Sunday, July 25, 2010

Inception

There is much buzz around the new Hollywood movie Inception, which led to a posting on the IASD (International Association for The Study of Dreams) website. The question remains, can someone invade the dream of another and if so, should that be encouraged, practiced,or taught?

Anthropological research has recorded the phenomena across several cultures where people claim that they can "enter" the psyche of another person while in the dream state. A small collection of books written,usually under the occult or popular culture,claim there are safe ways of learning and practicing this phenomena. One author compares the practice to be "like a family" going on an outing. Here is my response to the possibility of entering some one's psyche with dreams:

Like any good, healthy and functional family, we must NEVER enter the private space of another. This is not only respectful it is practicing basic integrity. Extending that notion to others, we must never invade any one's private space be it their home, their mail, their office, or any other space. It stands to reason that if someone could enter the psyche of another that this practice would be highly unethical. This is worse than the "home invasion" crimes that are committed. Entering some one's space, be it physical or mental, is clearly wrong.

One may argue (and some have) that this practice can be used for healing, or for sharing in a positive way. If this were the case, then the practice would be shared between people with full consent. Unfortunately, this is often not the case and those who promote the practice are doing so in an exploitive manner.

The issue remains with all matters of the psyche: only practices that promote healthy, loving, kind results should be put into practice. Everything else should remain in Hollywood drama.

2 comments:

  1. As a psychotherapist I totally agree with you, Teresa. And it's incredible how easily people tend to forget these basic ethical statements.

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  2. So I have now seen the movie and I will have to update this blog. The movie was a fantastic venue for pushing the boundries of what is real and what is a dream. It constantly reminds of to check our own state of consciousness and perceptions. I found it frightening and disturbing but I highly recommend it for those who wish to push their own boundries of reality.

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