sigmund freud

Civilizations and Its Discontents: Chapter 1

In chapter one of “Civilizations and Its Discontents”, Freud says a friend explained to him the “oceanic” feeling. My interpretations of it are; you can see life, appreciate it, feel overwhelmed by it, and call that feeling religious, but have no belief. It actually means feeling like you are a part of everything. I don’t think I have ever had the feeling of being a part of everything, but I have seen things before that took my breath away and gave me the “oceanic feeling” as I interpreted it. I experienced this when I went to Colorado for the first time. I was driving along the flat scenery when all of a sudden, the mountains were right in front of me, snow capped and all. Later that day, I was glad to not be a part of everything because it was the summer after the Columbine killings, and as I drove by the school I saw memorials with flowers and letters. It made me sad, but happy to not be a part of it, be from ...