great post on this over at Cultural Mythology

{ 0 comments }

Out of Line?

by Richard Reeve on January 18, 2010

in AziMuth

{{w|Purdue University}} students line up to ru...
Image via Wikipedia

Getting notice that another has thrown the foul flag at you, claiming that you are “out of line” provides a great opportunity to do a little inventory work.

Is the issue at hand being brought up because responses were inappropriate or because the information delivered does not fit in the others expectations?  And then, if we can be honest with ourselves, can we admit that perhaps the answer is most likely in the gray area that includes a little bit of both possibilities.

Often times emotional responses can be viewed as out of line simply because the anger, disgust, passion or whatever that they contain is more than the other party is willing to allow for.  Does that mean we should not be emotional?

Often times simply responding in a manner that is not the other persons expectations is to step out of line, but in these cases it’s the line that the other is using is simply to try and control the interaction. Do you remember the amount of energy that was spent by the adults in Elementary School teaching the students to stay in line?

Yet, I’m struck by the fact that all innovators must step out of line.  I guess I’d go so far as to say that everyone called by the deep pull of what Jung calls individuation must, by it’s very definition, step out of line.

Hmm…where are you in relationship to the ordered lines that want to herd you these days?

{ 0 comments }

Denial

by Richard Reeve on January 16, 2010

in AziMuth

Grace & Denial
Image by pixn8tr via Flickr

In many ways the concept of denial is a catch 22, for as I often hear explained when working at a therapeutic boarding school, it’s kind of like this:

When you’re in denial you don’t even know your lying to yourself

In many ways that’s a really good descriptor for the way all unconscious processes work, including projection (when we see the fault or blame for something in someone else…or all the exceptional qualities for that matter as well).

To claim the psyche is elusive is an understatement.  The challenge is to provide consciousness to with some experiences that will open out to the reality of the unconscious process that are always taking place.  Otherwise the danger is that wildly incorrect assumptions as to one’s role, capacity, identity, or relationships can lead to what we might mildly term as a derailment.  Life will in effect come off the tracks.

So…I wonder how I’m lying to myself today?

{ 0 comments }

Progress, Not Perfection

January 13, 2010

Image via Wikipedia

“Perhaps what matters in our life’s development is not that we reach a goal of perfection buth that we expand our field of awareness as much as possible as we follow the path of our problems.  Perhaps what matters is not so much the reaching of a goal but the conscious journey on [...]

Read the full article →

Tales and Soul

January 12, 2010

“Fairy tales present images of soul. For this reason it is recommended that when reading a fairy tale you not give yourself over to immediate critical reflection. Do not allow yourself to be irritated by seemingly “impossible” absurdities – for example, the transformation of a frog into a prince in “The Frog King.”. [...]

Read the full article →

Ripeness Is All

January 9, 2010

Image via Wikipedia

I had my first Shakespearean moment back as a junior in high school when I was struggling my way through King Lear and came upon the words of Edgar:
“Men must endure / Their going hence, even as their coming hither; / Ripeness is all.”
These lines have been interpreted in a stoic way, emphasizing [...]

Read the full article →

The Cards

January 2, 2010

Image by DG Jones via Flickr

We are prone to anxiety.  Perhaps we have a weak immune system.  Or maybe it’s some other weak link in the chain of our being…self esteem, cancer, shame, manipulation, fear.
Regardless of who we are, the weak links exist.  While our lived responses might have contributed to making those links even [...]

Read the full article →

Ends and Beginnings

December 30, 2009

Image by Mr. Usaji via Flickr

“well, my window
looked out on the Squero where Ogni Santi
meets San Trovaso
things have ends and beginnings”
Ezra Pound, Canto 76
As we turn the page on the aughts and plunge headlong into the next decade I find myself taking the measure of the emerging Self.
What were your most pressing concerns at [...]

Read the full article →

Many Moves

December 22, 2009

Image via Wikipedia

Lately I’ve been learning how to play, in a metaphorical sort of manner, speed chess. Let me explain.  As my training progresses one of the main challenges for me has been to open up to the multiple options in any given situation.  My tendency has been to lean heavily on one type of [...]

Read the full article →