Sunday, May 31 2009
May 30 2009 "As soon as one conceives the sexual forms of dream language as symbols for more complicated things, the whole attitude towards the nature of the dream becomes at once more profound." The sexual connotations of dreams were strongly emphasized by Sigmund Freud who took the lid off Pandora's Box by bringing our subliminal desires and motives out in the open. But what if there is more to such dreams than just suppressed desire? Carl Jung, the world-famous Swiss psychologist and one-time student of Freud, believed there was indeed a lot more involved than just our personal and private fantasies. To Jung, Freud's theory was too focused. Jung believed the integration of the total Self was paramount, and in his opinion this involved developing the latent woman within man, which he termed anima, and the latent man within woman, or animus. He also believed that balance, coming to terms with both our inner and outer aspects, must first be achieved individually before a more complete relationship could exist with another. But are we prepared to accept, much less mature, this latent side of ourselves? Centuries of social conditioning have dictated the roles in life prescribed for both men and women. Women were expected to be primarily passive and submissive, which inhibited their chance to develop initiative or express their talents or abiities. They did not have any say at all regarding the laws of the land in which they lived until August 1920 when the the United States Congress ratified the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. Is is interesting that out of the whole country only Wyoming had already granted women this privilege. And so secure were they in this that when they were told they could not allow it if they became a State since no other State did, they turned down Statehood! Obviously, the rule was relaxed and they did become a State, so hats off to their enlightened determination. Men have not escaped restrictions that take a different kind of toll on the personality. They were socially conditioned to be aggressive, to suppress their sensitivity. Empathy, the ability to relate emotionally to another, does not make ruthless soldiers. And this long-term role of warrior has played its part in inhibiting and suppressing the emotional and intuitive side of man. During my research there were many dreams submitted that might have been casually dismissed as a product of sexual repression or conflict. Yet when these dreams were studied in depth, they revealed insights and a definite purpose that had nothing at all to do with human sexuality. Both men and women can receive messages from their latent side. Such dreams are direct and informative, and should be understood because in essence you are being told to pay attention to this inner self. The basic message is balance. Woman often develop their anima strength through the circumstances in their lives. Yet they recognize that in situations involving a show of initiative or affirmative action, sex discrimination still exists in our society today. So they may suppress, or even deny these latent abilities instead of incorporating them in an expression that blends the two. Men involved in highly right-brain creative work may forget their nature's dominant left-brain side and suppress their logical, analytical side. Or the opposite. Men can allow the left brain to be totally dominant and dismiss their intuitive, feeling side as "unimportant and illogical." These men received dreams of being "wooed" by their anima, seeking acceptance and incorporation of their inner nature. What we are being told is that we are both; a primary or outer expression and a secondary or inner expression, and the true Self consists of both. The corpus callosum between the two sides of the brain is the connecting link that when well developed allows us to make full use of our whole Self's abilities. In my book* Chapter Six, Sex Symbolism presents actual examples of this inner communication in dreams and the lessons involved. It is truly a new age. The limiting prejudices and restricted roles of the past must give way for the new person who is capable of expressing his or her balanced whole Self. __________________ Copyright (c) 2009 A La' Lansun | |||||||
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