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PLEASANT DREAMS!
* By ALICE RICHARDS *
"There's more betwixt Heaven and Earth—"
ADVENTURE certainly covers a lot of territory for such a _small and compact word. It is a category which probably is the only one covering everything that has ever been known to man. It can concern itself with little everyday things all the way up to lion hunting and escaping from prison. It runs down the whole list, backwards and forwards, and no matter how humdrum a thing may appear from the outside to the nonchalant viewer, there is always some part of its working ability which may inspire someone to consider it a topic for adventure, and cause someone else to invest in making it work.
But just as adventure covers everything about our everyday life, we and everything we do, it also has an ability which we have not as yet perfected. It can escape into another part of our lives which we know very little about, which we have no known control over, and which we can see only when whatever force that controls it, wishes us to see it. This field, over which we ponder so much, is that of dreams, and certainly there is no one alive and reading this, who has not dreamed at one time in his life, who can truthfully say that his dreams have been just as everyday as his waking hours, and that they have been unadventurous and that there has really never been anything much that has happened. All one need do to disprove this is to take an extra bite of that cheese sandwich just before retiring, and off he is, on the maddest and most unexplainable adventure he has ever encountered, or perhaps, he hopes to high heaven that he never will encounter in broad daylight, Or for that matter, he does not wish to see it again in his dreams.
There are many things about dreams which people have tried to explain away, and which other people have tried to get some meaning out of. The study of the meaning of dreams is a large ?eld, and everyone, it seems, has, at one time or another, tried to interpret his own dream, probably to the way he wants it to be. The field of dreams covers everything from abuse to zulu, and even these subjects are divided into different categories.
As for the meaning of dreams, many people are trying to find out how much dreams actually do mean. They may mean much, and on the other hand, they may mean practically nothing. There's also the middle road of dreams which states that dreams mean very little in proportion to their length and all the subjects that they cover, but this is always a fairly safe stand to take. Surely, after a few dreams, one can understand that all are not exactly alike, all do not follow the same pattern, and that there definitely are different kinds of dreams, which come under different sets of conditions. This is so obvious that it is hardly necessary to explain that certain tasks or duties performed during the waking hours or just before retiring, either act to stimulate the intensity of the dream or the type of dream one may have. Excitement, or an unusual event, as the easiest things to understand, are two of the main reasons for the vivid dreaming, which we sometimes view with alarm.
SOMETIMES, too, one dreams while under the influence of laughing gas or nitrous oxide, which is given before the performing of a slight operation. This is sleep which occurs not from natural causes, and yet, one dreams, even more vividly than if it was a natural sleep. The effects of this gas sometimes reach astounding heights as far as reactions go. The patient usually witnesses a slight and jumbled dream, and often curious results are produced. It is to he expected that this gas hits the subconscious mind, and releases all the pent-up feelings and emotions an apparently Well-behaved person would never think of releasing were he in possession of his own mind.
Of the kinds of dreams which mean absolutely nothing at all, as far as significant forecasting goes, are those which come from over-indulging in too much rich food or drink, or sometimes in too many drugs, too much heavy duty resulting in great fatigue, or mental exhaustion. Too much of the apple pie is liable to induce a dream utterly invalid, as far as prophecy goes, and those who believe in the reliability of dreams maintain that no dream which comes during the first few hours of a night's sleep while digestive processes are still going on, is to be taken seriously. This may also be considered in this light: it is said that the best hours of sleep one receives during a night's time, are the first two hours.
If one has dreamed at all, then certainly one of the dreams which has been prominent is the one which logically has a plot in it, and which builds up to the right moment when from the world about us comes a telephone ring, or a baby's cry, which ?ts quite perfectly and specifically into the plot of the dream. This type of dream seems to the casual observer, and at first glance, that it is proof enough that dreams can foretell future occurrences, for certainly a dream like that couldn't have been made to fit into a telephone bell's call, or a baby's cry, without someone's knowledge that such things would occur. Nothing has yet come to light to either prove or disprove any theory made about such a dream, but this sort of vision may be nothing more than a simple lightning thought that goes through the mind at the precise moment that the sound occurs from the waking world, but which arrives first at the brain before the other sound penetrates. Dreams such as these are considered as nothing more than psychological phenomena, and they are also regarded as mechanical rather than spiritually induced dreams. However interesting they may be, as far as the contents of the dreams go, and as far as conversational topic and mulling over in the mind privately, actually, these dreams cannot be considered as having any bearing on future events in life.
NO MATTER how much one meets scoffers in the world about us today, who deny that there is anything to believe in dreams, it still goes without saying that most of us believe in dreams, especially when they hit upon something close to our heart. Ever since Adam and Eve, there has always been a sincere belief in dreams, at least in a partial sense, as to their significance, and there has never been a priority as to which type of person may believe in them. People ranking from bus boy to king, from every station in life, men, women, and children, have been influenced by the visions which come to them while they sleep. And if they do not know What their dreams mean, and feel that they cannot fathom them out themselves because there is more than a half-way significant thought trying to be impressed upon them, people do not stop long in pondering. They go to one who professes to know what is behind the dream itself, who says he can puzzle out the message behind the whole thought. They go to someone who is considered expert in the interpretation of their particular dream. Nowadays, it is not considered a very ethical practice to have, but that is certainly not a drawback, for there are hundreds of persons operating in this field. It does not hold back on the lucrative possibilities of the field, either.
Persons from all over have been known to come miles to consult a person whose fame in correctly translating a dream has been widespread.
Many unexplainable circumstances have been recorded about dreams, which scientists have given up ever trying to fathom out, with the tools they now have at their call. Some day, they will be aided further by new discoveries, but as yet, they do not possess the right knowledge. Certainly, a reputable source of information is the highly regarded writer of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Rudyard Kipling. In a book of his, Mr. Kipling told of a dream he once had, which has been quite puzzling to all searchers for the truth. A reasonable answer has yet to be found.
In this dream, Kipling relates, he found himself in a large and ancient hall, where he was attending some sort of a ceremony. Of all the odd and old fixtures around the great room, the one object which stood out most in his mind, and which he noticed particularly, was the stone floor, and its intricate pattern. While he was in the midst of observing this, the ceremony, whatever one was being performed, came to an end, and he recalled that at this time, someone came up from behind him, and putting an arm on his shoulder, said, "I want a word with you."
THIS was the dream in its entirety, for immediately afterwards, he awoke, and could not force himself to continue the sleep. However, he still continued to think about the dream, remembering every detail, and recalling it in its entirety. Shortly after this interesting dream, he was invited to Westminster Abbey to witness a ceremony. As Mr. Kipling was sitting and viewing the proceedings, his eye was attracted by something, and looking around to find out what had caused him to avert his attention, his glance fell on the flooring, and to his astonishment, he recognized it as the same pattern which adorned the ancient hall in his dream! He could not forget the dream, for it had been so vivid, and he was positive it was the same pattern. While he was pondering over such a strange circumstance, the ceremony which had been going on, ended, and before he had a chance to rise from his seat and leave, a man walked up to him, put his hand on Kipling's arm, and said, "I want a word with you, please!" Certainly such recorded happenings, from such reliable sources, should he viewed with more than a passing interest.
There is another firm believer in dreams, whose name has been recorded for posterity as one of the wisest presidents and most beloved man, Abraham Lincoln. Throughout his entire life, Abraham Lincoln fervently looked for some hidden meaning to his numerous dreams, and he certainly found what he was looking for. One of his most curious dreams, which is well-known throughout the circles that follow such affairs, and which is pointed to as supporting evidence for the plea that there is such a thing as forecasting of future happenings in dreams, is the one which Mr. Lincoln related to his wife and a few friends one evening after dinner. It has been handed down through the years, and has been a puzzle to as many people who have heard it related. Certainly there is no known scientific reasoning to explain sway its facts, at least there is none now.
This particular dream of Mr. Lincoln's took place in the White House. He found himself wandering through the entire house one evening, and as he went from one room to another, he could find no other person occupying any of the rooms other than himself. It was tomblike, and the silence overwhelming, with the exception that occasionally, Mr. Lincoln could hear what he believed to he the sobbing of many people, At last, coming into the East Room, he found himself in a group of soldiers, who were guarding what appeared to he a corpse. Standing around in small groups were a multitude of people, quietly weeping. Pushing his way through the mob, he finally got to the front and asked one of the guards standing near him who had died in the White House. "The president," answered the soldier, "he was assassinated." Upon this, the entire mob of people broke again into new shouts of grief, and Mr, Lincoln awoke from this foretelling dream of tragedy. The sound of those cries had awakened him, and that dream of tragedy came true not more than four days afterwards when a bullet from an assassin's gun put Abraham Lincoln to sleep forever.
BECAUSE he was such a figure of prominence, many more stories of Abraham Lincoln and those of his dreams have come down to us through the ages. Another one of the dreams he is known to have had, and to have told to more than just one person, took place the night before the last cabinet meeting he ever held. The meeting took place shortly before Lincoln left for Ford's Theatre, in Washington, where John Wilkes Booth killed him on April 14, 1365.
This same dream, which was related at this time to his entire cabinet and to General Ulysses S. Grant, who was also present, was not a new one for Lincoln, for he remarked that he had had this same dream in identical pictures, several times before, the only definite thing about each one was that it had always occurred before an important and decisive battle. When Grant had asked Lincoln if he had received any news from Sherman, who at that time, was still fighting General Johnston's forces near Goldsborough, N. C., Mr. Lincoln said no, but that he believed they would soon hear some news, and that the news they would receive would be good. He knew, he said, because of the dream he had had the previous night. This dream of Lincoln's was that the president found himself in a peculiar and undescribable vessel, on some kind of lake or river, and that it seemed he was always in this same kind of vessel, and that he was moving in what he termed a great rapidness, toward a dark and indefinite shore.
The dream was always the same, and it always ended at the same time. What never failed was that, shortly afterwards, came the news of some victorious occurrence from somewhere along the front; even though the particular event and results were unimportant, it was a victorious piece of news. General Grant is reported to have scoffed at the idea, but it is also reported that a few days later, General Johnston surrendered his army to General Sherman! Those are the facts, no matter what they may point to.
The last three instances are those which happened to persons just like all the others in this world, human beings, that can he understood. But there is also a kind of dream, and a side to the dream which is hard for many people to comprehend. Dreams are said to have a great influence upon the world. And many of these dreams which come to humans just like ourselves, are claimed to be from another world, given to us for the benefit of ours. Great persons of our times and those before us, have refused to accept the claims of greatness thrust upon them, saying that the great pieces of literature which they have written, or the great musical compositions which they have mastered, are really not theirs at all, but were given to them from someone in another world, while they slept. It is known that an inventor is considered to be somewhat of a dreamer, but it is probable, under these circumstances, that because of this dreamy attitude, our civilization is being enriched by the dreams which are transferred from his mind to working use for the consumption of all the peoples of this world.
ON THE literary side of this question, to name just a few of those who received their greatness through dreams, Robert Louis Stevenson's weird dream of a man with two natures, gave us the well-known classic of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Certainly, if we were to study it closely, it would appear to many of us that we have witnessed just the same type of thing in a lesser form, probably, during one of our own nocturnal visitations. John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress," which has been proclaimed by all the world as one of our great masterpieces of all time, was brought to light by a dream Bunyan once had. And the poem "Kubla Khan," which once in the life of every child must be learned by heart, and which is considered one of the finest in the field of poetry, came to us because its author, Samuel Taylor Coleridge was addicted to drugs, which made him sleep much of the time. During one of these long sleeps of his, the poem came to him.
Although this article has shown that dreams can and do deal with everything and anything, it is also true that for the most part, dreams are intensely personal. Some of them cannot be told without making the person it concerns, a mite foolish-looking.
Most of the dreams which are personal concern the thoughts which are most private and untouchable by any other person and which the individual himself does not dwell too long upon during his waking hours. Thus it is that certain dreams are fairly humorous when it is considered who the person is who is dreaming it, for it makes issues out of subjects which one would never dare to dwell upon in the hearing of that certain individual.
It has often been recorded that bald-headed persons who have been quite touchy about the subject, and who steer clear of the subject as much as possible during the waking hours of the day, are known to dream of having permanent waves given them, or marcels, or else, they find themselves being complimented by the beautiful texture or color of their hair! This is not an unusual occurrence, and it is funny, when one thinks about it.
Aside from the value of dreams as predicting what will occur in the future years, dreams also hold a fascination of adventure. In a very humdrum existence of everyday work and nothing out of the ordinary, the release of excess energy is believed to be spent during the dreaming hours, when all our inhibitions are spent. A small department store clerk dreams be is piloting a huge airplane, driving a locomotive, taming a snarling lion, or saving a beautiful lady in distress, and he awakens the following morning, feeling brave and full of life.
No matter how great the adventure, though, or what is the personal opinion concerning the validity of dreams meaning something, it must. be understood that dreams are just another part of this life which we have yet to learn all about. What we believe to be true today may be proved entirely incorrect tomorrow. At any rate, it might be interesting to know if anyone has as yet ever discovered this new angle: have you ever dreamed of waking up? It must be a funny feeling.