Shut off the censor and listen

Andre Breton - Manifesto of Surrealism

“I believe in the future resolution of these two states, dream and reality, which are seemingly so contradictory, into a kind of absolute reality, a surreality, if one may so speak” (p. 529).  

The only thing exciting and legitimate is freedom and the best way to employ our freedom is the imagination, the ability to imagine what can be.  
The insane enjoy their madness enough to not doubt its validity beyond them.

Breton was foundational in the stream of consciousness movement.  We tried this in class, it is very hard.  We began by asking our censors to step outside and then just sat and tried to write what we were thinking.  I came up with a couple of rhymes and then started asking why I rhymed, so I just stopped.  After a while I began to try and identify what I was feeling and I had a heavy emotional weight on my chest.  I asked what it was and at first thought compassion, but compassion for what?  Then I realized I had a test in two hours and it was stress.  This was quite amazing for me because whenever I am stressed I just entertain myself out of the stress, which usually results in nothing getting done because I am too busy distracting myself to deal with the stress.  I also do this semi-unconsciously.  Which means that I don’t think about what I am doing, but when I do sit down and think and ask what is going on with myself I do figure it out.  I usually figure it out after the exam though, after the stress is over.  This time I did it before the exam.  It was quite the experience.  I think I can be a lot more aware of my emotions and conscious about my actions if I sit down and ask how I am doing.  This exercise is also quite familiar because it is so similar to quite time and trying to connect to God.  Shut off the censor and just listen.  

Another good quote:
“Can’t the dream also be used in solving the fundamental questions of life?” (p. 527)