Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
An Interview with Paul Meloy
My interview with Paul is posted at The Fix. And a damn fine interview it is, too. Here’s one of my favorite bits — we got into it on the way dreams figure into his work:
I don’t believe dreams are there just to do us a favour. As if the unconscious is some benign sorting office. There’s no reason to believe that the unconscious isn’t as polluted and pathological as our conscious mind. I think you have to apply a bit of discernment with dreams. Sometimes it’s easy to recognise a symbol and interpret it, or attribute aspects to your anima or animus, or your sexuality. Sometimes it’s a bit of wish fulfilment, a bit of fantasy or frustrated desire being played out. Sometimes dreams are plagued by a sense of nostalgia or longing that remains in your psyche and dogs you all the next day. And maybe there’s a receiving apparatus for visions built in there, too.
Enjoy.
D.
Great interview, indeed.
Our dreams can tell us a great deal about ourselves, but I like how Paul says we must apply “a bit of discernment.” I try not to actualize anything from my dreams unless the symbols reoccurs frequently and it obviously applies to my life.
Thanks, Matt. I think it has been a while since my dreams gave me any great insight; nowadays, I’m happy if I can remember them.