The Dream Book of Self-Knowledge
- must not concern the so-called "physical" ascetic who indulges in self-torture, since these people often fall into a far worse situation than their current life offers them; if this kind of ascetic appears in dreams then it is a warning to the dreamer against unnecessary punishment and self-torture.
- a positive aspect is when the ascetic renounces the emotional life or thoughts of the work in favor of higher ideals; being this kind of ascetic means that spiritual values clearly exceed earthly ones; if we see this kind of ascetic, our unconscious is indicating different possibilities of existence in our present body. Since the world has ceased to amuse the dreamer, he suspects there are higher ideals within and soon tries to realize them.
- declaring sexual abstinence: see Celibacy.
