by Kenneth Francis (July 2023)
The Dream, Henri Matisse, 1940
“We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.” (Genesis 40:8)
Before Jesus Christ was sentenced to death, Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat when his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” (Matthew 27:19)
The Bible has many references to dreams. But what are these mysterious thoughts that occupy our minds as we sleep? Throughout human history, dreams have been the subject in numerous writings and works of art, from poetry to music lyrics, cinema, theatre, and literature. However, humans have never solved the mystery of dreams.
In ancient times, dreams were seen as revelations of truths from the gods, but from the 20th century onwards, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung set out different frameworks for interpreting the meaning of dreams. Alas, their legacy shows that neither psychologist has been successful in interpreting dreams.
Freud’s main motives were financially driven (a kind of Catholic confession for profit), whereas the charismatic Jung’s motives were similar, with the added lust for obtaining prophet/guru-status amongst his patients and peers (I recommend his book Memories, Dreams, Reflections, to gain a little insight into this). As for Freud, his cultural subversion by way of the transvaluation of all values (thanks, Nietzsche—not!) is akin to the degenerate immoral toilet-brush baton handed on to Alfred Kinsey, et al.
To be fair to both psychologists, like most things in life, there is Good Freud/Good Jung, and there is Bad Freud/Bad Jung. And as there is nothing perfect in this Fallen World, we are pragmatically left with trade-offs; hence, there are a few elements of their works that merit great interest, as well as further study: Freud’s concept of the ‘unconscious’ and ‘projection’ theories; Jung’s ‘collective unconscious’ and ‘archetypes’ concepts. (Its arguable that Arthur Schopenhauer was the first to discovers such concepts as the subconscious mind as described by Freud.)
But ultimately, Freudian, Jungian, and most conventional secular psychoanalysis fall short in healing the mind, and potentially dangerous in analysing one’s innermost thoughts and behaviours, especially dreams. Most, if not all mental illness and extreme nightmares, derive from a disordered soul, haunted by guilt, and separated from God. But spiritual healing aside, psychoanalysis sure guarantees those practising it a financially good living.
Writer/journalist, Taki Theodoracopulos, said: “There are 106,000 licensed psychologists in the United States, and more and more are applying for licenses as the American dream goes up in smoke. Being a shrink has to be the greatest con ever, as one sits in a room with a patient who talks for an hour and then pays $400-plus for the privilege.” (Takimag, April 8, 2023)
As for dreams, they can be absurd, disturbing (nightmares) or revealing. But ultimately, they are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to interpret.
As mentioned above, dreams have permeated the Arts in every culture. In cinema, dream scenes in movies seldom work. Some look cartoonish, while others, with scant or no dialogue, fail to capture the visual essence that make dreams so unique. The only two films where dream sequences relatively reflect the essence of a dream, are Rosemary’s Baby (the first dream sequence) and The Ninth Configuration; both movies have Christian themes.
In The Ninth Configuration, a psychiatrist dreams about an astronaut on the moon looking up at a crucified Christ nailed to a cross. The creepy slurred voice-over slowly says: “In order for life to have appeared spontaneously on Earth, there first had to be hundreds of millions of protein molecules of the ninth configuration. But given the size of the planet Earth, do you know how long it would have taken for just one of these protein molecules to appear entirely by chance? Roughly ten to the two hundred and forty-third power billions of years. And I find that far, far more fantastic than simply believing in God.”
The uncanny thing about dreams is the landscape or surroundings one perceives. Think about it: In dreams, one encounters other people, stores filled with goods on shelves, rooms furnished with domestic objects, streets, forests, mountains, and animals. One wonders: Who or what arranges all these non-physical images so perfectly that enter the minds of people while they sleep? Have you noticed the objects never seem scattered and are usually neatly packed?
Writing in NeurologyLive (Feb 5, 2018), Heidi Moawad, MD, said: “It’s a question that has captivated cultures for as long as history has been recorded. Many attribute the predictive power of dreams to spirituality and divine intervention. Yet, regardless of the faith of any individual who enters the dream state, there are numerous instances in which dreams actually do come true in ways that were not anticipated. Most prophetic dreams do not bear spiritually significant meaning and hold no link to life-changing events.”
But some prophetic thoughts (or dreams) certainly do come true. The Bible is jam-packed with realised predictions, and many are still coming true: Isaiah 5:20 (the current state of the world); John 15:18-25 (Christian persecution); “Mark of the Beast” (digital implants in order to buy and sell); globalists/Greens’ distain for meat consumption (1 Timothy 4:3), etc, etc.
Prophecies aside: it gets weirder outside of the realm of ordinary dreams, where lucid dreams are a form of dreaming where the dreamer becomes acutely aware that he or she is dreaming.
There’s also the trapped-in-a-time-loop factor of such dreams, similar to the character ‘Phil Connors’ (Bill Murray) in the movie Groundhog Day, when he thinks he’s awoken from a dream only to find he is still in a dream.
Although lucid dreams are uncanny and at times quite disturbing, not all lucid dreamers feel this way, as there are no consequences for their actions while dreaming and they can indulge in their wildest fantasies, especially sexual.
However, another downside to lucid dreaming, is the concept of solipsism. Because the people in lucid dreams appear so real, one wonders, in an awakened state, if other minds, apart from one’s own mind, exist. But despite all this, it is best that dreams remain a mystery. The great Irish poet, Patrick Kavanagh, said in his poem “Advent”: Through a chink too wide, there comes in no wonder.
Table of Contents
Kenneth Francis is a Contributing Editor at New English Review. For the past 30 years, he has worked as an editor in various publications, as well as a university lecturer in journalism. He also holds an MA in Theology and is the author of The Little Book of God, Mind, Cosmos and Truth (St Pauls Publishing) and, most recently, The Terror of Existence: From Ecclesiastes to Theatre of the Absurd (with Theodore Dalrymple) and Neither Trumpets Nor Violins (with Theodore Dalrymple and Samuel Hux).
Follow NER on Twitter @NERIconoclast
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One Response
Dreams, beginning and ending abruptly as they do, indicate there are realms where cause-and-effect do not apply.
For those who’ve had an NDE, this world is more dreamlike than their hyper-clear and meaningful, though indescribable adequately, than this apparent reality.