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"Even
though dreams refer to a definite attitude of consciousness and a definite psychic
situation, their roots lie deep in the unfathomably dark recesses of the conscious mind.
For want of a more descriptive term we call this unknown background the unconscious. We do
not know its nature in and for itself, but we observe certain affects from whose qualities
we venture certain conclusions in regard to the nature of the unconscious psyche. Because
dreams are the most common and most normal expression of the unconscious psyche, they
provide the bulk of the material for its investigation." Carl Jung was well known for his theories on "collective
unconscious" and "archetypes." Archetypes are fragments of memory or
shared symbols that are passed down in the unconscious mind. They are recognizable
by groups of people or a whole civilization. When you see a symbol that looks
strangely familiar even though you have never seen it before!
In terms of dreams, Carl Jung believed that they were connected to psychic energy.
The collective unconscious is like a shared memory that many
people share and hand down from generation to generation. Within it, one finds the
archetypes that are familiar. Most important to the theory about dreams is the idea
that we are all connected subconsciously. Therefore it is possible for more than one
person to share symbols in dreams. This is what Carl Jung termed synchronous
dreaming. When Carl Jung died, all his friends dreamt about the same symbol.
These dreams all contained his favorite tree by the lake. |
