The dream is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul.

~ C.G. Jung

Hello Dear GNUUCers!

I’ve missed everyone so much! It’s been a little over two weeks since I saw most of you, but it feels much longer. Yesterday was the first day I left the farm (other than to go for walks) and the first time I drove in 14 days. It’s humbling and edifying to depend upon others and to be confronted with mortality and lack of mobility. It can make you discouraged and depressed or be a spur to live more intentionally and learn the greatest wisdom: the wisdom of letting go.

As a fan and erstwhile student (by which I mean I am no expert despite having read and experienced Jungian philosophy for ten years)of Carl Jung, I rejoice in his proclamations that life can be fully experienced and explored until it ends. He often said that it was the second half of life during which we gain wisdom. And as long as we are cognizant, we can experience the wonders of travel, that is, travel inwards to explore what he calls the “soul” or what we may call the “Self.”

An excellent way to engage in self-discovery and to tap into the wisdom that we already possess is to analyze our dreams. I’ll be talking with you about that and other doors to consciousness on March 8th and 15th. If you’d like to send me a dream that you have recorded, you can do so via e-mail. I may include it in the morning’s service with your permission. A few requirements: write the dream in the first person PRESENT. “I am going into a house and I see a tall, slender woman with black hair.” Just write as much as you remember without including any reflections. Then, after you’ve written it (snippets are fine), tell me what your feeling was during the dream": Fear? Joy? Annoyance? Let me know if it’s a recurring dream.

Don’t worry. I will not be analyzing anyone. Only the dreamer can say for sure what the dream means.

I’ve long felt that dreamwork (which I started at least 25 years ago) is a perfect spiritual practice for UUs. Jung would say that dreams originate in both our own unconscious and the collective unconscious. You may find that a stretch. But even if you acknowledge that dreams are comprised of our own inner landscapes, it’s not hard to find helpful messages. Jeremy Taylor, a UU minister (now deceased) and widely acknowledged dream instructor/author, says that dreams never come to tell us something we already know.

I hope to see you all this Sunday as we have an introduction to the topic of Wisdom, and through the month as well. Thanks to each and every one of you for the cards, notes, texts, and well wishes. You are a genuinely caring and loving group of friends. What a blessing to one another and to all who join you.

Cynthia

Minister's Notes: The Journey Inward