Spanking

This is from a series about dreaming

I have written much about spanking; it is a core dreaming phenomenon. To many people, that might be an unexpected assertion; these are people who are most likely to be spanked.

But I have started with the conclusion. Let us start with the assertion that the dreaming world is a relief of one’s psyche. Even if one dreams of having fun at party, the party must be chosen. Is it a cocktail party in a Manhattan penthouse? Is it a dormitory party at a college? Is it a party at working-class camping ground? There are people who can imagine a penthouse party, but who would feel uncomfortable at a camping ground.

Nightmares are constructed similarly. Whether you are being chased by a mugger, or you have forgotten your lines in a stage-play, your predilections choose.

Here is the matter: there is some person or situation which is tormenting you. You are the innocent victim. That means, there has been a transfer of responsibility of your very real predilections to a fictional situation.

This a weird phenomenon, but it is a very human phenomenon, and I would go so far as to say that it is a defining characteristic. In all my years of dreaming, I have witnessed only humans doing this. That is the illumination that the dreaming world provides. If you can get to the periphery of the human zone and look back, this phenomenon appears to be the primary phenomenon.

It is not subtle: Think of the news stories of pastors or far-right politicians who fervently denounce transgender people of grooming children for sexual abuse, only to get caught years later wearing a tutu or collecting child porn … or worse.Think of alcoholic fathers who criticise their sons for lack of self-discipline. Think of thick-waisted middle-aged ladies who are scandalised by young women who wear short skirts.

Annoyance is the perfect example of self-spanking. It is a disagreeable experience, yet it is no punishment to the guilty. The only person who experiences it is the putative victim. If someone has moved your A4 paper, you must find it; you might even need to put it in a locked drawer, but annoyance adds nothing that could bring you closer to a resolution. It is merely the spanking you give yourself for having either control issues or struggles with personal orderliness.

If every annoyance experienced in waking life is a reflection of predilections, then every complaint made is an attempt at conspiracy with others. If you can convince others that you have been justifiably annoyed, you have justified your predilection. You have been spanked and you have been forgiven.

This is not zen.

The waking world is a park of circus tents of anti-zen conspiracies.