Heavy- Laden Dreams
Dreams have long been considered a predictor and forecaster. Erik the Red
chopped off the lips of his soothsayer when the gentleman foresaw the Red
Man in heavy seas.
The Emperor Constantine placed his dream forecaster on the tip of a pike
when he predicted the Emperor would lose a battle against a band of
marauding Mongols. Constantine lost the skirmish, but his dream catcher
didn’t live to see the results.
The Bible, of course, with its allegory of seven fat and seven lean years,
reinforced the utility of dreams. Greek authors in the third century AD
produced thick volumes about dream interpretation, primarily seeing dreams
as a form of propitiation of the gods. Dreams were considered an
instrument of the divine.
Freud tried to put dreams squarely in a psychological perspective with the
publication of Interpretation of Dreams in 1900. Like everything else for
Freud, dreams represented repression borne of the Oedipal Urge that was
also repressed and acted out by fighting with parents and then given them
Christmas presents. The symbolic litany was simple enough for Freud: caves
represented wombs, church steeple were penises, and deep sea diving was a
trip into the unconscious. Entering an underwater cave with a speargun was
for Freud a sure sign of psychosis.
C.G. Jung, Freud’s disciple, broke with his mentor because he thought
Freud’s view of dreams were too restrictive. Jung suggested dreams were a
necessary and healthy way to tap the large reservoir of images in our
Personal and Collective Unconscious. This was the royal road to
psychological health. For Jung dreams formed a useful compensatory
function. In other words they reminded us of what we repressed during our
waking life.
Although Jung’s views seem more adult and useful, Freud has held sway
because Jung hurt his professional standing by writing about alchemy,
flying saucers, and mysticism. Most of books available on the symbolism of
dreams are Freudian. Beyond that dream interpretation has fallen into
disfavor. Neurologists consider dreaming an act of “neural
dumping”--getting rid of the flotsam of the day. This view has gained
currency because most people have little time for their interior lives,
particularly in the West and in developed nations.
Not so in the Third and Fourth Worlds. Dreams entered public discourse when
Osama bin Laden and a Saudi cleric mentioned their dreams on the infamous
videotape about the attack on the World Trade Center.
Some Islamic scholars have expressed surprise because the Koran clearly
warns against heeding the words of dreams--and poets. Those who heed the
language of dreams are likely to misinterpret Islam and shun the words of
the Prophet.
To be sure dreams have been hijacked over time by despots of all religions
eager to demonstrate they are doing the will of God. Dreams put us a step
closer to God who communicates directly with us through dreams. In some
cultures this is unassailable. This is particularly true of Islam that has
not experienced a Reformation and a Rethinking like the Catholic Church.
When the GDP is relatively low, good dreams can seem like money in the
bank.
In his boastful videotape confession bin Laden is very much a Freudian as
he cites basic allegories to explain his actions. He recounts a dream
someone told him: “I saw in a dream, we were playing a soccer game against
the Americans. When our team showed in the field, they were all pilots. So
I wondered if that was a soccer game or a pilot game, Our players were
pilots.”
The sheik recites a dream someone told him: “I saw a vision. I was in a
huge plane, long and wide. I was carrying it on my shoulders and I walked
from the road to the desert for half a kilometer. I was dragging the
plane.”
Here bin Laden is clearly a Freudian high flyer soaring above the
pedestrian Americans on the field of play. The invalid sheik is the dream
hero who carries the plane on his shoulders into the desert. From their
childish chatter these men are Literalists--and primitive Freudians to
boot. Moreover, bin Laden apparently believes, with the ancients, that
dreams are divinely inspired. He had some concern that the dreamers and
visionaries would reveal their hideous secret before September 11.
Given post-September 11 events Jung might be a little more helpful that
Freud in explaining bin Laden’s dreams. Jung advised that interpreting
dreams from the standpoint of ego is asking for trouble. Jung would likely
argue that the high-flying imagery, delivered by the autonomous psyche, was
really about inflation of the ego. Instead of confirmation, it was a
warning about the necessity of more balance and humility. Perhaps the sheik
has already realized that the plane the man is carrying on his shoulders is
a weight that will destroy him. Perhaps bin Laden has already realized the
bombs dropping into his caves are not Freudian symbols. Tora Bora is a long
way from his mother’s womb.
Jung warned against believing our own dream interpretations which are
likely to be vainglorious and one-sided. He also warned against
interpreting a dream without a painstaking analysis of context. Usually
help from outside is necessary.
Next time bin Laden has a dream, he should call a Jungian on his cell
phone.
It might be a very expensive call.
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