From Restless Mind to Spiritual Heart: The Power of Inner Guidance of Dreams

Spirituality and dream analysis is actually very closely related.

Spiritual direction or companionship is the guiding of the directee from the surface anxieties toward the inner calm of the heart center. In any given situation, there are seemingly hundreds of factors which figure into common life issues such as challenges in jobs, changing residences, starting a family, a divorce, a death of a loved one, etc. The mind cannot sort out the most important considerations or the crux of the situation, or perhaps even why one cannot come to a decision. What would seem logical and reasonable, your body seems to not want to go there. Using the mind to sort things out results in sleepless nights, anxiety, loss of appetite or overeating, drinking and drug dependence, development of hives, increased acne, indigestion, increased irritability, etc. Our body seems to bear the trauma caused by the overactive mind.

Advice from a friend or family member may be helpful or may add to the dilemma and none may land or feel compelling enough for you to act upon. Out of desperation, we may go for a walk, take a drive, go meditate, go fishing, or go to church, 'needing' some space to be alone and away from our customary environment. In this space a new insight arises, there's a clarity of the mind, the decision or solution springs forth.

What was happening in this process? Did more thinking or sorting out help? In that diversion, a movement occurs where the heart gets engaged. In that moment when the mind is quieted, the connection is made between the heart/spirit. What feels right for the soul then springs forth. You may say whatever came up 'resonated' with you, you feel the truthfulness in the core of your body. There's a feeling of wholeness, firmness, solidness.

The totality of Consciousness, with a capital C, contains all that is rattling around in our waking consciousness, and all that's in our unconscious which includes feelings, perspectives, instinctual urges, and capacities which have been locked in the unconscious. And when we are in that quiet space, unengaged with the chatty mind, we're allowing the 'wisdom' of the unconscious to come forth. Spiritual companionship is the facilitation of this process done consciously. It is consciously guiding the movement away from the restless mind and allowing the spirit to come forth. Usually it feels like it's coming from the heart, because the center of our spiritual being is not in the head, but more in the core of the body, the heart. The heart is not logical, not sequential, not following time and order. The heart simply knows. Please refer to the post on what is the organizing force in the unconscious, The Individuation Process.

One might surmise that the spirit can be somewhat equated to our unconscious. And in fact, Jung does say that the feminine quality in the man connects him to his soul (anima) and the masculine quality of the woman connects her to her spirit (animus). While spiritual companioning is the process done consciously, dreams seem to be that very process unfolding autonomously during our sleeping hours. Thus, my assertion is that engaging the heart/spirit done consciously is in practice the engagement with the Self of the unconscious. These 'aha' moments that come to us in our waking hours are really engagements with the wisdom of the unconscious; what is in the unconscious is present whether we're asleep or awake.

Whether one can accept the above, the more important point is that it is experiential for all who have done spiritual companionship/direction work. Similarly, those who have seriously worked with their dreams have encountered experientially the guiding power of their dreams.