I was a member of the human race when the apocalypse hit. The sun dimmed and clouded over, until darkness covered the land. During the blackout, we humans morphed into apes. Every last one of us.
The technology was still around, so we had our ipods and smart phones.
There, across the landscape, were small huddles of apes, gazing into the bright screen of an Ipod or Blackberry, Samsung Galaxy or Android. They huddled beneath blankets and I was alone under mine. I took out my phone and the screen lit up, it was then that a roaming monkey (attracted by the light) came over to me. I quickly turned off the phone, and hid myself under the blanket, much like a kid does to escape the monsters he perceives to be in his room.
The monkey shook me and growled, trying to get in, but I just stayed under the blanket, hoping it would go away. Then, I woke up.
So, the above excerpt may seem like just a dream to most of you, but in truth, all of our dreams are "the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul..." - Carl G. Jung.
Dr. Jung did extensive work on dream interpretation, and those who want to learn how to interpret a dream, I'd suggest you use Jung's method, which can be found here:
http://dreamanalysis.info/index.php/2011/02/dream-analysis-principles/
In a dream such as mine, there is a presence felt that could only be attributed to what Jung called "The Shadow". (For those who are unfamiliar with this term, read more here and here.)
The Shadow is basically the aspects of the psyche that we are not proud of. It's the parts of ourselves we wish we didn't have, and try our utmost to erase. Because these aspects of ourselves are so unwanted, we consciously forget them, and begin to "project" them onto others.
This comes in the form of judgement; labeling people as "immoral", "intolerant", "bad", "evil", etc. Any time we make these judgements about others, the reason for our doing so is because we are actually lashing out against ourselves. The parts of ourselves that we aren't proud of are what we are attacking.
For example, let us say there is a certain man who is the beacon of fairness and decency. He tries his best to be helpful to others, and is kind, caring, compassionate, and only thinks of others. When he sees someone acting selfish, he immediately lashes out in a rage or spiteful spirit, condemning them as selfish and evil, claiming "people like that are what's wrong with the world".
Now, if we use our knowledge of homo sapiens, things begin to make sense:
The human being is selfish by nature, this is a survival instinct. In the case of a person who sees this as a "bad" or "immoral" thing, we can easily see how they are simply repressing their own human nature, and lashing out when they see it in another person's behavior. In truth, the man is not attacking the person he sees, he is attacking the part of himself he is suddenly reminded of.
Sadly, because of repression, people often lash out in sudden and often violent ways. The man I described above was actually written about in a newspaper a few months back. Everyone who talked about him had nothing but good things to say. He was the kindest, noblest man they had ever met, and couldn't imagine him harming a fly. It was quite the shock, then, when he went on a shooting spree killing several people.
Why did this happen? Because The Shadow finds a way to express itself. It's part of us, after all, and it does not appreciate being ignored and condemned. Like children who misbehave for attention, The Shadow emerges at the most inconvenient times to make it's presence felt, hoping we will no longer ignore it. Unfortunately, what most people do is repress it even further. Beating themselves up for the outburst, and condemning themselves for it, making The Shadow even more repressed, and eventually, more desperate to emerge. It's a vicious cycle.
We accept it.
The next time we catch ourselves lashing out against a person or situation or anything that makes us feel that sick stomach and start to condemn things, take a step back. Realize that you are really only lashing out against yourself, and that whatever it is that upsets you is normal, that everybody is that way, and that you accept the fact that it is part of yourself.
A simple phrase I like to use is this (using the selfish example):
"I accept the fact that I am selfish. I accept the fact that other people are selfish and that this is normal."
Like I said, you do this whenever you encounter your Shadow, and that's it. The more you accept yourself, the more freedom you will find.
So, what does this have to do with my dream? Well, in our dreams, The Shadow is plainly visible. It is most often a character or feeling that we are either afraid of, trying to get away from, ashamed of, trying to hide, or trying to destroy. Unlike in waking life, the unconscious is free to roam and exert it's direct influence in our dreams. It is most often showing us what we do in waking life that we are not aware of.
In my dream, the element that I sensed is undoubtedly a part of myself that I am hiding from in waking life. The unconscious has shown it to me, and with further study and interpretation of the dream using the above method, I should be able to figure it out. Once I do that, I'll be one step closer to being whole.
Keep in mind that incorporating our Shadow is a life-long process, as there will always be parts of ourselves we don't like.
Hope this article has helped in some way, and I wish you well. Take care.
