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Loading... The Interpretation of Dreams (original 1899; edition 2009)by Sigmund Freud
Work InformationThe Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud (1899)
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The most obvious thing about Freud is that it’s not meant to be read by someone with a pressing problem but by a meandering intellectual with a lot of time on their hands. That said, a lot of people have an allergic reaction to his Victorian elitism, and I think this can be overdone. I did learn some moderately interesting things about dreams, (for example, he says we tend to remember the most important part of a dream—it’s all condensed), even though I basically read the book for perspective and am not anxious to read more Freud. I also agree I guess that dreams are wish fulfillment, I guess of the animal self, although his problem is that he’s very naive about the animal self…. It’s been said before I guess but really Freud makes sex into the religion; it’s a bookish sex but the mind has to be given something to chew on if it’s going to work, and for Freud it’s not God, right. Personally I do have dreams about sex but it’s basically not stuff that I *really* want, it’s not healthy nor likely to make me happy. I’m much more proud of my dreams about vegetarianism, which occur quite often. Life’s usually much more doable when you give something up, something old Sigmund with his meandering grasping elitist books didn’t seem to get…. Though the book does give you perspective, which is what I signed up for, so. …. The thing about Freud and dreams (we love dreams these days) and hope is that it can turn into provisional living (one day) and what-if living (anxiety/speculation). What if, what if. The more time you have to waste, the more attractive Freud is to you. Personally I don’t mind wasting time now and then, as long as it doesn’t involve the television. …. And, you know. Freud: So I said to the cab man, Thanks for wasting twenty minutes, bozo! Only I said it in Ancient Greek. So then I talked to my friend the doctor, the loser with no kids, who I had the dream about. So I’m pretty great. Jung: That’s nice. *wistful pause* Do you ever wonder if our greater knowledge should lead us into a greater love of man? Freud: *quickly* No not really. *grabs his arm* Look this is the plant catalog I was telling you about…. …. But people liked him. Freud: *recounts cab man insult/doctor dream guy story* Flirt A: Pronunciation of Attic! *makes a note* Flirt B: Unlike (whoever), I, am sure, my, marriage-bed will be a Fertile one. Freud: *tittles into his wine* The dreams I shall have tonight, ladies, the dreams I shall have tonight! …. Was it Joni Mitchell who said that sex kills? That, or it makes you miserable. It gives you a reason to brood. Breeding and brooding. Teenager: Was Freud a monster? Jung: Many people find fault with him. Teenager: Was he bad. Jung: We all have a shadow, but he was like a father to me. Teenager: *beat, then* My father drinks. Jung: *nods, doesn’t say anything* Wayne Dyer: My father was my greatest teacher. Jung: What was he like. Wayne Dyer: He was a drunk. Jung: What was your relationship like. Wayne Dyer: I never knew him, but for many years I hated him passionately. Jung: And now he’s your greatest teacher. Wayne Dyer: Yes. Jung: What did he teach you. Wayne Dyer: Petty tyrants only seem like petty tyrants. Really they are God in disguise, sent here to remind us to love each other, and not to hold each other in contempt. Jung: Do you write books. Wayne Dyer: No. Jung: Start writing books. Japanese Samurai Statue Guy: Once, I was a cow. But then, I ascended to a higher state of being. It was because I had Buddha-compassion for the other cows. I saved them from the Americans. Jung: *excited* Who’s writing this down! Japanese Samurai Statue Guy: And that’s why I created No Cow, a company that makes dairy-free protein bars. Here. Try some. Jung: *picking one* Ooo, raspberry truffle. Freud: *pulling his arm* Come on. He probably just wants to have sex with his mother. Jung: He’s probably a monk! *eating* Hey, this is good! *Freud and Jung leave, leaving Jack behind* Jack: *struck by the absurdity of the whole thing* Well, I did say that the greatest bifurcation of humanity is between those who believe something, and those who believe nothing. Japanese Samurai Statue Guy: *meditating* Om Mani Padme Hung, Om Mani Padme Hung…. Jack: Do any of them have chocolate? Japanese Samurai Statue Guy: Most of them have some form of dairy-free chocolate, yes. Jack: Can I have this one? Japanese Samurai Statue Guy: Of course, this food is all paid for. …. (afterword) That said, Freud has his uses. He doesn’t really have solutions, but he’s good at describing problems—especially self-deception— even if he’s basically a little indifferent to helping, from sheer love of knowing about what’s wrong, when you come to it. But last night, after I had a brief but unsettling encounter with my mother’s alkie restlessness, I had this dream about my father, criticizing my liberal religious opinions—I haven’t seen my father in several days, and the last time we talked it was a neutral experience; I try to keep the liberal state of my soul a secret from him to keep him from sinning. But it’s all kinda the same-gender parent aggression that Freud theatrically called Oedipal, you know. It’s not quite as theatrical in real life, but we do often see the world through a lens of a gender of rivals and a gender of partners, and it can influence how we see our parents. (And then parental stuff comes out in all relationships.) So Freud described the problem, and it shouldn’t surprise me that I can be so self-deceptive, you know, subconscious impulses so firmly tending towards sin. But I don’t know if old Sigmund ever healed anybody, you know; he certainly doesn’t seem to care much about healing…. I guess you’ve just got to go on repeating the Name of Gladness, (as the old hymn has it). no reviews | add a review
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