Dr. Jung noted that was another frightening dream. But there was no dancing bear at the end of this dream. There was only potential destruction.
“It was a very frightening dream. We thought we had escaped from the menacing city, but then, suddenly we were running for our life as the threat of drowning loomed. There seemed to be no ways that Frank and I could save our boys. Both Frank and I were exhausted and had run out of options for escape.”
Dr. Jung offered a context for considering the lessons to be learned from this dream:
“The theme of journey is common in both ancient and contemporary fairy tales, myths and narratives. The Wizard of Oz offers a prime example that comes from Hollywood, the myth-making capital of contemporary life. These journeys always involve multiple challenges and often require that a group of people rather than an individual face these challenges. Once again, think of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion and even Toto.
We Jungians often link this journey to a process we call “individuation.” It is on this journey that we begin to forge an individual identity, complete with our own hopes, fears, strengths and weaknesses. This journey of individuation might be portrayed in your dream.”
Mitch responds:
“Yeh, I could see that my dream might be teaching me something about myself. But what could this be?”
Dr. Jung:
Well, we can look at the two different parts of the dream. In the first part, you are in a strange city and fear being attacked by shadowy figures. Could this relate to the way as founder and leader of your newspaper, you are frequently facing novel challenges and are having to protect yourself and your company from threats that are not always clear.”
Mitch:
“Yeh, that could work. But what is the dream teaching me?”
Dr. Jung:
“Perhaps it is teaching you that the person you are can handle the novelty and ambiguity. If you are a person who can tolerate these challenges, then perhaps you can be effective in meeting the challenges associated with the novelty and ambiguity associated with not just finding a way to work effectively with both Frank and Gwen but also helping to discover how best to relate IT (and perhaps AI) to the traditional values and craftsmanship of the newspaper production business. Frank is with you in the city and is with you in protecting what is of greatest value (your sons). Perhaps, you can envision Frank as someone who will help you and Gwen with this integration of the old and the new, rather than being an adversary.”
