This archetype was described as Carl Jung as a person with great judgment and wisdom. The wise old man is sometimes referred to as the Sage. This archetype is characterized by being old, bearded, father-figure type who uses his great personal knowledge of the world and offer guidance through stories and may impress upon his [...]
When we dream, we find ourselves feeling strong emotions—even stronger than when we’re wide awake—that often times, these feelings last longer than the dream itself. The emotions we felt when dreaming are those we choose to suppress during our waking moments, only in dreams, they are uninhibited and without boundaries. Here, man-rules don’t apply and seldom affect one’s judgment.
With these things said, you would understand what you might be feeling when you finally meet your enemy in your dreams. Although the desire to kill, torture or harm the other person is there, sometimes it will amaze you to see how things will turn out. It could be a preposterous exchange of words, only yours are much edgier than normal or end up losing a battle of wits. Whatever the situation might be, here are some interpretations when having your enemies in your dreams:
There are dreams that fade within the depth of the sleeping consciousness. There are also dreams that seem to open doors to a sub reality that in actuality is the reality we can not recognize with our eyes open. It’s as if eyes wide shut can see beyond the simple clarity of light.
I am standing on the platform of the elevated train station. My cousin has arrived to pick me up. I tell him I have lost my cell phone. He gives me a watch and tells me I can reach him using the watch. I look at the watch, the hands are standing still. I don’t believe I will be able to call him with it. Suddenly it starts pouring. He shelters me and gives me a pair of galoshes. I put the boots on and we head out into the pouring rain. We are in the park now. The rain has stopped and the sun is shining bright. We start chasing colorful balloons across the park. I feel happy and we are laughing. We embrace and kiss gently. I feel safe.
Another notable character in dream psychology is George William Domhoff, a respected professor of psychology and sociology at The University of California. Under his literary belt are Finding Meaning In Dream, released in 1996 and The Scientific Study of Dreams in 2003, among others. Unlike most popular dream psychologists, he is very much alive and well. He agrees on one thing that all dream theorists have been pointing out all along: that is, dreams exist for a reason, whatever that may be.
While it is known to us that dreams do exist for a reason, its purpose is yet to be determined. Apparently, this is where the commonality of all dream theorists ends as there are several “suggested” purposes for dreams and not a single one of them has significant basis except for being circumstantial. This, in a way, supported Domhoff’s conclusion after several years of studying dream patterns and reports in accordance to today’s relevant social behavior, dream laboratory findings in the 50’s and of course, studies made by all-time dream champions like Freud, Jung and Hall. Domhoff’s conclusion? Dreams do exist for a reason but it may not be for a purpose as there is no existing purpose at all.
If we are to discuss how dream psychology and analysis took shape in our modern world, there is one name we shouldn’t miss discussing. That is of no less than the famous psychologist Calvin S. Hall Jr.
Calvin Springer Hall Jr. made a remarkable contribution to dream science by his well-known quantitative coding system. In this system, Hall considered dreaming as a cognitive function of the brain and no more than that. Over his years of studying dream behaviors, he managed to accumulate thousands of dream reports from all kinds of people. Using these reports, he concluded dreams to be divided into different categories depending on the dreamer’s state of mind. He then referred to dreams as a sequence of events conceived by the dreamer’s mind accrued during his waking hours. He also believed that images found in dreams are visual manifestations of your own personal feelings such as fear, ambitions, hopes and dreams. Furthermore, he firmly supported the idea that dream images are only formed when they are personally experienced by the dreamer i.e when a person came to know the concept of birth, whether from a third person or her own, the birthing process is now possible to form in one’s dream. Perception and conception play a major role in Hall’s dream analysis while the power of suggestion may also contribute to one’s dream symbolism.
Edgar Cayce was an American psychic who gained world recognition with his ability to answer “questions” while in a self-induced trance. His prominence came late in his life when his prophecies overshadowed his original focus was which was healing and theology.
Cayce was born in a small rural town in Kentucky to a farmer and his wife. Even as a young child, Cayce was a devout Christian and read his bible everyday and taught Sunday School. He and his father formed a partnership to sell insurance but was struck with laryngitis. He later decided to shift to photography as this profession was not as straining to his voice.
Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud always thought that dream content had a relevant meaning to our everyday lives. Freud theorized that the content of our dreams are a form of wish fulfillment wherein our dreams are also equivalent to our hopes and are subconscious manifestations of what we want in life. In his book “Interpretation of Dreams” he suggests that the content of dreams and wishes are in fact related.
The process of assigning meanings to dreams has been around even during Ancient times. During the Greek and Roman civilizations, dreams of the senators were often discussed during sessions as these could have meanings and consequences on society. The Egyptians on the other hand believed that dreams are ways of communication between the gods and men. In modern times, dreams are usually the subject of dram analysis and various schools of psychology are studying the underlying meaning behind dreams.
