Jung and
Jaspers: Connecting Dreams, Existential Issues and the Mystery of
Being
Bonnelle Lewis Strickling,
PhD, RCC, is a Jungian psychotherapist and spiritual director
in private practice. She is also chair of the Dept. of Philosophy
and a member of the Interdisciplinary Dept. of Classical Studies
at Langara College in Vancouver, BC. Her book Dreaming about
the Divine will be published by SUNY in 2006.
Abstract
Jung emphasized the importance of
work with dreams in analysis. In his paper “The Transcendent
Function”, he pointed out that our complex culture requires such
intense and ongoing concentration on everyday life that a thick
barrier must be developed between the conscious and unconscious to
prevent imagery from the unconscious from distracting us from this
complex conscious everyday activity. One of the major challenges
of therapy and analysis is stirring up the unconscious in such a
way that the needed material from the unconscious manages to make
its way through this barrier. Jung believed that one of the best
ways is through work with dreams.
In my
work with clients, I have found that work with dreams is not only
one of the most effective ways of discovering what goes on at the
deeper level, but also one of the most important ways of accessing
the deeper energies of the psyche at times of change and crisis in
the lives of clients. The philosopher Karl Jaspers, especially
through his concept of boundary situations, can help us see how,
when and why this is the case.
Though Jung does not specifically ally himself with any
philosopher at any length and in any depth, in my forthcoming book
Dreaming about the Divine (State University of New York Press,
2006), I argue that Jaspers is a natural philosophical ally for
Jung. His concept of the elucidation of Existenz as our life
project is very close to Jung’s concept of individuation. His view
that Existenz is a gift from the Transcendent can be seen as
related to Jung’s notion of the ego-Self axis. And his view of
boundary situations and our ability to live them out at different
depths can help us understand the dynamics of certain kinds of
dreaming and how and why it works.
Jung
was particularly interested in what he thought of as “big” dreams
about the divine, numinous dreams that went beyond the personal
and left the dreamer changed. However, there are other sorts of
dreams about the divine, dreams that also leave the dreamer
changed, but that seem to provide the dreamer with more and
different energy for difficult and/or crisis situations in life.
These difficult situations are the sorts of situations that
Jaspers describes as boundary situations: situations that cannot
be avoided, such as death, suffering, guilt and struggle, and I
would add disappointment and loss. Jaspers represents these
situations as unavoidable, but able to be lived out in a variety
of ways varying from extremely literal to reflective, symbolic and
leading to greater depth of understanding of oneself, others and
life itself, thus enhancing the elucidation of Existenz in
Jaspersian terms, or individuation in Jungian terms. I believe
that dreams about the divine allow us to connect with the psychic
energy to allows us to develop this depth of understanding.
In
this paper, I will explore the fruitful connection between Jung
and Jaspers that enriches both views, and that helps explain the
importance of dreams about the divine, not just the “big” numinous
dreams, but dreams about the divine in all their variety. This
paper will involve both theory and case studies.
In
addition, I will explore the possibility that dreams are a doorway
into an understanding of the mystery of Being that Jaspers refers
to as the experience of ciphers, a non-theologically specific area
of spiritual experience and Otherness that is unique to dreaming
in that, while we do not all have what are often called “mystical
experiences”, virtually without exception we all dream.
