Dream Alchemy in Phnom Penh

I was in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, last month, giving a workshop on Dream Therapy to creative arts therapists, which attracted Phoenix Jay of Phnom Penh’s The Advisor to interview me for their cover story. It’s a broad ranging yet deep interview, which includes a discussion of trauma, Jung, Freud, and an interpretation of Phoenix’s recurring dream and her response. I’ve picked out some extracts for you as a taster:

Extract

Jane Teresa:
If someone comes to me with a dream, my prime focus at first is to answer their questions. Why did you have this dream? Let’s have a look at it and explore it together. Let’s discover from your dream more about your mindset; about your unconscious mind, about how your past experiences are influencing the way you’re experiencing life now. Let’s put a window on that, without judgement. The next thing I have in mind is, whatever this dream is about, I want to help that person to experience a bigger and better life because of what they understand about themselves through their dreams.

Extract

Jane Teresa:
Say you told me about a dream and I said: ‘You’ve got an unconscious belief that you’re really sick and you’ll never be well.’ You could go away and do a whole New Age affirmation – ‘I’m really healthy; I’m fighting fit’ – but we all know that doesn’t work.

Phoenix Jay:
I didn’t want to be the one to point that out.

Jane Teresa:

[Laughs] It makes us feel good but generally it doesn’t work. And the reason it generally doesn’t work is because you’ve got an unconscious belief to the contrary. Because your unconscious mind is so strong, it usually drives you more than your conscious mind. So in that somewhat silly example, just to keep things simple, if you were someone who wasn’t particularly looking after your health, it would be because you’ve got unconscious beliefs: ‘If I was healthy I’d have to do this, that and the other. I want to be the victim. I’m going to make sure I’m unhealthy.’ In reprogramming that, you can then be released from it: ‘Why did I think it was so important to be sick? That’s stupid, isn’t it? I’ve got a new unconscious belief that’s supporting my conscious intention and my conscious mind.’ So you start creating a healthy lifestyle for yourself. You wouldn’t be seeking a cure for your health, finances or whatever if they were all really good – and the reason they’re not good is because they’re being unconsciously driven by something else. There’s no point talking to your unconscious mind using rational everyday language because it’s not going to understand, but if you use the language of your unconscious mind – your dream symbols – you can really create quite stunning changes and there’s where I get really excited about working with people.

Extract

Phoenix Jay:
So, the big question: does the key to the future of human evolution lie in breaking down the barriers between the conscious and
unconscious mind?

Jane Teresa:

One hundred percent! If you could say 101% and it made sense, I’d say 1,000,000%. It’s been touched upon by so many cultures throughout history. The one that springs to mind is the Delphic Oracle from Ancient Greece. It’s the place you went to consult the oracle on your future. Above the door, in Greek, is a sign that says: ‘Know thy self.’ Look within first. If we could all understand our unconscious minds more thoroughly and in that gain understanding of our greater being and what life is really all about, then we wouldn’t act in the ways we do. Even if everyone was just a metaphorical drop of water in the great ocean of life, if every little drop of water – drop by drop by drop – got it and looked within, we would all treat each other so differently. We’d treat each other with greater kindness and compassion and forgiveness – and with that, everything changes.

 

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