Nostalgia is distinguished from homesickness from which it was originally derived, and from fantasy to which it is related. It is described as an affective-cognitive experience, usually involving memories of places in one's past. These memories are associated with a characteristic affective coloration described as "bittersweet". It is concluded that the locales remembered are displacements from objects whose representation was repressed. Nostalgia is a ubiquitous human experience that is evoked by particular stimuli under special circumstances and, while it is generally a normal occurrence, pathological forms occur. Among those discussed are: nostalgia as a substitute for mourning, as an attempted mastery through idealization and displacement of a painful past, as a resistance in analysis, and as a counterphobic mechanism. Nostalgia not only serves as a screen memory, but may also be said to operate as a screen affect.

The inability to believe in chance occurrences and an intolerance of ambiguity in the external world are often the outward manifestations of poor psychological mindedness. Such attitudes are frequently accompanied by beliefs in the occult and the mystical. It is suggested that these factors be considered when an individual is being evaluated for analytic treatment.

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It is postulated that consciousness is not simply an organ of perception, but that it possesses a structure, or organization, despite its enormous fluidity. In support of these views, the oceanic experience is explored. It demonstrates the impact, on this state of consciousness, of the subject's values and culture. Like the oceanic experience, every state of consciousness--what is in awareness at any given time--is a complex phenomenon that derives from all aspects of the psyche, including the subject's value system and the influences of his culture.