| Myths, legends, and fairy tales can also be
understood as "pictures of feelings."
They derive their enduring power from the
emotional chords they strike in our hearts and
minds. By interpreting these stories as we would
a dream, we gain insights into both the stories
and our approach to understanding dreams. An
obvious example is the myth of Sisyphus.
In Greek legend Sisyphus was condemned for
eternity to roll an enormous boulder up the side
of a mountain, but every time he neared the
summit the boulder would roll back down and he
would have to begin again. If reported as a
dream, we'd recognize that this is a picture of
the feeling of frustration that comes from making
huge exertions at some task, but achieving no
progress and reaping no rewards. Here are some
other examples: |
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