Many of the people in our lives (friends, parents, siblings, neighbors, co-workers), become archetypes with which we build meaning, the pantheon of our personal mythology, the gods and goddesses of our private Mt. Olympi.

Nowhere is this clearer than in our nightly dreaming. We construct our dreams using these archetypes. These people become metaphors, expressing meaning and playing out the dramas of our lives.

Uncle Karl shows up as a significant person in your dream, but, in terms of the meaning of that dream, it isn't really Uncle Karl, it's what Uncle Karl has come to represent for you. More specifically, it's those characteristics of Uncle Karl that you've internalized, and that archetypal, metaphorical Uncle Karl (really a part of you, demanding expression!) is trying to communicate something important.

Look for and listen to these people the next time you recall a vivid dream. Say to yourself, "What part of me is this? And what the heck is he (or she) telling me?"

Text and image © 2010 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.