Even though Freud and Jung disagreed on many points, one thing that emerges from twentieth century psychoanalysis is the fact that dreams go beyond their individual dreamers and often show patterns that are common to all cultures. Indeed, dreams are only partially rooted in consciousness and tend to reveal deeper parts of the human psyche.
One of the eldest books on dreams - the Oneirocritica «The Interpretation of dreams” - was written by the Greek thinker Artemidorus in the second century AD. In it he distinguishes between dreams that forecast the future and “allegorical dreams” that need interpretation.
Unlike Freud that reduced dreams to repression of infantile sexual experiences, Jung stated that besides these personal dreams, there was an unconscious collective dream, the very backbone of imagination. He saw then in dreams the manifestation of a certain truth that went beyond the dreamer, as if planted by a higher consciousness that he calls “the soul”.
Borrowed from Paulo Coelho's Blog
The beautiful part about having problems is whom you become because of them. The ancient philosopher Horace said it best: "Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant."
Why do we hate, why do we suffer
We are finishing off the Rat year and entering the Ox year (the year 4706 in the Chinese calendar ). It's fun for me to read the predictions from the last year and to see if they were any close to reality? Yes, the Chinese astrology did predict that the Rat year will usher in the "unpredictable and intangible."!! They also referred to 2008 as "The Roller Coaster Year". There was also a guy who actually predicted the fall of oil prices . It certainly was a roller coaster year!
Iraq's Christians, a small minority in the overwhelmingly Muslim country, quietly celebrated Christmas on Thursday with a present from the government, which declared it an official holiday for the first time.But security worries overshadowed the day for many, particularly in the north where thousands of Christians have fled to escape religious attacks.
Overall security in Iraq has improved markedly in the past year, but a fatal car bombing in Baghdad on Christmas morning was a gruesome reminder that serious problems remain.
The Christmas tree originated in Germany around 1,000 years ago and was associated with mystery plays. The Paradise play represented the creation of man and the sin of Adam and Eve with their expulsion from Paradise. The Garden of Eden was represented by a fir tree that was hung with apples. It represented both the Tree of Life and Tree of Good and Evil, which stood in the center of Paradise.
When performed in the church, the tree was surrounded by lighted candles. After ending church plays, the candles and tree were taken to a home where the Christmas tree became a symbol of the Savior. Tree decorations over time changed to white wafers, then small pastries, colored paper, tinsel, cookies and other objects. Continue to read here
Merry Christmas to you and to your loved ones even if you don't celebrate Christmas. Christmas is about the message of Love and your relationship with God. So I hope you will celebrate that. Here is an Irish Christmas blessing to you my dear readers:
"Stripped of its materialistic and consumer trappings, Christmas offers a chance to welcome as a personal gift the message of hope that emanates from the mystery of Christ's birth," he added. Benedict, describing Christmas as a "universal holiday," said that "even a non-believer can perceive (in it) something special, transcendent and intimate that speaks to the heart."
Friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.
