I was introduced to Sigmund Freud and The Interpretation of Dreams when I took up psychology for my graduate course. And, the most interesting of all his works was his research on dreams. Dreams, in Freud’s view, were all forms of “wish fulfilment” — attempts by the unconscious mind to resolve a conflict of some sort.
Wish fulfilment. Ah! How I wished I was an acclaimed ‘Bharatnatyam’ dancer! I once saw a dream of performing those impeccable moves in front of a packed audience. And, when I was learning to drive, I dreamt of a police-thief chase sequence (and I am not joking), where I was driving with extreme precision. Even the Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa, was touched by the power of dreams and he made film on them. He made Dreams, where there are overlapping themes and characters based on his actual dreams. Starting with two abstract dreams, about disappointments we face in life, the movie moved on to a dream about persistence paying off for people in adversity. Next, we see a haunting account of a commander’s return from World War II. This is followed by a beautiful and artistic look at Vincent Van Gogh and his artwork. Next, we see two scary dreams about the devastating effects of nuclear warfare. And finally, we see the perfect village. The film forces you to think over the order of the dreams and how brilliantly they can be made into a visual reality.
Dreams are not just about unfulfilled desires. You will find innumerable records in history, where scientists, musicians and artists have solved problems and created works of art inspired by their dreams. US president Abraham Lincoln dreamt of his assassination only a few days prior to his assassination. Even Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity was inspired by a dream.
So, what if my husband dreamt of becoming a prime minister today? Dreams are “the royal road to the unconscious”, Freud said.
Wish fulfilment. Ah! How I wished I was an acclaimed ‘Bharatnatyam’ dancer! I once saw a dream of performing those impeccable moves in front of a packed audience. And, when I was learning to drive, I dreamt of a police-thief chase sequence (and I am not joking), where I was driving with extreme precision. Even the Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa, was touched by the power of dreams and he made film on them. He made Dreams, where there are overlapping themes and characters based on his actual dreams. Starting with two abstract dreams, about disappointments we face in life, the movie moved on to a dream about persistence paying off for people in adversity. Next, we see a haunting account of a commander’s return from World War II. This is followed by a beautiful and artistic look at Vincent Van Gogh and his artwork. Next, we see two scary dreams about the devastating effects of nuclear warfare. And finally, we see the perfect village. The film forces you to think over the order of the dreams and how brilliantly they can be made into a visual reality.
Dreams are not just about unfulfilled desires. You will find innumerable records in history, where scientists, musicians and artists have solved problems and created works of art inspired by their dreams. US president Abraham Lincoln dreamt of his assassination only a few days prior to his assassination. Even Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity was inspired by a dream.
So, what if my husband dreamt of becoming a prime minister today? Dreams are “the royal road to the unconscious”, Freud said.
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