She couldn’t sleep well that night; rambling on thoughts about her final exams.
What would be the essay’s theme? She drowned in a sea of incoherence.
Walking, lost in thoughts and direction, she could only partially recognize her whereabouts.
Her heart started beating faster; she viewed from short distance, two people talking with great power and eloquence.
One noticed her and started walking into her direction. She heard her name but she couldn’t recognize him in the dawn.
The other man approached her. Her legs couldn’t move anymore.
She wanted to scream for help; no words came out of her mouth. Her breath was a suffocating gasp.
She closed her eyes, desperately trying to find strength to move a body that she didn’t control anymore. She was locked in space and time.
“Good morning young lady. You seem concerned with your final exams!
She opened her eyes and saw a familiar face staring at her.
These men dressed dated clothes; this one looked like coming from medieval times, or maybe he just left a Hollywood movie’s set.
“I see that you’re afraid of us. Let us make an introduction. I’m Sigmund Freud, that famous Austrian neurologist, the father of psychoanalysis. I need say no more, as you’re a Psychology student.”
The second man spoke: “I’m Augustine of Hippo and many call me Saint Augustine, as I was an early Christian theologian and philosopher.
‘Some say that my writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. I know that you are not fond of organized religion, but your parents taught you a great deal about Christianity history. You ought to know me’.
She went from panic to paralysis and landed in confusion land. What was going on? Who were they and why were they kidding her? Where was she?
She knew that Freud died in 1939; she remembered Saint Augustine’s story – at least that one of his quotes became very popular outside the religious circles – but she couldn’t remember it anymore. It didn’t matter, as the man surely died in 430.
What happened next, went very fast. They walked further and she saw a brain inside a bottle, immersed in formaldehyde – she recognized it from her anatomy classes.
Curiously, the brain was colorful and transparent and she could clearly see two hemispheres and its areas – cortex, basal ganglia, cerebellum, dura and brain stem – connected to the spinal cord.
She asked the question that had disturbed her sleep. “Is there an unconscious part in the brain and where is it?”
Augustine laughed. “When you appeared at the beach, we were discussing the origin of the unconscious; like you I was curious to know Freud and his ideas.
“The quote you can’t remember, young woman, is the one that brought us together… But Freud went far off my mere philosophy, and I doubt his theory.”
Freud interrupted with irritation: “Allow me to prove my theory, my dear. I didn’t spend my lifetime analyzing dreams for nothing; I created the theory of the unconscious!”
“I know what I am about to show you: Look.. here is the unconscious.”
She woke up with the usual alarm sound; ready she was to head to the university. Despite having had a short night sleep, she felt a strange renewed confidence.
Upon the arrival of the teacher, he announced the theme of the essay.
‘The Unconscious’ by Sigmund Freud…
She smiled…thinking about her encounter with Freud and Saint Augustine at the beach!
4 thoughts on “When Freud Showed the Unconscious to Saint Augustine”
Nice blending of history and fiction. I like how you brought Freud and St. Augustine together and tied it in with yourself as a student worrying about an exam and dreaming. Images are very nice too.
Thanks, Deborah. I enjoyed the experience of blending genres and researched carefully for photos on Flickr, when I couldn’t find a good one from my files. It too some time but it was great.
You grasped that I was the student..;-)and in truth, this dream really happened, and the exam was about the unconscious. I never forgot this.
Sights & Insights 
Nice blending of history and fiction. I like how you brought Freud and St. Augustine together and tied it in with yourself as a student worrying about an exam and dreaming. Images are very nice too.
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Thanks, Deborah. I enjoyed the experience of blending genres and researched carefully for photos on Flickr, when I couldn’t find a good one from my files. It too some time but it was great.
You grasped that I was the student..;-)and in truth, this dream really happened, and the exam was about the unconscious. I never forgot this.
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I wouldn’t forget it either. How cool is that!
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Very cool. I took notes as soon as I woke up.
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