Weaning

Because of circumstances we may not have been able to satisfy all our babyhood needs – we may have been weaned earlier than we wanted; our need for attention may have been unsatisfied or we felt rejected or unwanted – and these are shown as a baby in our dreams.

Dreams, such as the example below, show how we sense the need of this part of us to be cared for and nourished. If some of these earliest needs are not met in some way, the development of our enthusiasm, our pleasure and ability to be involved and self-giving, may be diminished, giving rise to dreams suggesting the need for nourishment. See: Inner Baby and Child

Hindu and African babies have always enjoyed demand feeding. They are seldom far from their mother’s side, and whenever they begin to fret, their mothers nurse them. It was only after my return to live in a block of flats in London that I realized how infrequently one hears a baby crying in India, how frequently in Britain.

I have already suggested that the early weaning of our babies may he responsible for the slight bias towards pessimism which colours our outlook. Among the Hindus whom I studied; the opposite bias prevailed, they seemed to live in constant expectation of a stroke of good fortune. Each new acquaintance was scanned hopefully as if he might be the agent of their material and spiritual salvation; and in spite of many disappointments, these hopes would rise again. Quoted from Lysergic Acid & Ritalin In the treatment of  Neurosis  

Example: ‘I have my own baby who is lying in a cot in a bedroom looking very weak and pathetic with eyes closed. I know that he or she is getting weaker and weaker through lack of food and care. In fact, the baby seems to be dying. The feelings of guilt are terrible because I know it is my responsibility to do something to make it well. I keep saying to myself I must go and feed that baby – but I don’t. I just keep worrying and feeling guilty.’ J. C.

Example: When I was about four years old I was looked after by an elderly woman while my mother went to work. One day I was in the house and the woman’s’ daughter came in. I stood watching her as she was in the dining room. Then I saw something that has remained in me forever. The daughter had a split up the side of her blouse, and through the split I could see her firm bare breast. Seeing it I felt an enormous hunger that filled my stomach, chest and mouth. I wanted to go to that breast and cuddle and suckle it.

At these deep levels of fantasy and desire, one has to recognise that the first sexual experience and sexual desire – hopefully – is at mothers breast. At a certain stage of development the emotional bond and cuddling is more important.