“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.
Analysis is a descent into the well of one’s being, exploring the many landmark’s that anchor the personal story and welcoming the archetypal motifs that rise to meet and color one’s perspective. It’s a process where the depths take precedence. As the mystery unfolds session after session, different arcs begin to relate in the most uncanny way, so that a power best defined as destiny begins to emerge.
“If this concept of destiny is used as a working hypothesis, a reevaluation of some of our present clinical assumptions is suggested. Relevant events in a patient’s history which we have habitually considered to be causes of his present psychopathology may now perhaps be viewed as manifestations of an emergent life-pattern. Traumatic events of childhood which we associate with the genesis of neurosis or psychosis, and therefore regard as quasi-accidental or avoidable under “ideal” circumstances, may perhaps be seen as essential landmarks in the actualization of the pattern of wholeness.” Edward Whitmont, The Destiny Concept in Psychotherapy, Spring 1969, pg. 74.
The constellation of the victim archetype seems to me much more powerful than any reaction to specific incidents of one’s past. The prevailing power which can color one’s perception is instead to be found in how one incorporates or rejects the reality of destiny as it manifests in one’s life.
Jung teaches that dreams have both a compensatory and a prospective aspect.
“But when the individual deviates from the norm in the sense that his conscious attitude is unadapted both objectively and subjectively, the – under normal conditions – merely compensatory function of the unconscious becomes a guiding, prospective function capable of leading the conscious attitude in quite a different direction…” Carl Jung, General Aspects of Dream Psychology, CW VIII, par. 495.
When working with a dream it’s useful to consider how the same images might be expressing either of these perspectives. Often the very thing that people will term crazy or odd about a dream is that it points to something that consciousness is missing, and in the effort to render an image of what is not understood, the results seem preposterous. But only at first.
The compensatory aspect of a dream can be thought of as the unconscious attempting to provide a counter-balance to the conscious standpoint. For instance, if one is getting too self absorbed, a dream might demonstrate this by an overly extroverted scenario.
The prospective aspect attempts to provide a plausible outcome to a situation that the conscious standpoint seems to be essentially blind toward. When people respond to the prophetic nature of dreams, it’s this uncanny ability of the unconscious to sense the full dynamics at play in a given scenario that allude consciousness.
In a superficial, superstitious way, this is what folks refer to when they judge a dream as good or bad and let it shape their attitude towards the following day. This common reaction to dreams misses that the dream is actually referring to specifics in the dreamers life. Without taking the time to ask questions of the images, this approach only measures the emotional reaction to the dream as it either promotes or detracts from conscious desires. When such a reactionary practice is in play, it’s important to ask “but what is the dream saying?”
Rigidity takes many forms: locks, barriers, iron gates, button-down shirts and ties, dogmas…repetitive responses to similar situations. It’s sticking to the plan at any cost. It lacks a human smile. You know, the kind of smile that conveys you are actually beening seen.
Another challenge occurs when faced with the obstacle of rigidity. We instinctively reach for the hammer, dynamite…war. Anything to smash the oppression of the fixed. Yet this reaction is a rigid as that which it opposes.
What to do when caught in the midst of such entrenched attitudes? The need is to loosen up, to find the spontaneity of laughter, to generate a relaxed atmosphere. But loosening up does not mean going to pieces…so we must be mindful of not pushing to far in this direction. The “chilling out” itself becomes rigid in the opium den.
Like a Spring cleaning, it takes something as outlandish as the unexpected tickle to allow a breath of fresh air to flow though the fortress known as rigidity
How might you tickle these ticklish situations?
“Fish frequently occur as symbols of the unconscious contents.” Carl Jung, CW VIII, par. 827
Lifestream Digest for October 4th
The Colored Eggs
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