Dreams about someone are a common theme at bedtime. If you or a loved one have been covering this ground at night, you may have questions about what it all might mean. As part of a Huffington Post series on dreams and their meanings, we spoke to Vocata George, Ph.D., a Jungian Analyst at the C.G. Jung Education Center of Cleveland, to get expert advice about the meanings of your or your loved one’s dreams about someone. Note: While dream analysis is highly subjective, this post might provide some insight into why this dream occurred or is recurring.
What do dreams about someone mean?"Dreams are symbolic, they are not real people," George says. Therefore, dreams about someone reveal different parts of yourself. You could dream about someone from your past, present, or even a celebrity. In order to gain insight, she recommends you consider the overall theme of the dream, not just the person you are dreaming about.
What can I learn about myself from dreaming about someone?Make the necessary associations to discover what a dream about someone is trying to tell you. For example, if it is a dream about someone in your past who was always sad, George says you should ask yourself, "What part of [myself] is sad?"
Are there any tricks to avoiding or inducing dreams about someone?"Jungian psychology deals with the subconscious," she says. While you can try to think about a particular person or dream that you have had in the past in order to revisit it, it won't always work. The subconscious self is working to help you discover things about yourself that are buried. It knows best how to bring these things to mind, whether it is through a dream about someone or something else entirely.
Beyond analysis, what cultural symbolism can be found in such dreams?Dreams about someone can serve as a reminder or a warning or point to an unresolved issue in our lives. "If we are stuck, a dream can serve to help show the way out," George explains.
Who tends to have dreams about someone most frequently?Anyone can have a dream about someone since the images are so symbolic. George reminds us that "dreams about someone are really about different parts of ourselves."
What about dreams of someone deceased?"Dreams about someone in your life who is deceased should be approached the same way," she says. Consider what that person was like and what you thought of them. Make associations to yourself through these clues.
Vocata George earned her Ph.D at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, Calif. She then pursued post-Ph.D. inter-regional training in order to become a Jungian Analyst. She is now a Jungian Analyst at the C.G. Jung Education Center of Cleveland, a center that remains dedicated to the evolution of consciousness and the pursuit of meaning in life through psychological insight and creative expression.