We all have different versions of our self, but

I do love a man who contains multitudes… especially multitudes who hate each other.

What a great line from this post by Austin Kleon.

When I read this:

It got me thinking about psychoanalysis, and now a one way I think about the process of analysis is that it brings out more of the multitudes within people. When this happens, the effect is that an analysand will come to understand the conflicts (i.e., hatred) that these multitudes have with one another.

Then I got to thinking about how else I could express what Kelon did in his post from a psychoanalytic point of view. Here is what I came up with.

People contain a multitude of desires, and these desires don’t have a harmonious relationship with one another. We have imaginary desires to be whole, symbolic desires to be correct, and unconscious real desires that are impossible. These desires will not get along, and even if we try to make them get along through getting into productivity systems, getting fantastic at scheduling, meditating, dieting, exercise, etc., these desires will continue to have conflicts with one another.

Perhaps one of the effects of analysis is that it can get some people to realize the lack of harmony in their desires (i.e, multitudes) and find a way to live with that lack of harmony.