Dreams…

I've spent over 13 years recording my dreams. I have too many journals filled with chicken scratch handwriting. Frantic to record the significance of my unconscious symbols. It was the first spiritual discipline I undertook.

Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud both agreed on the importance of dreams. Our dreams are the gateway to a deeper relationship with ourselves. How they went about the dream space differed.

Freud's Dream Analysis

Freud believed that dreams are a psychological phenomenon of the unconscious.

He viewed dreams as expressions of repressed:

- Fears

- Desires

- Conflicts

He broke it down into two - Manifest and Latent Content.

- Manifest Content is the literal storyline and imagery of the dreams.

- Latent Content is the hidden psychological meaning, often disguised by symbols.

Dreams distort latent content into manifest content. Combining many ideas into a single symbol. Shifting emotional intensity from important to trivial matters. Representing abstract thought with concrete images.

Freud believed that dreams fulfill unconscious wishes (from childhood desire). Using free association and analysis of symbols he aimed to uncover "Latent Content." He thought this would give a better understanding of his patient's unconscious mind.

Dream analysis was the cornerstone of his approach to psychoanalysis. Providing insight into the dreamer's inner conflicts and psychological issues. I know many of you have adopted this idea of your dreams.

Jung's Dream Archetypes

Jung's approach to dreams differed from Freud's. Jung took it a step further. He used dreams as a tool for self-understanding and personal growth. Reflecting the personal unconscious content but also insights into a Collective Unconscious. Jung emphasized this in his Dream Analysis.

Jung talked about the shared layer of unconscious experience. Containing the Universal Archetypes and Symbols. Through this perspective he connected the dreamer to a broader human experience and the underlying stories of our mythos.

Jung's ultimate goal was "Individuation." What's that? It is the process of integrating parts of the psyche (conscious and unconscious) to become whole. This connects you to the Collective Unconscious. Deepening the relationship with your Intuition & Imagination.

Both have merit. Freud is the first step. Jung is the continued understanding of a person in relation to the whole.

A practice I found very profound is Jung's technique of Active Visualization. Also referred to as Active Imagination. He thought it important to put yourself back into dreams in your conscious mind. To interact with the unconscious. This was the foundation to his work. He mentions everything that he wrote about (in psychoanalysis) first came to him in an Active Visualization.

Here's how it can help…

I was in Ohio - snowstorm Blair gave the flat state a blaring white cast in the sun. My wife, child and I walked up the sidewalk to her mother's apartment complex near downtown Columbus. My mother-in-law and her husband never listened to my son's boundaries. Becoming offended when he didn't want to go them. We never forced him.

“Your son needs an Alpha Male for a Father.” my mother-in-law said this to me.

“What are you trying to say?” I asked.

Her husband replied… Still makes me cringe. “He needs to be disciplined.” My son is 19 months old and cried for his mom when this man picked him up without asking. I told him that his logic was flawed. His advice would only cause more suffering. This doesn't teach independence only obedience.

I told him fear isn't the same as respect.

He got angry and showed me his wounds. We all have wounds (no matter how small). I take the time every morning to hold a relationship with my unconscious. So my wounds don't project onto others.

Here's what I do...

I wake up before my family, as the Sun rises over the Appalachian hills.

I stretch, when my body is content. I lay on my back and think about my dreams. I put myself back into the scene of my dreams. In my conscious mind I ask questions of the characters and content of my dreams.

Example:

I was hugging a man in my dream. It was my friend’s Father I knew in High School. In the dream he was pleasant and encouraging.

Very different demeanor from waking life. The man never spoke to you unless he was berating you about something. He didn't even show up to my buddy's wedding. His own son.

I put myself back in the dream with Active Visualization and asked him. Why you!?

He said, “If people find the way you raise your son threatening to their beliefs formed from a harsh childhood… You should see it as a compliment.”

Stunned at the wisdom - my emotion made me lose concentration. I reflected on that statement for most of the day. It gave me context for the situation that happened with the “Alpha Male.”

A conversation I brushed off and forgot about until this dream. Willing my conscious mind to interact with the unconscious content. Humbled by the wisdom of my own symbolism. Connected to a deeper truth within the collective.

The Mind Redefined

We have both Masculine & Feminine qualities within us. They need to find harmony, finding common ground in the environment of our psyche. Let me explain further...

For those that haven't studied Alchemy (will be going over in a later Letter).

For context (Latin):

· ⚫️ Nigredo - Shadow Work

· ⚪️ Albedo — Lucid States

· 🟡 Citrinitas — Flow State

· 🔴 Rubedo — Divine Union

I was meditating in a deprivation tank. I visualized everything I had an emotional connection with. I severed each of the ties to these worldly things: my car, my partner, my music career, my friends, my goals. The flesh melted from my soul-body, whipping off wads like bubble gum from the sole of my shoe.

I detached from all worldly attachments including my body. It hit me... complete peace ~ transcendence (words fail me to describe the Majesty). I could see clarity in every vision. My Mind was untouchable.

But there was a danger...

The unresolved parts of my psyche prowled around the room. Trying to attach to something within me. Sending me thoughts. It made noises but I knew no one was there ~ the motion sensor lights stayed off.

All I could think/feel (the state made no distinction) was of the story of the Buddha under the Bodhi Tree... Pure Bliss.

In time it sent me a thought I attached to and I could no longer lay suspended in the waters. My body hurt. Everything screamed for me to get out. Right before I left ~

I got a vision.

The Masculine aspect of my psyche is processing the Blackening phase. (Nigredo)

While my Feminine has transmuted into the White Queen. (Albedo)

She waits for her Yellow King, (Citrinitas) but has to draw hard boundaries.

My Masculine feels like a Dark Prince ~ wanting union but not ready for commitment.

Together they make the Red Child in the Alchemical Marriage. (Rubedo)

From the last Letter we went over six superpowers that help you become effective.

The Mind is the electromagnetic field around the body. It has two qualities of energy:

- Passive & Active

- Potential & Kinetic

- Lucid & Flow States

Most spiritualists name these the Feminine & Masculine. Also going further to break the Brain into two hemispheres - Right & Left. I don't care for the over-simplification of this description of the Brain.

The Brain is a complex organ. This belief stems from our culture's over-emphasis of the Brain's importance. Science is finding that the Neurological System as a whole is not Brain dominated. The Gut and Heart send as much information to the Brain.

I'll be describing these complimentary forces using the terms in the bullet list above.

The skills that I hope you're practicing from the last Caster can be broken down into two qualities:

1. Skills of Passive force - you must surrender to them...

- Intuition

- Perception

- Imagination

2. Skills of Active force - you must engage as an activity...

- The Will

- Memory

- Reason

The first group of 3 you must learn to get out of your own way. There are practices for them but they're a practice of loosening the bonds of your own mind (lower case). Gaining the skill of allowance and potential energy into deeper lucid states of Mind.

The second group of 3 you must be proactive in cultivating, strengthening the skills in an active way. These tend to be straight forward. Feeling like (at the beginning) a trudge through thick mud until you level up. Exercising kinetic energy into flow states.

These forces of nature are inherent in your Mind which is an expression of your Body.

The Human Mind is the culmination of all the working autonomic systems in the Body. It's impossible to separate the Human Mind from the Human Body for the unconscious mind regulates the following systems:

- Neurological

- Circulatory

- Muscular

- Skeletal

- Endocrine

- Respiratory

- Digestive

- Lymphatic

- Reproductive

- Integumentary

These systems comprise the functioning Mind, including the six qualities named above. Balance these systems in the body and cultivating mindful practices around building the skills of active and passive forces. Your cognitive abilities and mental health will improve.

The Mind is the most important quality in Western Practice while Eastern Philosophies refer to the mind (lower case) in a different light. When Easter Philosophies refer to the mind, they refer to the:

- stress

- anxiety

- confusion

- distraction

Of the Human Condition. Then go on to refer to what Western Spirituality calls The Mind by another name. In essence, they are referring to the same thing, but Eastern Spiritual Traditions prefer to separate mind and The Mind.

I needed to make this distinction because The West has been influenced by these spiritual traditions. For better or for worse, it is what is. When I reference The Mind I am talking about our connection with the Creator and our window into the beyond.

To explain it simply...

Think of your Mind as the sky.

Consciousness - God/dess the Sun.

Your body/everyday life is the Earth.

Sometimes your mind is cloudy -

(stress, anxiety, confusion, distraction)

The Sun pierces the clouds and warms the Earth — the light is your:

• Focus

• Realization

• Spiritual Experience

Not every day will be sunny. Not every day will be cloudy. Every day is an experience, to hold and to cherish. Every day is an opportunity to know yourself, in the light of your loving awareness. To know yourself, as a part of something bigger.

The Mind in Hermetics is the Creator. For the First Source and Center could not use anything outside of itself to create. If we are to relate that through the Law of Correspondence (As Above, So Below). What is the only method of creating without using anything external?

Through Thought. The Aboriginals see reality as the Creator's Dream. In dreams we create entire scenarios and environments to interact with aspects of our own minds. And the greater Mind of All. As Jung put it - The Collective Unconscious.

The Missing Chakra

We can't go on and not talk about Paramahansa Yogananda.

He is the Guru that brought Eastern Yogic Philosophies to the West. Giving us the Chakra System. A center he emphasized is no longer talked about. The Dream Center or the point of the Medulla Oblongata (at the base of the skull). He said it was the polarity point for the Mind's Eye or Ajna Chakra.

Through the Dream Center one could absorb Prana or Astral Energy into the body. This can heal all disease. This center in the Body is no longer included in the regular Chakra System. The Dream Center is the center of conscious/unconscious communication. As we talked about above - the unconscious regulates the systems of our Bodies.

Here’s a 10-minute technique for exercising this Center. Preventing fatigue and dis-ease from the cells and systems of your Body:

After relaxing your Body, (lying down or sitting up)

1. Connect with the breath by watching the rhythm ~ rise and fall.

2. When you're calm ~ concentrate on the Dream Center.

3. Gently tense the muscles, starting at your feet until you reach the point of focus (at the base of your skull). Inhaling for 5-10 seconds.

Don't over tense the muscles!

Nothing should be burning or hurting.

4. Hold the tension/breath for a count of 5-10 seconds.

5. Breathe out for 5-10 seconds and relax ~ feeling the sensation in the Body.

Each inhalation, hold and exhalation should be the same amount of time. Like an equilateral triangle.

6. Repeat 20-30 times (or as long as you feel comfortable).

Through activating this center, you can revitalize the physical health of your Body. The unconscious regulates the Body. Making conscious the unconscious will benefit the Body's systems.

Practice the Active Visualization technique under Perception & Imagination for better physical health. As well as this technique for your Dream Center.

Let me know if you've felt a significant change after practicing!

Would love to hear from you (I know it's been a game changer for me).

To read the 6 Superpowers of the Soulpreneur:

You will become unstoppable.

Your Guide,

Benji Faun