the language of dreams

As you probably know, hieroglyphics were called "the words of God" and were mainly used by Egyptian priests. A separate script, known as hieratic, was used to conduct the business of everyday life. Hieractic was a quicker, streamlined form of hieroglyphic, often abbreviated to the point of abstraction.

However, few people know that this pictorial language was preceded by an even more archaic ancestor - what is now referred to as 'the language of dreams.' The american psychologist Julian Jaynes hypothesised that prior to developing consciousness the human mind was divided into two parts, one that spoke and issued commands and another part that listened and obeys. These subconscious edicts were given in the language of dreams. The language of instinct and and archetype, encompassing all fear and all desire. This language was then said to persist alongside the maturation of human consciousness. To give an example, when two people fall in love, they are said to speak a remnant of this language. The native language of immortality and flight and wonder. The language of the infinite, of possibility and implausibility, of sensation over sensibility, of alternate reality.

While spoken languages primarily served a social function, the language of dreams differed in that it could only be understood by one person. Some argued that this use of the term 'language' was inaccurate and should be discontinued. Suggestions for a substitute included 'the unconscious voice' or 'narrative subconscious'. Nevertheless, the label of 'language' stuck.

Information regarding the history of the language has been exclusively gathered from the accounts of certain aboriginal communities. There is invariably no written record. The responsibility of transmitting this information is normally entrusted to skilled orators who are also charged with telling the history of their tribe. Firsthand accounts of specific stimuli or phenomena that reliably induce recollection of this lost language have been shown to demonstrate a remarkable level of concordance. Many of these involve what are now classed as hallucinogenic substances. The recollection itself appears to most often manifest as a kaleidoscope of visceral and emotional experience, variously described as a sense of utter contentment and inescapable terror, a feeling of universal connection and alienation, a feeling of paralysis and complete freedom. Once, a researcher asked an aboriginal elder if he could be taught the language. In return, the elder chuckled and asked the researcher if sparrows could be taught the language of trees.

The traditional view is that our early forms of speech did not correlate well with the language of dreams. The vocabulary of concrete objects and shapes did not readily lend itself to the formlessness of the mind. We could say what we needed to live, but struggled to convey what made us feel alive. We could not describe our electric fantasies or terrible longings, we could only offer dull analogies that sketched a poor outline of what we truly meant - like descriptions of reflections of shadows in a cave.

Over the years, many people have dismissed the language as juvenile and outdated. Certain groups dismiss it as myth or believe it to be a political invention. Still other groups maintain that institutions and people in positions of power throughout history have largely succeeded in supplanting this language with the language of aerodynamics, national infrastructure and fixed rate mortgages. Some people say that the language of dreams fell out of common use sometime during the 14th century, while others maintain that the language is still in use but has over the years evolved into a form that bears no resemblance to the original. Among certain obscure and arcane circles, there are furtive suggestions of a sect who continue to speak it in secret, whispered rumours of certain people who have never lost the ability to hear it.



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