This paper is an exploration of the relationship between nurturing in all its contexts - among them, the nursing couple and the therapeutic relationship - and the evolution of an individual self. The ideas are illustrated by a case vignette of a Russian patient. An attempt is made to show that when the self as an integral unity of body and soul is addressed in the analytic setting, ‘nutritional dreams’ emerge as expressions of the self-in-action. Certain psycholinguistic features of the Russian cultural context are described which suggest a link of meaning between development of the self and secure parenting. This linguistic association may facilitate the process of self-centering.