Dream Reflection: The importance of expanding one's conscious awareness

A recently published article about dreaming, a class discussion and a dream I had last night, all have prompted me to post something about dreaming today.

I don't have any groundbreaking news to share but want to pose a question and some thoughts.

Question: Do you lack psychic equilibrium between your conscious mind and your unconscious mind? Translation: Are the thoughts, desires and self-expression of your dreams in communication (in a positive way) with your conscious mind? Or is there a disconnect?

Why?
Because Carl Jung believes that the consious mind (our thinking mind) acts as a censoring mechanism that limits access to our unconscious thoughts. Jung says that in the long-run, if this censoring continues, internal stress can build up and sickness will develop. Translation: If there is an inability to bridge the unconscious to the conscious part of ourselves, we will get sick and we will never fully understand ourselves.

What might this mean for you?
Maybe you should pay more attention to your dreams and see what happens in your life. Does your stress reduce? Does it lead you to self-discovery?

How might this be done?
Most experts suggest, as you go to sleep, repeat to yourself that you will remember your dreams and promise yourself that when you wake up you will spend time lying in bed recalling the dreams.

For more info on dreams, check out some of these links:
* The art of dreaming
* International Association for the Study of Dreams Go to: About Dreams
* The Dreams Foundation
* 6 observations Jung made about dreams

An old, but new fave restaurant: Tao Foods Cafe

My uptown appearances are rare, but when I am there I like to try new things. Today I had the pleasure of spending the midmorning/afternoon hours with my friend Colleen. Beyond catching up with one another which is always wonderful and needed, I have to comment on the little cafe we chose to stop at for lunch. The cafe is called Tao Foods Cafe (part of Tao Natural Foods) check out their website here. They are organic and holistic, and I loved it. The place has been open since the 1970's and has come to be a beautiful and tasty little operation. Apparently they recently added a cafe section to it which is the only part of the store that I visited. (I've spent enough money on supplements/vitamins/herbs lately I didn't even dare to visit the back of the store).

I must say that I tried the Jade Splendor juice blend, which although a steep price ($6.50 for a glass of juice), the combination of apple, pear, parsley and lemon was AMAZING and so refreshing! Well worth it...(So good that I am blogging about it!) Just the pick-me-up I needed and very satisfying.

Which also reminds me that I still have a dream of making my own cookbook, and I need to remember to bind together some thoughts for creating my own Jade Splendor concoction! Thank you Tao Foods Cafe, Jade Splendor and Co for reminding me of one of my life dreams :)

Now...where to start?

Carl Jung's observations about dreams

1) Dreams should be treated as fact, not as fabrications of the mind.

2) Dreams have a definite and purposeful idea or theme expressed in unique symbols.

3) Dreams make sense when time is devoted to understand their meaning.

4) Recurring dreams may represent a traumatic life experience, be an attempt to compensate for a personal defect in attitude or signal an event of importance in the future.

5) Dream interpretation is individualistic in that no dream symbol can be separated from the person who dreams it (e.g. the meaning of a plane crash is specific to the person who dreamed it).

6) Dream interpretation is essential to the resolution of stress and anxiety.