Chewbacca Visits: The Power of a Dream

Robin B. Zeiger, Ph.D.

…I have a little girl in my arms and the doorbell rings. We open it to find a sort of gorilla-like creature that looks like Chewbacca, the kind Wookie from the Star Wars movies.  The little girl wants to go kiss him, and I take her to do it because we know he is friendly.

This snippet of a dream visits me shortly after I see the new Star Wars movie on the way to a very  brief vacation in Barcelona with my husband.   In case you haven’t seen it, I won’t ruin it for you. However Chewbacca plays a prominent role and is a bit of a sad hero. He probably needs the little girl’s kiss.  In my magical fantasies, my inner child would enjoy meeting this Wookie.

I am a Jungian psychologist and I view dreams as my most important tool in the psychotherapeutic process.   Dreams bring images and messages from the depths of our soul.  It is our psyche’s way of compensating for our conscious life, which is only one-half of our life-story.  Our dream life brings a richness and ebb and flow to our daily existence.  Likewise when we are in touch with our unconscious, there is a flow to our daily existence much like the ebb and flow of the waves of the sea.  Our unconscious helps bring us light and creativity and vitality.  Much like a good movie or good book, our unconscious can inspire us. And in fact, many geniuses and inventors insist they received inspiration while sleeping.  Here I am reminded of a wonderful math teacher from high school, Rabbi Kaplan. He used to say to us, “If you have a difficult problem, think about before you sleep and your mind will work on it while you sleep.”

I am truly with the ability to remember many dreams. And I am blessed by the dream of Chewbacca and my little girl.  It is fun and whimsical.  In contrast, most of our dreams are fraught with conflict, crises, and fear.  The scenes of the night awaken us to a reality we don’t always want to see.  Most of all, our dreams are not just “stam” (nothingness). Again and again in therapy, I am grateful to the insights of the night.  They always bring us something new.  Many times we don’t understand the message but with practice like good physical exercise, we get better at it.  However, dreams are a bit like the “ein sof” (the endlessness) of Kabbalistic thought.  Just like we can never fully understand our Creator or the Creation, dreams maintain a certain mystery.

What do I think Chewbacca brings me?  I am busy and serious too much of the time. The little girl, perhaps my inner child, reminds me of the importance of fantasy and mystery and fun.  My vacation brings me to a place of playfulness. Yet, in my everyday existence I must continue to open the door for Chewbacker.  I invite you to pay careful attention to your dream-scenes. Write them down, discuss them with trusted friends, and allow them to grace and enrich your daily life.

In the future, more on how to remember and work with dreams.

Dr. Robin B. Zeiger received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 1985 from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She made Aliyah in 2009 and works in private practice as a psychotherapist, supervisor, and workshop facilitator.  Her specialties include dream analysis, symbolic work and creativity, women’s issues, and sand-play work.  She is training as a Jungian analyst and is also a free-lance writer. Feel free to contact her at [email protected]