I love to psychoanalyse dreams, which is not surprising since I'm a chronic introvert. Obviously my own dreams are easier to understand than other people’s dreams; other people (and their dreams) are just weird! (I think narcissistic is now being spelt NICOLE). So it's a little surprising that I've never read a dream analysis text. Hmmm. Having read through some of "The Meaning of Dreams" last night I would conclude I've still not read a dream analysis text. The book is...at times...a little hilarious. It's basically an alphabetical listing and explanation of possible dream images. Some of the explanations are helpful and probably contain some truth, others are ludicrous (but in a fun way, if you don't take it too seriously - which doesn't seem to be the intention of the author).
The author, who no longer walks on this earthly plane, was a 'psychologist, astrologer, palm reader, handwriting expert, and master interpreter of dreams'. He viewed dreams as 'messages from the soul'. I also view dreams as messages from the soul. For me though, 'the soul' is my brain and body, and my dreams sort out the here and now of my life, as well as the past. Franklin D Martini saw dreams as doing more than this, his analyses often have a supernatural reasoning, he believed dreams can predict the future. I'm a little sceptical about dreams having an oracle power. At least everyday dreams. Maybe a wild, once-in-a-lifetime, possibly drug induced (or ordinary brain chemicals gone mad with the multi-dimensional unity of the universe) dream could go there. Or maybe I've had too much sugar today.
Another issue I have with the book is the actual images. In the last week I've had 3 vivid dreams, chock full of images, few of which were listed in the book. It's a shame that my sub-conscious didn't dig out its long-hidden image of The Sphinx:
Sphinx: To see this Egyptian creature, with a lion's body and a human head, indicates success through unusual creativity or ideas. These will bring wisdom and light to many.
Nevertheless, I've been able to construct some meaning to one of my dreams. Here are the salient images from the dream:
- me in a plane (a fairly common image, although the cabin of this plane was covered in painted flowers and some of the passengers were hippies - I think this was due to my watching videos of Janis Joplin on YouTube just before going to bed)
- being stopped at customs to have my luggage searched
- my luggage being searched by french actor Vincent Cassel
- (warning: too much information) Vincent Cassel suddenly naked, and with a part of his anatomy being freakishly large
Plane: To dream you are on a plane denotes that your efforts will be rewarded and your ambition achieved.
Luggage: To dream that you have lost your luggage (kind of) foretells trouble in speculations, and possible family dissension. To the young and unmarried, it means troubles in love.
Vincent Cassel: not listed
Sausage (kind of): To dream of making sausages is a warning of excessive sexual pleasure. To eat sausages indicates love intrigues. (Um...)
[I think it's pretty clear what's going on in my sub-conscious at the moment!
Although in another of my dreams there was a man with a gun:
Gun: To dream of this weapon is a bad omen. To dream of hearing the sound of a gun denotes trouble in work (the man didn't fire the gun). To dream of shooting the gun implies misfortune.]
I'll finish this blog entry with 3 remarkable and related dream images from the book and Franklin's interpretation of them:
Diarrhea: To dream you are thus afflicted implies you are sharing your emotions too freely with others. Some reserve is advised. (And less dream prunes*).
Excrement: To dream of excrement denotes some change in your social surrounding. (And maybe too much cavorting with the nightman).
Feces: To dream that you are discharging feces denotes a disappointment in money matters. (I'm guessing alot of stock brokers have been experiencing this dream in recent times).
Vincent Cassel (I like my men edgy):
*Prunes: To see or eat prunes denotes joy. Dried prunes relate to problems. To dream of them in winter means obstacles and difficulties, but only for a short duration. (What does it mean if you dream of prunes in spring, summer or autumn?)
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