The Piano Man in New Zealand -or- Proust's Involuntary Memory

Classical Music -or- Post-modernism in New Zealand

The musical instrument of the piano  was invented in Italy around 1700 and today is just over 300 years old. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Chopin, Liszt, are some of the names associated to the classical music repertoire played on the piano. The music of Mozart and Beethoven find expression in other dream interpretations posted at the International Institute for Dream Research website. The piano accordion is a newer invention and also can be seen in our dreams as a post-modern expression. Here is the dream; 

Laura, 58 New Zealand 

I was in a shop having coffee with my adult daughter, I had my youngest son with me (he is actually 30 yrs old) and he was a baby in a pushchair, the pushchair was the old sort I had when he was young. I left my daughter and started walking down this hill among people, I saw my old boss in the crowd of people (actually he is no longer alive) and Elivia's camera shaped cell-phone started to play music from a piano accordion, My boss started looking for where the music was coming from as he used to play the accordion. I did not want him to see me so I quickly picked up the camera phone and looked at the message to stop it. The message was from my daughter who had not realized I had left earlier and wondered where I was. 

Cell-phone Reverie -or- Flashbacks down Memory Lane 

Your dream takes place evidently in the present as well as in the past, almost over 25-30 years ago when you were a mother out with your baby boy, who you most likely still see as your "baby". In the post-modern age with cell-phones, cameras and text messaging our ways of communicating and remembering have changed. Flashbacks down memory lane in our dreams is a common phenomena. For some who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) these involuntary flashbacks become chronic psychological intrusions in the workings of their everyday life.  

The psychological trigger for your flashback is your daughter's cell-phone that starts playing "music from a piano accordion". This music playing is then unconsciously associated to the memory of your former boss who used to play this instrument. In PTSD such triggers are a daily and an on-going occurrence. Anything can act as a mind-body  trigger for an "involuntary memory" sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. The voluntary mind has difficulty to control the intrusion of the involuntary memory. 

Many dream interpretations posted at the IIDR website such as "Haunted" speak of psychological knots in memory that are found in various degrees circulating in our dreams. Some carry emotional baggage from the past, others are haunted by traumatic memories. If Freud said that the hysteric mainly suffers from "reminiscences", then those memories are involuntary in nature. Said differently, they are memories found in our dreams. Perhaps you don't want to be seen by your boss because something that is to painful to remember. Or perhaps, he reminds you of your own mortality. Why you don't want to be seen, are associations likely only known to you. 

On a final few notes, his face in the crowd (your boss) and the ring tone musical setting of your dream, it reminds me of the water color memory lyrics of Billy Joel's song "Piano Man" (watch music video). Your daughter's cell phone text message indicates that she is trying to call you back from your flashback which your mind has wandered off into. Here are the first few lines from "Piano Man"; "It's nine o'clock on a Saturday The regular crowd shuffles in There's an old man sitting next to me Making love to his tonic and gin He says, ‘Son can you play me a memory I'm not really sure how it goes But it's sad and it's sweet And I knew it complete When I wore a younger man's clothes'."

 

 

 

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