Over the past few months I’ve recognized a pattern of very interesting and intense dreams. Generally speaking, I’m not one to remember my dreams. However, I have noticed that when I do remember my dreams, I remember being able to choose my actions. In other words, I tend to lucid dream.
I’m very fascinated about the hidden messages in dreams and recently I was browsing some of the archived masterclass training videos from the Fit for Service Mastermind I’m a part of and saw Erick Godsey (AKA Godsey) led a workshop on dreams.
In case you’re not familiar with Godsey’s work – simply put he’s a wizard at interpreting dreams (amongst many other philosophical skills).
In this blog, I’m going to share the top lessons I learned from the masterclass with Godsey and how you can begin to interpret your dreams. Grab some tea and whatever you need because this one’s lengthy and the content is something you’re going to want to sit with for a while…
Basic Dream Theories of Carl Jung
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist arguably best known for his theory of the collective consciousness. In short the “theory” is that we are all connected beneath the conscious level. It comes as no surprise that Jung had many thoughts on how we can best interpret our dreams given that his work was exploring consciousness.
Jung believed that the psyche can best be broken down into 3 phases. This is a foundational piece to interpreting dreams, so let’s examine closely…
The 3 Types of Psyche’s
1. Conscious Mind (1% of total psyche)
Our actual experience as humans in this meatsuit is our conscious mind. This is the part of us that thinks, uses language and believes that we are in control. Godsey describes our conscious mind as the part of us thinking we are “The King of the Kingdom”. However, in truth we are but just a pawn in the kingdom.
2. Subconscious Mind (5% of total psyche)
Simply put our subconscious mind represents all of the things we could be conscious of but we are not. In other words, think of the subconscious mind as the power of suggestion. Godsey explains this as you not noticing the feeling in your foot until bringing that suggestion into your awareness. You were already subconsciously aware of the feeling but now through the power of suggestion your thoughts travel towards the feeling in your foot.
3. Unconscious Mind (94% of the total psyche)
This is really where things get interesting… Your unconscious mind represents everything you can’t get access too even if you tried. Godsey explains this as looking back at your past meals. Specifically, look back 24 days ago and try to remember what you ate. It’s somewhere inside of you, but you can’t access it. Another way to look at it is your heart beat. There’s some part of you that is making your heart beat but you don’t have conscious access to it.
So, Why is Any of This Relevant?
Jung breaks down the psyche as…
Conscious mind = “ego” (stories you tell yourself about who you are, what you are what you do in the world)
Subconscious mind: your “shadow” (parts of you that you don’t have in your awareness AKA ego)
Jung’s theory is that dreams are trying to speak to you. It’s literally messages coming through from your higher self.
Jung explains that your higher self is always watching your life. “It” knows everything that you’ve ever thought. Including all your triggers, repressed memories and wounds from your past.
Your dreams are trying to guide you to the individuation process.
Let’s take a moment to pause and reflect…
What is an Individuation Process?
Admittedly, I had no idea what this meant so I had to research it a bit more. Upon looking into this further, I can tell you that this is the process in which as humans we go through to achieve a sense of individuality apart from the identities of others.
So, what does that mean?
Well, this means our higher self (which you can think of as your soul in a different dimension) is you guiding the human version of yourself to become the person you came to be when you incarnated on Earth.
Still with me here? 😉
Hope you are because we’re about to go even deeper!
Messages from Your Higher Self When Dreaming
First things first, we need to understand that your higher self cannot communicate with you while dreaming through language. The way your higher self communicates is through images and symbols.
All dreams are intentional and are giving you a message.
Dreams are your higher self giving you a symbolic message showing you how energy is moving in your life right now and where it might be blocked.
The unconscious mind doesn’t know how to use language, so it uses animals and symbols to communicate.
Some Things to Know When Dreaming
Women/Men Roles
- If you are a male, females in your dreams (around the same age as you) represent the inner woman inside of you.
- If you’re a woman, men in your dreams (around the same age as you) represent the inner man inside of you.
The “Self” (higher self)
- Your higher self comes to you in your dreams as royalty, a married couple, a very young child, an old person of either gender or disembodied voice (hear words but can’t see it)
Small Dreams & Big Dreams
- 90% of small dreams are your psyche trying to figure out what’s going on in your psyche
- Big dreams: You know you’ve had a big dream when you think to yourself “that was a different kind of dream!” This is you tapping into the collective psyche… Big dreams oftentimes feel otherworldly and can be a premonition of what’s happening in the world. The last thing to note here is that whenever you have a big dream, you must act on it quickly!
Collective Unconscious (note: this is a controversial concept)
- To understand the collective unconscious, Godsey offers a metaphor… Imagine we are plants.. Our conscious, subconscious and unconscious minds are the part of the plant above the soil. Below the soil, you see all the trees in a huge forest are connected by the roots.. Similar to our psyche – the collective unconscious is us tapping into the roots below that are connected to the plant above.
Interpreting Dreams
This is why you’re here, you want to know how to interpret these recurring patterns in your dreams, am I right?
The number one rule Godsey offers is that if you feel it in your body and it instantly clicks, then your intuition about your dream is right!
“Every night when you wake up, you get a snapshot of your soul’s GPS” – this is a direct quote from Erick Godsey that really resonates with me.
What is your higher self saying you to you through your dreams? This is a question that we can all ask ourselves to advance in our journey of “soul development”.
Here’s what you might want to pay attention to…
Setting
- Where are you? What is the emotional feeling of the setting you are in?
- If you’re in your childhood home, it’s your unconscious showing you that the energy you are exploring within the dream started in childhood.
- Homes represent your current story of your life.
- Vehicles represent how you are moving through life (if you’re going to fast, someone else is driving, or maybe you’re being chased)
Characters
- Characters in your dreams do not represent those actual people in the world. Rather they represent the part of you that your psyche is showing to you through the dream.
Think of the first 3 adjectives you would describe that person as… the dream is pointing out those adjectives in you.
- If you’re a man, men who show up in your dream around your age represent parts of your shadow.
- If you’re a woman, women in your dream around the same age represent parts of your shadow.
By the way, in case you’re not familiar with the term “shadow”. Yes, I know you know what your shadow is when you see it on the sidewalk. The spiritual meaning of “shadow” is pretty similar. You can think of it as the negative aspects of you. So when we talk about looking at the characters in your dreams that represent shadows, we are talking about dreams showing you the negative parts of you. Okay, let’s continue…
- Higher Self: We discussed this briefly above, but your higher self comes through as young children, very old people, and disembodied voices. These characters are meant as your guides. Pay attention to the message they are telling you. Ask yourself, “What is this symbol asking/telling me to do?”
- Animals represent instinctual drive inside of you (i.e. anger, fear, lust, rage) . If an animal bites you, first identify what that animal represents to you. Next, realize that it’s your instinctual nature that is trying to connect with you.
- Dragons are an animal that are different from any other animal – and this goes for any animal that can symbolically represent a dragon. This is the universal symbol for something in your life that if you looked at it would create chaos but you are ignoring it.
- Animals that represent dragons: snakes, turtles, frogs, any type of dinosaur etc.
Watch what your mind instantly associates towards when you think of a symbol. Your first instinct is likely correct.. It’s what your unconscious mind is shining through.
As a final note let’s talk about fear vs love. When your interpretation comes from love and/or stillness, then you know that’s the meaning. If your interpretation comes from fear, then it is likely not the meaning of your dream.
Final Thoughts
Wow, this was a lot to take in. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, then I’d invite you to take some time to meditate on this and see what comes up.
Dreams are an interesting thing to say the least. Understanding and interpreting dreams can be a life’s work. Just look at Carl Jung; a major portion of his work was dedicated to interpreting dreams.
Here are 3 resources that can help you to understand your dreams better.
- Inner Work (Book)
- Men & His Symbols (Book)
- Capture (App)
My final thought on dreams is that I’m frustrated that I don’t remember my dreams more often. When I dream, they are powerful. I’m going to intentionally create a more relaxing nightly routine that includes less digital screen time and more reading. These are just a couple recommended ways to set yourself up for actually remembering your dreams.
To Connecting With Your Higher Self,
Sam