Michael (pseudonym) is an executive at a venture company in his mid-40s. He was in deep turmoil, torn between staying at his stable job or leaving to start his own independent business. One day, he had two dreams.
A small swimming pool comes into view, its water so shallow that the bottom is exposed. Two enormous fish, each the size of a 30-story apartment building, are wrestling with each other as they try to escape the cramped pool. The two entangled fish soar into the sky and plunge back into the pool repeatedly. They fight, letting out painful shrieks. Each time the two giant fish collide, bright red blood like fresh gore spurts out. Horrified, I watch the scene from above in the air.
This is a psychological dream. Michael stands at a crossroads of "Mid-life Transition," at a fork in life's road. This dream vividly reveals his inner, unconscious conflict.
First, there is the symbolism of the shallow pool. The pool represents his "stable job" or current conscious environment. While his position as a venture company executive appears glamorous to others, the dream suggests it has become too shallow and cramped to contain his enormous ambition and potential.
Second, the two giant fish represent the psychic energy deep within his unconscious. The fight between them shows that two powerful energies — a stable job and a challenging business venture — are clashing fiercely within him.
Third, the symbolism of the blood and shrieks. It represents a state of extreme pain and energy depletion, as the powerful inner energy cannot find an appropriate outlet.
Fourth, he watches the scene from the air. This means he is objectifying his inner conflict, viewing it from an observer's perspective.
A few days later, he has another dream. The single-story house where I lived as a child comes into view. When I open the door to the main room and step inside, a new space and a new world unfold. Against a backdrop of blue sea, I see a white mansion. A dining table is placed at the center of the mansion's terrace. Mediterranean tropical fruits are piled abundantly on the wide, long white table. About a dozen white plates are neatly arranged along the corners of the square table. I stand there for a long time, pondering which fruits to place on my plate. After a while, an old man's voice is heard from behind: "You only need to put one thing on it…."
This is also a psychological dream, and the interpretation of its symbols is as follows.
First, the childhood home. It symbolizes the entrance and origin of the passage into his unconscious. The "mansion and sea" that appear after opening the door to the main room mean, to borrow Jung's expression, that he has entered the broader realm of the "Self," beyond the personal unconscious.
Second, the abundant Mediterranean fruits symbolize infinite possibilities such as business success or the fruits of life. However, the dozen or so plates show that he is still hesitating before many options.
Third, the old man's voice. In Jungian psychology, the old man signifies the Wise Old Man. This represents an inner voice that offers direction to his real-world ego. Fourth, the meaning of "You only need to put one thing on it" is the core message conveyed by that inner voice. It is the unconscious advising him to focus on the single path he truly wants.
In summary, the first dream reveals Michael's conflict and pain, suggesting the inevitability of change. The second dream suggests that the direction of that change lies in simplification and decisive choice. Dr. Marie-Louise von Franz, a disciple of Jung, said that such meaningful dreams often appear at very important transitional stages of life, such as pregnancy and birth, the start of school, puberty, employment, marriage and life crises.
If one can interpret dreams well and apply them in real life, one can expand life's horizons beyond consciousness into the unconscious.
