Jung, In Your Dreams

Updates: 1/01/2001 6/30/2001

    Have you ever had a Dream in which Carl Jung, the Old Master of Dreams himself appeared?
    I believe many of us have. I have. As I thought about how I would tell my dream I tried out different phrases.
    I had a dream about Jung.
    I had a dream with Jung in it.
    Jung appeared in a dream.
    I saw Carl Jung in a dream.
    Or perhaps, I had a visit from Jung.
    Now, I've always considered my dream to be a dream. But if someone were to suggest that it was, in fact, a visit from Jung, I couldn't deny that possibility. "After all, it's not something I could prove", I thought. And then I thought, "How would I go about proving, or disproving it."
    Well, of course I would start by gathering together many of these dreams and looking at them. What is their nature? "Wouldn't that be a great project", thought I. To gather together these dreams in which Jung appears and see what they're all about. We'll certainly find out something about ourselves, and what Jung represents to us, or we may even find out what the Old Man has been up to recently. In any case it would be great fun. And so this is what this website is about.
    I'm requesting that you send me your dream, if you've had one in which Jung appeared. As these dreams come in I will read and compare them and update this site so that I can share the information with you.
    I realize that asking you to share a perhaps treasured dream is quite a request. I'd therefore like to let you know a little about me so you know who you're sharing with. And I'll tell you my dream.
    I began reading Jungian psychology about 28 years ago. And I began painting around the same time. The artwork and my dreams were part of the inner work that I did for myself and by myself over the years. Then about eight years ago I began seeing a Jungian analyst and I shared some of my work with her. She asked me to do a presentation for the Jung center in Cleveland. Now I had to take out all this work that I had done off and on over twenty years and organize it and figure out how to explain it to other people.
    I did the presentation, but was left with a very strong feeling that I had only just begun the work and that I needed to continue to organize and analyse and write about my work. It seemed like an overwhelming task and I had a lot of fears and reservations. As I was reading a book by D. S. Bond entitled Living Myth, Personal Meaning as a Way of Life, I began taking a new perspective of my work. I was especially taken by his explanation of the religious nature of this work. As I was reading I came to a passage, which referred to, "Jung's map through the geography of mythmaking". This phrase reminded me of a dream that I had had perhaps 16 years earlier, but had not understood at the time.
    Here is the dream:
    I dreamed that I was in school, standing in the hallway and Carl Jung walked up to me and handed me an assignment. There were three things written on a piece of paper. 1. Do one facial., 2. Write one paper., and 3. Draw a map of the Holy Land.
    Now the meaning seemed clear. This was the work that I was doing over the years and what I needed to complete. Still feeling a little dazed by this revelation I went to my art therapy class where a young woman was giving a book report on Women Who Run With the Wolves. She read this quote from Clarissa Estes, "Art is not just for oneself, not just a marker of one's own understanding. It is also a map for those who follow after us."

If you choose to share your dream with me, please tell me a little about yourself and your associations to or understanding of your dream. Perhaps what it has meant to you. And of course any synchronistic events that occurred in relation to it.
You can write to my email address at suewheeler@lycos.com.

Thanks, and may all your dreams be Big Ones.

1/1/2001:    The Jung, In Your Dreams site has been in existence now for about four months.
    First, I want to thank everyone who has written me offering encouragement and feedback. I especially want to thank those of you who have sent Dreams.
    So far, I have received 9 Dreams of Jung. Some have written to say they have Dreams and will look them up in their journals. Please keep looking!
    The Dreams are wonderful. As I read each one I initially felt a pang of jealousy that I didn't have that Dream. Then I realized that, in a way, I get to have them all. It's really a great privilege.
    One day I will share my Dream Collection with everyone (of course, only after getting permission from each Dreamer). I'm not sure how I'll do it yet. It may be a book or an article on the internet. I want to allow more time and to gather more Dreams.
    I can share some general information now:
    I have received Jung Dreams from 5 women and 5 men (I'm counting myself and my own Dream). Some of the Dreams occurred long ago (as long as 27 years), and others more recently. The most recent occurred in November of 2000.
    The most striking pattern I've seen so far is that six Dreams of the ten take place in educational settings. Two, my own and another were reported as being in a school. One occurred "in a large auditorium", another at a "congress of psychologists and psychiatrists", another in "a meeting hall", and another dreamer reported he was "taking a course."
    Often, the Jung Dreams have been very important to the Dreamer, influencing her/his future, sometimes in choice of career.
    Of course, this breakdown doesn't do justice to the power and beauty of the Dreams. I will eventually present them in a way that will. I am always open to any suggestions or comments regarding this project. I love getting your emails.
    Thanks again to the Jung Dreamers, and to all Dreamers.

Sue

6/30/2001:    Hi, it's time to give you an update of the Jung In Your Dreams Project. Again, the Jung Dreamers have come through, adding 2 more males and 8 more females who have sent their dreams. One person reports dreaming regularly about Jung over many years, and gave a general description rather than recounting specific dreams. I counted hers as one dream.
    Water is a common image found in the 2nd batch of Jung dreams; "a river", "the Mediterranean Sea". "suddenly the flood came," and "a geyser of water," were described.
    I've noticed that in many of the dreams from the entire collection a house or building of some sort is described; an "old well-used building with hardwood floors, high ceilings and leaded glass windows", a "cathedral...the door...made out of finely carved silver", "a house...similar to the ones one can see in Switzerland", "the ceiling was very high and the windows gothic in design," "high ceilings and sunlight streaming out the doorways," are some of the descriptions.
    I have gotten several dreams which describe the dreamer having or getting an "assignment" as in my own dream. Similarly, others talk about, "what I should be doing," their "project," "my destiny," "the work I am to do," "work on completing it," and those who "serve this high task..."
    In the last update I mentioned the prevalence of Jung dreams taking place in an educational setting. I have received two more of those. Also there have been dreams that took place at a meeting or a club. In the majority of the dreams even when they do not take place in an educational setting, Jung very clearly plays the role of a teacher, a "guru," or a "guide." In a couple of the dreams the dreamers are on a journey and Jung is the guide (even a tour guide driving a bus). One of the dreamers pointed out that Jung is the "psychopomp." This archetype of the spiritual guide, or the wise old man does appear to be what ties together the images of Jung in nearly all of the dreams.
    This is just a quick generalization of the wonderful dreams I have received. Reading them has been a joy. Thank you so much for your generosity.
    The Work continues. Dream On.

Sue

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