I had a dream that my friend Matthew, a poet and English professor, had organized a poetry reading in some small but grand city (like the one in The Unconcoled?). He read a fantastic poem about an elephant. Then, a woman with blonde hair, who looked like a stereotypical librarian--pastel cardigan, glasses, tidy haircut, pearls--got up and read a riveting poem called "Good Thoughts." The conceit of the poem, which was mainly interior monologue, was that it was absurd to assign value to thoughts. It documented the range of her thoughts over the course of a day or so, but was then punctuated by reflection on the absurdity of deeming some of them good and some bad (meaning either immoral or unproductive or somehow damaging).
When I woke, I found myself fascinated by the question of evaluating thoughts. We have some control over what we think, but certainly much less than total control. Surely, some of what we think leads to positive outcomes and some to negative. But the cause and effect relationships are hazy, indirect, and unpredictable most of the time. Self-help gurus suggest that positive thinking will change our lives, and I believe in cognitive therapy enough to believe that this is largely true. As I type, I'm also struck by the fact that Freud's work was about stripping value judgments off the contents of what he called the unconscious, one particular form of thought.
I'm thinking I might use the poet in my dream's idea about "good thoughts" as the kernel of some writing, which is what interests me most about the dream. I think I may use it in both a nonfiction essay and in a fiction project I'm hatching. I'm always on the lookout for material to cull from dreams, and I may have found one!
Comments (7)
When I read this, I remembered (I'll remain anonymous =)) someone in this class was doing a research project on dreams influencing creative writing...this is a perfect example!
I found your dream interesting because I never really thought of evaluating thoughts...this is a good topic to research because I've always felt that what you think is yours and it should always be right in relation to yourself...
I never believed one can control thoughts, but in terms of psychology...I don't know because I guess if it is possible, no one will ever be miserable because they will have learned to think only positive thoughts...hmmm
Posted by True Romance | April 12, 2007 3:53 AM
Posted on April 12, 2007 03:53
I wonder, you describe your friend's poem as "fanatstic," and the librarian's as "riveting." Do you recall the poems? Actually percieving the content in some way, so that you may attribute these descriptions to them? Or were they simply "understood" to be fatastic and riveting? This too seems to be similar to what you're getting at here.
Posted by Anonymous | April 14, 2007 4:42 PM
Posted on April 14, 2007 16:42
To Anonymous: I don't remember the poems much. I wish I did. But I don't think their content was actually fantastic or riveting. It was more that they seemed that way in the dream. I remember that the woman's poem contained a refrain involving the phrase "good thoughts" and that it was a little wry and a little dark at the same time. The elephant poem was playful and descriptive, but I don't remember any of the language. (Incidentally, I just gave a huge stuffed elephant to a 2 1/2 year old friend.)
Posted by Lydgate | April 14, 2007 4:46 PM
Posted on April 14, 2007 16:46
"every morning we awake from an important state in our minds in which we spend a great deal of time and which can sometimes help us accomplish great feats" - Ernest Hartmann.
Oh, and speaking of The Unconsoled, during the conference can I walk out on stage using an ironing board as a crutch?
Posted by John A. Dreams | April 16, 2007 8:27 PM
Posted on April 16, 2007 20:27
To John A. Dreams: Thanks for the reminder. And, obviously, you'll be the conference centerpiece with your ironing board-crutch, a living example of condensation at work.
Posted by Lydgate | April 16, 2007 11:37 PM
Posted on April 16, 2007 23:37
fascinating dream and subsequent conversation. the whole idea of assigning value judgments to thoughts is one i've been wrestling with in terms of emotions. are they part of the same beast? probably, but am trying to confine judgment to the actions i take, not the thoughts or emotions i have.
Posted by Sonomas | April 17, 2007 4:45 PM
Posted on April 17, 2007 16:45
I agree with Sonomas that this is an interesting dream and discussion. Definitely ideas about having "good thoughts" link to dreaming where we have less control over whether our thoughts are good/bad rational/irrational. While we know that thoughts do not necessarily "do" anything - there has to be an action involved for the thought to have an effect on others - how do "bad thoughts" affect the thinker? Are they more honest and realistic than trying to think positively all the time. Is the whole positive thinking movement a type of self mind-control or brain-washing? Or is it best to train oneself in "good thoughts" that are much more likely to lead to good actions? And are "good thoughts" enough to make you a "good person"....
Posted by silent partner | May 13, 2007 1:01 AM
Posted on May 13, 2007 01:01