I used my cell phone to take a night photo without a flash last night. I was surprised to find that I was even able to get an image. It was black outside with just a bit of moonlight present. Without it, I doubt that there would have been an image.
Seeing the images I took, emerge from the cell phone, I was able to edit them for visibility. It made me think of the shadow. Like so many, my dreams often have a dark aspect, almost as if I am lost in a strange universe. My dreams have often had me nude in these landscapes in the past. These dreamscapes are part of the hero’s journey. Think of Ulysses and his Odyssey – storms, sirens, shipwrecks, monsters, and the eventual return home as a changed man. That journey through the swamplands of the soul, or the dark night of the soul, is about bringing the unconscious within oneself, into consciousness. Some of the stuff of self is good, and much of it is not so good.
So why make this all conscious? Well, to leave it in the unknown inner dark spaces, often invites these shadows to appear uninvited into our lives. And when they put in an appearance, we don’t recognise that they come from within us. We project, unconsciously of course, these dark contents onto others. An example here. We have all heard of a person who is almost a crusader against something that is socially not acceptable – a minister who rails against child pornography or child abuse. Yet, often these same individuals have a secret life that does exactly what they are fighting against.
Another example that is likely more personal for the average person is found in ordinary daily life. One does something or says something that others see and hear, yet when confronted with that fact, one vehemently denies what everyone else knows as objective truth. The truth is, that protest is valid for the ego has no knowledge of saying or doing, that person’s shadow is responsible, the shadow that is denied and projected onto others.
In the world of dreams, the truth is often exposed. The more one resists, the more the images appear and the more amplified they become. Resisting nudity in one’s waking, conscious life often has the dream images flood the dreamer with images of nudity, of naked vulnerability.
Of course, this is just my take on the world of dreams which today’s photos have brought to my attention. Take it or leave it. If you have any responses – pro or con – don’t hesitate to speak out in the comments.