A man had a flap of skin that when
lifted showed a cross section of his four chambered heart. He also
was holding an erect phallus. The man showed his heart to one woman
and she was not interested. He showed it to another and she wept.
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| Human Heart, Metaphorically The Home of One's Soul And Love |
REFLECTION: This for sure is one
of those dreams where one says, “ I have never had such a thought
or image in my conscious mind. It seems to be totally out of range
even of my imagination." This strikes me as a deeply collective and
timeless symbol of the potential 'union of body and soul' of
'heart and head' , 'mind and spirit' of the human being. This dream is likely
much more about our Western cultural situation than it has anything
to say about me personally. This is a central unity that humans need
and hopefully are moving toward in our age. We have just moved from the Age of Pisces(the fishes) which has marked the 2000 years of Christianity to the Age of Aquarius ( the water bearers). The biological,
instinctual and spiritual seem to be being brought together via extended Human and
Sacred consciousness. The flap of skin that opened to the heart
indicates the wounds humanity has received in finally arriving at such a new state of
potential consciousness. This is analogous to the wounds of 'heel and head' in
the early Genesis story to account for the negatives of human
existence. It is analogous to the groin wound that Jacob received as a
result of his wrestling with the Lord and demanding a blessing. And to
the inflicted wound of Jesus' side that brought forth the unity of
'blood and water.'
The man showing his wound to women is the idea that a man longs to serve the Soul, the eternal feminine principle that can be discovered only 'within.'( This is symbolized for modern man in the consciousness of the presence of the psychological/spiritual 'anima' figure so common in men's dreams. Jung conjectured that a human woman likely has a corresponding male(s) inner image. I personally would not be surprised at that but also believe that human soul is likely more feminine by nature in us all?) The first woman did not yet share in the level of consciousness that the man experienced so rejected his gift. The second woman, most likely a reference to the anima, had already arrived there and so wept for joy when she saw that the man had found what she had always guided him to discover.
The man showing his wound to women is the idea that a man longs to serve the Soul, the eternal feminine principle that can be discovered only 'within.'( This is symbolized for modern man in the consciousness of the presence of the psychological/spiritual 'anima' figure so common in men's dreams. Jung conjectured that a human woman likely has a corresponding male(s) inner image. I personally would not be surprised at that but also believe that human soul is likely more feminine by nature in us all?) The first woman did not yet share in the level of consciousness that the man experienced so rejected his gift. The second woman, most likely a reference to the anima, had already arrived there and so wept for joy when she saw that the man had found what she had always guided him to discover.
The wounded and open heart and the
erect phallus symbols taken together beautifully and more fully than most would have imagined show 'body and soul' united. Christianity has the capacity to
bring this image to consciousness but it has not yet in any general or
consensus way. So much negativity, which seems may now about to be overcome, was placed on human sexuality in
the most powerful arm of the very early church. Augustine later, along with the good
he brought, strongly consigned human sexuality to the
inferior and dark place it has has occupied throughout Western history, in
both church and culture. This unconsciously was done by Christian
teaching to assure that this very unity would not be achieved too early(and escape the necessary learning curve of the past 2000 years. They did a good job.)
I’ve silently wondered from
childhood, especially with the onset of puberty and sexual orgasm,
'Surely Jesus experienced this intentionally and consciously as
well.?" But like others I repressed that idea as somehow
being blasphemous instead of the obvious unbiased natural conclusion. He
just could not possibly be that much 'like me' most of us concluded
and our Bible teachers agreed. Rarely was such a question ever asked. But it is asked by many today. And I was barely conscious that if I
could not identify with Jesus at the most profound and ecstatic of human
experience then most identification I managed to
make was only intellectual, lacking the full sensations of both mind and heart. This dream symbol is making it clear that my
childhood musings were truthful, important and have now become a
center of awareness essential for human spiritual/psychological
development in our era.
The movie Man Of La Mancha, based on the 16th century legend of unlikely Spanish hero Don Quixoto, presents a supreme emotional moment of spiritual insight. It is another way of symbolizing what the dream is emphasizing. On his death bed, where he had forgotten the 'things of his deepest heart' and with the help of 'the feminine', he remembers more fully who he really is. He is far more than just body and brain. He is 'body and soul' and he actually experiences them both as a unity. He is suddenly aware of both his flesh and his spirit, his body and soul. When he expresses or 'shows' this central and true insight to the woman she is also moved to her deepest levels of 'heart and soul.' Both have 'found' that they are more than what today we call our rational ego consciousness- our 'me.' They experience it and the viewer can't imagine anyone needing to tell or teach them of such a knowledge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfHnzYEHAow . It is what has always been called, 'revelation' and something that must 'come' of its own, perhaps after a very long and arduous spiritual journey. The dream implies that every human potentially can experience this. This is the discovery of the 'Self' in Jungian terms or the owning of ones soul of which Jesus asks , 'Who would be willing to exchange for anything else in the universe?' The emotional moment is expressed by both Don Quixote and His Lady with welled up tears of human joy. I think the dream expresses a similar new awareness of themselves that men and women of today are far more prepared to arrive at consciously than ever before. This is an exciting discovery of a fuller understanding of who we humans really are and what our potential is for a more fully living and loving. I do not wish to imply that such experience for any mortal can be total and complete in this life but it surely may potentially be a profound life changing 'repentance' for individuals and the culture generally.
Yet how many Jesus admirers today are
able to allow this centrally human reality and sensation to have belonged to
Jesus in a fully conscious, celebratory and spiritual way? I’m
afraid very few but surely more than ever in the past. The symbolism
of this dream would be rejected by most even now because of our
uneasiness and negativity regarding our natural God -given sexual
nature. Many, even if deeply touched, would say regarding the movie scene , " Oh Well, it is only a movie.' What is most important in our day is often referred to as 'an only' and thus is dismissed back to the unconscious from where it tried to reach our full conscious acceptance.
The dream is asserting that the coming together, the uniting
of 'body and soul' , 'head and heart', 'sexuality and spirituality' is the present evolutionary
leap that is essential for the spiritual and evolutionary 'salvation'
of the species. This kind of discovered Consciousness is the place where the
strengthened bridge between God and Human, so needed in today’s
world, is structured. This need has long been expressed in sacred text, novel,
movie, song and even soap opera(common avenues that can reveal contents of the Collective Unconscious.) But rarely is it brought forth in a
religious setting, even though there is much Biblical scripture to
support it. This symbol is also an indication of the unity of the Greek
three aspects of love- Agape(unconditional value and support),
Phileo(joyous friendship) and Eros ( visceral bodily desire.) Another cultural breakthrough that greatly encouraged Carl Jung is
the 'Assumption of the fleshly Mary to heaven' by the Catholic Church
dogma of 1957. This, against all rational thinking or obvious scripture support is an indication of this union of Flesh and Spirit,
Sexuality and Spirituality into the Godhead itself. And the recent
stories- eg Jesus Christ Superstar ,
The Last Temptation and The Da Vinci Code- so popularized about Jesus
loving a real woman intimately demonstrates the growing conscious
need and acceptance of this image of a truly 'body and soul'
Jesus. I'm reminded of an old Oak Ridge Boys song that says, " I would have liked him better if he were a little more like me."
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