The Dream Book of Self-Knowledge
- from the perspective of the unconscious the independent observer – the inner witness – which is an important stage on the path to knowledge, is much more important than a witness in a court trial (see Court) or investigation.
- of external events: if the dreamer does not allow himself to be pulled into events, if he assumes an independent position and remains indifferent to the events (see Indifference), this can be considered the first precursor to the inner witness.
- the second precursor to the inner witness is a state in which the personality splits, in which one part of the dreamer (the witness) observes the other part (the suffering part); this process is described in detail in the Attentiveness archetype.
- inner witness: usually initiated by meditative efforts in which the meditator changes conventional "subject (body, feelings, mind) – object (material world)" thinking into "Subject (Self) – object (body, feelings, mind)" thinking, in order to observe himself, meaning his body, feelings and thoughts; the inner witness is an important impulse toward realizing a conscious state and toward abandoning ordinary human life "on autopilot"*44; for more on this interesting phenomenon see Attentiveness archetype.
- being a witness of a miracle: the unconscious is showing the dreamer spiritual strength and power so that he can free himself from the restrictive model of materialistic thinking and dualism*90.
- being a witness of a rebirth: this image is linked only to the dreamer's being and therefore the rebirth of other people or beings is in fact his own rebirth; see Self archetype.
