Tell me about your childhood…

FREUDIAN: Tell me about your childhood.

SUBJECT: I was a, more or less, happy boy.

F: No, I don't believe you were. In fact you were not.

S: Oh, well, what do you mean? I think I was pretty happy as a child.

F: Mother. Tell me what you think of when I say Mother.

S: …Home.

F: There you have it.

S: I…

F: Let's move on. Something more concrete. What is you favorite color?

S: Uh, blue.

F: No, actually it's green.

S: Wha…? But I'm telling you, my favorite color is blue.

F: Well, that's what you say, with your conscious mind, but I am trying to help you access a different, deeper level of self-awareness––your subconscious mind.

S: So what does that have to do with my favorite color?

F: It's part of a larger paradigm, a theory, which I'm afraid would only distract from the real work, the real progress, we are trying to attain in this time.

S: Are you saying there is some connection between what I said about my mother, and home, and my favorite color being blue? Is green a symbol for my feelings?

F: Interesting. Notice how the first suggestion that we might pierce the veil of your conscious mind has you asking me if I am saying things that, in fact, you are saying. Are you saying there is a connection between your mother and the fact that green is your favorite color?

S: Green…? But blue is my favorite color.

F: So, do you see the problem? You have slipped into denial on the most trivial of matters.

S: … Can we change the topic?

F: Slipped…

S: Fine, my favorite color is green but I also love blue.

F: The subconscious emerges!