Jungian Keynotes – February 2025: Dreams

We will journey through the psyche, meeting such phenomena as ego, Self, complexes, archetypes, persona, shadow and many more. In this process we will familiarise ourselves with the major themes and concepts of Analytical Psychology.

Concepts of Analytical Psychology will be explored and applied to one of Jung’s dreams from Memories, Dreams, Reflections.

The best way to understand the sometimes confusing and controversial concept of the animus is to look at what the male figures in dreams—from baby boys to old men—may be depicting. For simplicity’s sake we will focus on male figures in the dreams of women; it can, however, be argued that men’s psyches are also inhabited by the autonomous animus that Jung described.
As a natural scientist and a Jungian Analyst, I show how the evolution of our biology and our psyche can reveal what male means in dreams. We will then be able to recognize the tremendous value of the concept of the animus.

This lecture will take up content related to transference dreams, the role of dreams in relating to the transference, and the role of dreams and transference in an individual’s development.

This lecture will present an overview of the unique nature of childbearing loss and the parents’ ensuing search for meaning. Based on the dreams of parents gathered while I was a consultant to the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Center in Minnesota, this lecture will outline mourning within the context of Neumann’s “archetype of the way”. I will explore how dreams of the lost child enhance the full expression of grief by maintaining an emotional connection between the parents and the child throughout the intermediate realm of the “Here and the Hereafter”.

I will interpret a series of helpful and consoling dreams of a woman during her final year of life.

The lecture will explore how modern cognitive research on dreams as simulations can be compared with Jungian dream theory. I will be discussing research on dreaming in rats and birds as well as the use of simulation games for practicing high risk undertakings. I will also be looking at human dreams that challenge our ability to deal with awkward social situations; such dreams help us expand our repertoire of coping strategies.

Dreams can not only help us find solutions to complex problems, they can also offer solutions to simpler problems. Their seemingly chaotic messages provide us with challenges that actually help us learn to deal with chaos and, therefore, to become more creative.