Barren

This can indicate various types of barrenness. It can be the barrenness of childlessness which is not simple the inability to conceive, but can also be barrenness of mind, which does not allow anything creative to grow in one and give birth to it.

Example: Gradually, it became clear what had been causing the pain.

In every human being, I seemed to be told, there is a fire that burns, a creative fire. When that fire is permitted to burn freely, the human being is healthy and creative, whether he be farmer, artist, mother, workman. But when the fire is blocked, as it is by this pain, then the person is crippled, just as I had been crippled for most of my life. As a child, I had felt worthless because I did not have my brother’s masculinity and intelligence, nor my sister’s grace and beauty. And because I had felt worthless I had withdrawn into non-identity and non-feeling.

Later in life I had found one worthiness: a talent for acting. But I had used the talent as a means of escaping into the identity of the characters I portrayed, instead of searching to find my own identity. (Quoted from Myself and I by Constance Newland).

It can also suggests a conflict between the intellect and the non rational side of oneself. Usually it is the rational mind which is destroying a part of ones inner nature – or a fight between the extrovert and the introvert. The introverted side may have fallen and so will nevertheless intrude in fantasies, as fear of some insidious disease; in melancholy, which afflicts him when left to his own resources; in superstition, or some freak religion; in that total loss of interest and complete sterile introversion which overcomes many extroverts when they can no longer be filly active in the world. For the extrovert, introversion all too often actually is what he believes it to be-a neurosis.

Barrenness or sterility can also be caused by the pain of having no warmth in ones life. See Causes of Infertility.

Example: This led me to ask what he connected with the images, and he said it reminded him of his childhood and its restrictions and limitations. It especially linked with his grandparents and their rather cold and distant way of relating. He went on to talk about his parents, and how he could never get close, describing a rather sterile situation as far as his relationship with them. He told of waking in the mornings and having to remain quiet in his bedroom because he was not allowed to go to be with his parents.

Following from this Richard appeared to go very deeply into feelings that led him to cry from childhood pain. He said at the time and later what a relief it was to cry in that way. Witnessing that I wondered if the rest of the session would lead to such readily available and flowing experiences and insights.

Useful Questions and Hints:

In what way does barrenness show in my dream and my life?

Am I aware of it in myself or is it simple shown in my dream?

Was any way shown how to deal with it?

Try using Talking As and Processing Dreams.