Dream Interpretation and Chat GPT

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A lot of people who are interested in understanding their dreams will look up symbols online through AI tools such as Chat GPT.  For example, "What does a Snake mean in a dream?" 

Chat GPT, Dream Symbol apps, and other AI tools do some things really well when it comes to understanding dreams.  While not as respected or useful as books such as The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images (Taschen), they can be a great place to start.  I've even used them myself before, and I'll discuss below a great use of AI in dream interpretation.

First things first: What is AI basing its information on when we ask it about what a dream symbol might mean?

When it is done well, it is drawing from resources that discuss the Collective Unconscious.  Think of the Collective Unconscious as a library for what Symbols and Archetypes tend to mean across time and culture.

These symbols are expressing experiences that are common to being a person.  Not everybody has the exact experiences in life, but so many people do, that we create stories and art about them, and they resonate with enough people, so they get shared from generation to generation, with some tweaks to better reflect the time and culture in which they are being shared.

(A great example of this in in Fairy Tales.)

If they only fit one person's experience, they would reflect the Personal Unconscious, and while the story or art would be highly meaningful to that person, it would not resonate with enough people and it would fade away.

As an avid reader, I've wondered why some books seem to seize an entire culture at a certain time.  Do we all remember how the Twilight books captured us?  Or the Harry Potter books?  If they are capturing something about a specific culture at a specific time, then they will be popular at the moment.  But if they last across decades and generations, they are telling a story about being human that so many people can unconsciously see themselves in, that they remain stories that must be continuously shared, or told in new ways. 

A great example of this is the Star Wars movies, which famously draw from The Hero's Journey, which is a mythological Archetype (i.e. a symbol from the Collective Unconscious).

I'm hoping that as technology improves, AI will become better  at helping us understand the way the Collective Unconscious expresses itself through symbols.  

At this moment, it is a good jumping off point but there are too many errors in how AI gathers its information to do more.  Remember it's a large language model, not a thinker or evaluator.  This results in a highly simplistic and reductive understanding of the symbol, or a completely incorrect but popular belief about what a symbol might mean.

For example, when looking up "What does a Snake mean in a dream?" You'll find a result about renewal, Libido, Shadow, fear, and healing.   

It doesn't discuss how snakes often appear  in dreams when we are on the verge of a new level of awareness or personal transformation, as it takes us back to our most basic instincts (for example our "reptilian brain"). It's the herald of a new life-cycle beginning.  And for many people it accompanies a feeling of terror.  

As Robin Robertson, noted Jungian psychoanalyst, writes, "Interestingly, snakes still appear in our dreams when we are breaking through to a new awareness, which is still so far removed from our normal consciousness, that it chills us with its cold-bloodedness."

Knowing what Snakes tend to mean across time and culture can be a great first step in understanding your dream.  And in that way I think AI can be a great resource.  But rather than asking AI what a Snake means in a dream,  I think a more helpful way to deepen your understanding of dreams is to choose a symbol in the dream, in our example Snakes, and ask AI: 

• "What do Snakes tend to mean across time and culture?"
• "What are some famous Snakes in art, literature, song, and dance?"
• "What are examples of Snakes in world mythology and religion?"
• "What are examples of famous Snakes in fairy tales?"

Then let yourself be a curious explorer in the material it suggests. 

But this is just one step to understanding the message of your dream.  AI does not help you make sense of what that symbol might mean in the context of the dream and your life.  

A therapist trained in dream interpretation will use far more information than just the appearance of a particular symbol to help you sort through the message from your unconscious for your waking life.  

For example, a therapist will consider information from your personal unconscious, the story of the dream, what occurs to the symbol, how it interacts with other symbols, and other details, some of what are discussed below.

The Personal Unconscious starts with understanding your personal experiences with various aspects of the dream, including dream symbols.  In our example, we would want to understand your experiences, thoughts, and feelings about Snakes.

When I'm working with clients about their Personal Unconscious associations to a dream symbol such as a Snake, I start by asking, "So, what do you think about snakes?"  They often reply, "I don't know, they're fine," or something else rather general.  And as we continue to talk, a memory or another thought or feeling or image comes to their mind that helps us to understand the Personal Unconscious connections to the symbol.  

While this can be done by personal journaling and active imagination, there is something about sitting with a therapist who is trained to listen in a specific way that allows these things to come to awareness.

After knowing what a symbol means from your Personal Unconscious, and what it tends to mean from the Collective Unconscious we next explore the symbol in the context of the dream.

What is the dream saying about the symbol, and most importantly what does that have to do with your waking life?

Therapists trained in dream interpretation consider other aspects of your dream such as: 

• When the dream is located in the life-cycle (for example is there a child present  or an elder)
• Where the dream is located in place (are you in your childhood bedroom, under the ocean, or flying in the clouds)
• The emotional response within the dream (is the dreamer happy, scared, suspicious)
• What happens in the dream
• What the sequence of symbols are in the story of the dream, along with several other factors.

We use these to understand what the the dream's message is for.  For example is it: 

• A message for your professional or personal life
• A message for your inner world (or parts of yourself) versus your outer world (relationships with the people in your life)
• A message of encouragement or a message urging you to address something in your waking life

Dream Interpretation can be a rich tool for self-understanding.  Dreams can be especially vivid or intense when going through a hard time.  

As renowned Jungian scholar Marie-Louise Von Franz said about understanding dreams, "But if you make your utmost effort to face life on your own with great courage, but find that you can't, that you are up against a wall and it's beyond your capacities, then, generally, these helpful gifts emerge from the unconscious." 

If you would like help understanding these "helpful gifts," please reach out.