ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the conception of the work of phantasy implies the existence of an internal world in which the meaning of emotional experience is something gradually construed and open to shape shifting. In other words, meaning generated by the work of phantasy is not a static thing, but a constant outpour of ways of organizing emotional experiences throughout life. It is these outflows generated by unconscious phantasies that have given the name "kernels of meaning". These kernels are constituted of unconscious phantasies formed around internal objects, which, as structures of the ego, function as complex magnetic poles that organize emotional experiences. These phantasies operate as internal unconscious molds that attribute meaning to affective experiences as if they were structures. It is through these kernels of meaning that unconscious phantasies continue to exert organizational power over emotional life and, as such, generate lasting mental states.
