Becoming Bigger as I Grow Smaller: The Wisdom and Humility of Dreams
Robin B. Zeiger, Ph.D.
In each of us is another whom we do not know. He speaks to us in dreams and tells us how differently he sees us from the way we see ourselves. Carl Jung
Our dream images and stories bring us images and treasures from the unconscious. It is in the mystery and the illogical that we become curious and captivated. Many months ago, I became captivated by a simple snippet of a very complex and chaotic dream.
“I am forced to climb up a steep hill of dirt and greenery as if I am shrinking into someone little. It is very hard.”
Shrinking into someone little reminds me of whimsical childhood tales and funny movies. Yet, the dream tone was deeply serious.
I was working hard to climb up to reach and understand something. The dream left me wandering and wondering.
Jung reminds us
The “treasure hard to attain”, lies hidden in the ocean of the unconscious., and only the brave can reach it.
A dream is a night-sea journey that invites us and coaxes into dialogue with our inner Self. This dream snippet was a seemingly random and tiny piece of a much more complex dream, with a plentitude of scenes, people, and details. Sometimes, the tiniest of details opens a portal to the unconscious.
I sensed in this dream snippet a treasure from the unconscious.
This small and at first blush seemingly insignificant detail arrived as a piece of a large play. My dream was chocked full of details, people, and places. Yet, it was this scene that intrigued and called to me amidst the chaos. Detailed dreams are not simple to meet. Like a multi-act play they bring the complexity of life, they beg for simple cliff notes that succinctly summarize the plot.
I work with dreams from “both sides of the couch.” I am a prolific dreamer, remembering many dreams within a typical week. Perhaps this is why I was attracted to the Jungian way. As an analyst, I have been privileged to hear and experience hundreds upon hundreds of dreams with every theme, shape, and color.
Sometimes patients and friends alike project unto me a “magic” as “dream interpreter.” This I am not. Rather, I am an escort, helping and sometimes guiding the process of meeting the dream.
Sometimes my best tool, particularly in a complex dream is the simple question,
What piece of the dream speaks to you most of all?”
Sometimes we are caught or “caught up” or captivated. Here enters my scene of turning smaller while ascending.
I am growing smaller while perhaps going higher and growing taller.
The dream scenes and people are often very symbolic of a deeper layer of soul. For example, each person is not only the “person”, but perhaps more importantly s/he is a piece of our inner Self.
It is from here that I want to travel back with my readers to my journey up the steep incline. As I climb, I am becoming smaller. In my waking life, I am a woman in my second half of life. I love nature. I like to hike with my family. Yet, I must be a bit more careful than I was when younger. Sometimes I must bend down and use the earth to steady myself. I can no longer run and skip and jump in the same way I did in my 20’s.
Enter the symbolic thoughts. Perhaps here in the dream, I am “grounding myself.” From this thought, I can “leap” symbolically to the image of getting smaller. Sometimes it is all too easy to “sit atop my high horse.” This stance is the opposite of humility. I become too confident or inflated. I think I know too much. After all, I am “highly educated” and have lots of years of experience. The dream scene connects me to e needed humility.
Sometimes as an analyst, I say to my patients, “I become humbler as I grow older.” I think I say these words to also remind myself.
Why do I need the symbol of the hill? I suspect it is a reminder of the importance of being grounded. Many moons ago I had an important conversation with an older mentor. When I asked her if she ever ends up on her “high horse,” she said, “I am too old to be up on a horse. I am always on the ground.” At the time, I think I only half-way appreciated her remarks. Now I begin to really understand.
Important dream images do not only belong to us individually. They hint at the collective unconscious that Jung speaks about. They help us to discover our connection to all of humanity. Sometimes when I offer dream workshops, with permission I “borrow” an image from a dreamer and ask the group to associate to the image as if it were their own. This is very powerful and very bonding. We not only meet our Self but we meet our humanity in others.
Now I challenge you. If you woke up with the image and thoughts:
“I am forced to climb up a steep hill of dirt and greenery as if I am shrinking into someone little. It is very hard.”
…what might you feel and think?
Read one of my newest articles: Dark Feet & Dark Wings: Wendell Berry’s Wisdom for Difficult Times.
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Robin B. Zeiger is a practicing Jungian psychoanalyst, a certified sandplay therapist, and a free-lance writer.
She is a member of the:
International Association of Analytical Psychology and the Israel Institute of Jungian Psychology. She can be reached at rbzeiger@yahoo.com.
