第1章

AScientificandPracticalInterpretationofDreamsWhat’sinaDream：AScientificandPracticalInterpretationofDreamsMiller，GustavusHindmanPREFACE。“Dreamsarerudimentsofthegreatstatetocome。Wedreamwhatisabouttohappen。”——BAILEY。 TheBible，aswellasothergreatbooksofhistoricalandrevealedreligion，showstracesofageneralandsubstantialbeliefindreams。Plato，Goethe，ShakespeareandNapoleonassignedtocertaindreamspropheticvalue。JosephsawelevenstarsoftheZodiacbowtohimself，thetwelfthstar。ThefamineofEgyptwasrevealedbyavisionoffatandleancattle。TheparentsofChristwerewarnedofthecrueledictofHerod，andfledwiththeDivineChildintoEgypt。 Pilate’swife，throughtheinfluenceofadream，advisedherhusbandtohavenothingtodowiththeconvictionofChrist。Butthegrossmaterialismofthedaylaughedatdreams，asitechoedthevoiceandverdictofthemultitude，“CrucifytheSpirit，butletthefleshlive。” Barabbas，therobber，wassetatliberty。 Theultimatumofallhumandecreesandwisdomistogratifythepassionsofthefleshattheexpenseofthespirit。Theprophetsandthosewhohavestoodnearestthefountainofuniversalknowledgeuseddreamswithmorefrequencythananyothermodeofdivination。 Profane，aswellassacred，historyisthreadedwithincidentsofdreamprophecy。AncienthistoryrelatesthatGennadiuswasconvincedoftheimmortalityofhissoulbyconversingwithanapparitioninhisdream。 ThroughthedreamofCeciliaMetella，thewifeofaConsul，theRomanSenatewasinducedtoorderthetempleofJunoSospitarebuilt。 TheEmperorMarciandreamedhesawthebowoftheHunnishconquerorbreakonthesamenightthatAttiladied。8 PlutarchrelateshowAugustus，whileill，throughthedreamofafriend，waspersuadedtoleavehistent，whichafewhoursafterwascapturedbytheenemy，andthebedwhereonhehadlainwaspiercedwiththeenemies’swords。 IfJuliusC？sarhadbeenlessincredulousaboutdreamshewouldhavelistenedtothewarningwhichCalpurnia，hiswife，receivedinadream。 Croesussawhissonkilledinadream。 PetrarchsawhisbelovedLaura，inadream，onthedayshedied，afterwhichhewrotehisbeautifulpoem，“TheTriumphofDeath。” CicerorelatesthestoryoftwotravelingArcadianswhowenttodifferentlodgings——onetoaninn，andtheothertoaprivatehouse。Duringthenightthelatterdreamedthathisfriendwasbeggingforhelp。Thedreamerawoke；but，thinkingthematterunworthyofnotice，wenttosleepagain。Thesecondtimehedreamedhisfriendappeared，sayingitwouldbetoolate，forhehadalreadybeenmurderedandhisbodyhidinacart，undermanure。Thecartwasafterwardsoughtforandthebodyfound。Ciceroalsowrote，“Ifthegodslovementheywillcertainlydisclosetheirpurposestotheminsleep。” Chrysippuswroteavolumeondreamsasdivineportent。 Hereferstotheskilledinterpretationsofdreamsasatruedivination； butaddsthat，likeallotherartsinwhichmenhavetoproceedonconjectureandonartificialrules，itisnotinfallible。 Platoconcurredinthegeneralideaprevailinginhisday，thatthereweredivinemanifestationstothesoulinsleep。Condorcetthoughtandwrotewithgreaterfluencyinhisdreamsthaninwakinglife。 Tartini，adistinguishedviolinist，composedhis“Devil’sSonata“undertheinspirationofadream。Coleridge，throughdreaminfluence，composedhis“KublaKhan。” ThewritersofGreekandLatinclassicsrelatemanyinstancesofdreamexperiences。Homeraccordedtosomedreamsdivineorigin。Duringthethirdandfourthcenturies，thesupernaturaloriginofdreamswassogenerallyacceptedthatthefathers，relyingupontheclassicsandtheBibleasauthority，madethisbeliefadoctrineoftheChristianChurch。 Synesiusplaceddreamingaboveallmethodsofdiviningthefuture；hethoughtitthesurest，andopentothepoorandrichalike。9 Aristotlewrote：“Thereisadivinationconcerningsomethingsindreamsnotincredible。”CamilleFlammarion，inhisgreatbookon“PremonitoryDreamsandDivinationoftheFuture。”says：“Idonothesitatetoaffirmattheoutsetthatoccurrenceofdreamsforetellingfutureeventswithaccuracymustbeacceptedascertain。” JoanofArcpredictedherdeath。 Cazotte，theFrenchphilosopherandtranscendentalist，warnedCondorcetagainstthemannerofhisdeath。 Peopledreamnow，thesameastheydidinmedievalandancienttimes。 Thefollowingexcerptfrom“TheUnknown。”1arecentbookbyFlammarion，theFrenchastronomer，supplementedwithafewofmyownthoughtsandcollections，willanswerthepurposesintendedforthisbook。 “Wemayseewithouteyesandhearwithoutears，notbyunnaturalexcitementofoursenseofvisionorofhearing，fortheseaccountsprovethecontrary，butbysomeinteriorsense，psychicandmental。 “Thesoul，byitsinteriorvision，mayseenotonlywhatispassingatagreatdistance，butitmayalsoknowinadvancewhatistohappeninthefuture。Thefutureexistspotentially，determinedbycauseswhichbringtopasssuccessiveevents。 WORLD，asrealastheworldknowntoourphysicalsenses。 “Andnow，becausethesoulactsatadistancebysomepowerthatbelongstoit，areweauthorizedtoconcludethatitexistsassomethingreal，andthatitisnottheresultoffunctionsofthebrain？ “Doeslightreallyexist？ “Doesheatexist？ “Doessoundexist？ “No。 “Theyareonlymanifestationsproducedbymovement。 “Whatwecalllightisasensationproduceduponouropticnervebythevibrationsofether，comprisingbetween400and75610 trillionspersecond，undulationsthatarethemselvesveryobscure。 “Whatwecallheatisasensationproducedbyvibrationsbetween350and600trillions。 “Thesunlightsupspace，asmuchatmidnightasatmidday。 Itstemperatureisnearly270degreesbelowzero。 “Whatwecallsoundisasensationproduceduponourauditorynervebysilentvibrationsoftheair，themselvescomprisingbetween32，000 and36，000asecond…… “Verymanyscientifictermsrepresentonlyresults，notcauses。“Thesoulmaybeinthesamecase。 “Theobservationsgiveninthiswork，thesensations，theimpressions，thevisions，thingsheard，etc。，mayindicatephysicaleffectsproducedwithoutthebrain。 “Yes，nodoubt，butitdoesnotseemso。 “Letusexamineoneinstance。 “Turnbackto156。 “Ayoungwoman，adoredbyherhusband，diesatMoscow。 Herfather-in-law，atPulkowo，nearSt。Petersburg，sawherthatsamehourbyhisside。Shewalkedwithhimalongthestreet；thenshedisappeared。 Surprised，startled，andterrified，hetelegraphedtohisson，andlearnedboththesicknessandthedeathofhisdaughter-in-law。 “WeareabsolutelyobligedtoadmitthatSOMETHINGemanatedfromthedyingwomanandtouchedherfather-in-law。Thisthingunknownmayhavebeenanetherealmovement，asinthecaseoflight，andmayhavebeenonlyaneffect，aproduct，aresult；butthiseffectmusthavehadacause，andthiscauseevidentlyproceededfromthewomanwhowasdying。 Cantheconstitutionofthebrainexplainthisprojection？Idonotthinkthatanyanatomistorphysiologistwillgivethisquestionanaffirmativeanswer。Onefeelsthatthereisaforceunknown，proceeding，notfromourphysicalorganization，butfromthatinuswhichcanthink。 “Takeanotherexample(see57)。 “Aladyinherownhousehearsavoicesinging。Itisthevoiceofafriendnowinaconvent，andshefaints，becausesheissureitisthevoiceofthedead。Atthesamemomentthatfrienddoesreallydie，twentymilesawayfromher。11 “Doesnotthisgiveustheimpressionthatonesoulholdscommunicationwithanother？ “Hereisanotherexample(163)： “ThewifeofacaptainwhohasgoneouttotheIndianmutinyseesonenightherhusbandstandingbeforeherwithhishandspressedtohisbreast，andalookofsufferingonhisface。Theagitationthatshefeelsconvincesherthatheiseitherkilledorbadlywounded。ItwasNovember14th。TheWarOfficesubsequentlypublisheshisdeathashavingtakenplaceonNovember15th。Sheendeavorstohavethetruedateascertained。TheWarOfficewaswrong。Hediedonthe14th。 “Achildsixyearsoldstopsinthemiddleofhisplayandcriesout，frightened：“Mamma，IhaveseenMamma。”Atthatmomenthismotherwasdyingfarawayfromhim(124)。 “Ayounggirlataballstopsshortinthemiddleofadanceandcries，burstingintotears。`Myfatherisdead；Ihavejustseenhim。’Atthatmomentherfatherdied。Shedidnotevenknowhewasill。 “Allthesethingspresentthemselvestousasindicatingnotphysiologicaloperationsofonebrainactingonanother，butpsychicactionsofspirituponspirit。Wefeelthattheyindicatetoussomepowerunknown。 “Nodoubtitisdifficulttoapportionwhatbelongstothespirit，thesoul，andwhatbelongstothebrain。Wecanonlyletourselvesbeguidedinourjudgmentandourappreciationsbythesamefeelingthatiscreatedinusbythediscussionofphenomena。Thisishowallsciencehasbeenstarted。Well，anddoesnoteveryonefeelthatwehaveheretodowithmanifestationsfrombeingscapableofthought，andnotwithmaterialphysiologicalfactsonly？ “Thisimpressionissuperabundantlyconfirmedbyinvestigationconcerningtheunknownfacultiesofthesoul，whenactiveindreamsandsomnambulism。 “Abrotherlearnsthedeathofhisyoungsisterbyaterriblenightmare。 “Ayounggirlseesbeforehand，inadream，themanwhomshewillmarry。 “Amotherseesherchildlyinginaroad，coveredwithblood。 “Aladygoes，inadream，tovisitherhusbandonadistantsteamer，andherhusbandreallyreceivesthisvisit，whichisseenbyathirdperson。12 “Amagnetizedladyseesanddescribestheinteriorofthebodyofherdyingmother；whatshesaidisconfirmedbytheautopsy。 “Agentlemansees，inadream，aladywhomheknowsarrivingatnightinarailroadstation，herjourneyhavingbeenundertakensuddenly。 “Amagistrateseesthreeyearsinadvancethecommissionofacrime，downtoitssmallestdetails。 “Severalpersonsreportthattheyhaveseentownsandlandscapesbeforetheyevervisitedthem，andhaveseenthemselvesinsituationsinwhichtheyfoundthemselveslongafter。 “Amotherhearsherdaughterannounceherintendedmarriagesixmonthsbeforeithasbeenthoughtof。 “Frequentcasesofdeathareforetoldwithprecision。 “Atheftisseenbyasomnambulist，andtheexecutionofthecriminalisforetold。 “Ayounggirlseesherfiancé，oranintimatefrienddying(thesearefrequentcases)，etc。 “Alltheseshowunknownfacultiesinthesoul。Suchatleastismyownimpression。Itseemstomethatwecannotreasonablyattributetheprevisionofthefutureandmentalsighttoanervousactionofthebrain。 “Ithinkwemusteitherdenythesefactsoradmitthattheymusthavehadanintellectualandspiritualcauseofthepsychicorder，andIrecommendscepticswhodonotdesiretobeconvinced，todenythemoutright；totreatthemasillusionsandcasesofafortuitouscoincidenceofcircumstances。Theywillfindthiseasier。Uncompromisingdeniersoffacts，rebelsagainstevidence，maybeallthemorepositive，andmaydeclarethatthewritersoftheseextraordinarynarrativesarepersonsfondofajoke，whohavewrittenthemtohoaxme，andthattherehavebeenpersonsinallageswhohavedonethesamethingtomystifythinkerswhohavetakenupsuchquestions。 “Thesephenomenaprove，Ithink，thatthesoulexists，andthatitisendowedwithfacultiesatpresentunknown。Thatisthelogicalwayofcommencingourstudy，whichintheendmayleadustotheproblemoftheafter-lifeandimmortality。Athoughtcanbetransmittedtothemindofanother。Therearementaltransmissions，communicationsofthoughts，andpsychiccurrentsbetweenhumansouls。Spaceappearstobeno13 obstacleinthesecases，andtimesometimesseemstobeannihilated。” AfewyearsagoapersonwhomIwilldesignateas“A“relatedadreamtomeasfollows：“Itakenointerestinpugilismorpugilists，butIsaw，inadream，everydetailoftheCorbettandFitzsimmonsmill，fourdaysbeforeittookplaceoutWest。TwonightsbeforethefightI hadaseconddreaminwhichafavoritehorsewasrunning，butsuddenly，justbeforethejudge’sstandwaspassed，ahithertounobservedlittleblackhorseranaheadandthecrowdshoutedinmyears，`Fitzsimmonswins！’