The Dictionary of Dreams (3 page)

of the earth, so the Great Spiritual Sun, of which the former

is a visible prototype or reflection, is striving to illuminate

with Divine Wisdom the personal soul and mind of man, thus enabling

him to become cognizant of the spiritual or Christ presence within.

The heresy and Herod of wanton flesh, degenerate victim of

the sensuous filth and fermentation of self-indulgence, is ever

striving to exile and suppress, from the wilderness of sin,

the warning cry of the Nazarite voice by intriguing with the cunning, incestuous daughters of unholy thoughts and desires.

The objective mind is most active when the body is awake.

The subjective influences are most active, and often fill

the mind with impressions, while the physical body is asleep.

The spiritual intelligence can only intrude itself when

the human will is suspended, or passive to external states.

A man who lives only on the sensual plane will receive his

knowledge through the senses, and will not, while in that state,

receive spiritual impressions or warning dreams.

Men and women rarely ever degrade themselves so low that

the small voice of the desert does not bring them a message.

Sodom and Gomorrah, vile with the debauchery of a nameless crime,

were not deserted by the angel of love until the fire

which they had lighted in their souls had consumed them.

The walls of Jericho did not fall until Rahab, the harlot,

had been saved and the inmates had heard for several days

the ram's-horn and the tramp of Joshua's infantry.

The evangelist Jonah, the Sam Jones of Hebrew theology,

exhorted the adulterous Nineveh many times to repentance

before it fell.

David, while intoxicated with the wine of love, from languishing

in the seductive embrace of the beautiful bathing nymph, Bathsheba,

heard the voice of Nathan. Surely God is no respecter of persons,

and will speak to all classes if the people will not stiffen their

necks or harden their hearts.

Women dream more often and more vividly than men, because their dream composition is less influenced and allied to external environments.

All dreams possess an element of warning or prescience;

some more than others. This is unknown to the many, but is known

to the observing few. There are many people who have no natural

taste for music, and who do not know one note from another.

There are also those who cannot distinguish one color from another.

To the former there is no harmony of sound, and to the latter

there is no blending of colors.

They are heard and seen, but there is no artistic recognition of the same.

Still it would be absurd to say to either the musician or the artist: your art is false and is only an illusion of the senses.

One man apparently never dreams; another dreams occasionally,

and still another more frequently; none atttempt{sic} to interpret

their dream, or to observe what follows; therefore, the verdict is,

``There is nothing in dreams.'' (Schopenhauer aptly says:

``No man can see over his own height.... Intellect is invisible

to the man who has none.'') The first is like the blind man who

denies the existence of light, because he does not perceive it.

The second and third resemble the color-blind man, who sees

but who persists in calling green blue, and
vice versa
.

A fourth man sees in a dream a friend walking in his room;

the vision is so vivid he instantly gets up and strikes a match.

After making sure there is no intruder about the room he looks

at his watch and goes back to bed. The next day he receives

the unwelcome tidings that his friend died at the exact moment

of the vision.

At another time he hears in his dream a familiar voice cry out in agony.

Soon he hears of a shocking accident or distressing illness befalling the one whose voice he recognized in the dream.[2]

[2] For authentic records, see Flammarion's `Ùnknown.''

The third man, already referred to, has about the same dream experiences, but calls them strange coincidences or unconscious cerebration,
etc.

Again, the fourth man dreams of walking through green fields

of corn, grass or wheat. He notes after such dreams prosperous

conditions follow for at least a few days. He also notes,

if the area over which he passes is interspersed with rocks or other adverse signs, good and bad follow in the wake of the dream.

If he succeeds in climbing a mountain and finds the top barren

he will accomplish his object, but the deal will prove unprofitable.

If it is green and spring-like in appearance, it will yield good results.

If he sees muddy water, sickness, business depression or causes

for jealousy may develop.

A nightmare suggests to the dreamer to be careful of health and diet, to relax his whole body, to sleep with his arms down and keep plenty of fresh air in the room.

He sums up the foregoing with a thousand similar dream incidents,

and is led to believe certain dreams possess an element of warning.

There are three pure types of dreams, namely,
subjective
,

physical
and
spiritual
. They relate to the past,

present and future, and are influenced by past or subjective,

physical and spiritual causes. The latter is always deeply prophetic, especially when it leaves a vivid impression on the conscious mind.

The former, too, possesses an element of warning and prophecy,

though the true meaning is hidden in symbols or allegory.

They are due to contingent mental pictures of the past

falling upon the conscious mind of the dreamer.

Thus he is back at the old home, and finds mother pale and aged,

or ruddy and healthy, and the lawn withered or green.

It all augurs, according to the aspect the picture assumes,

ill or good fortune.

Physical dreams are more or less unimportant. They are usual y

superinduced by the anxious waking mind, and when this is so they

possess no prophetic significance.

Dreams induced by opiates, fevers, mesmerism and ill health come under this class. A man who gambles is liable to dream of cards; if he dreams of them in deep sleep the warning is to be heeded; but if it comes as a reverie while he sleeps lightly he should regard it as worthless.

Such dreams reflect only the present condition of the body and mind

of the dreamer; but as the past and present enter into shaping the future, the reflections thus left on the waking mind should not go by unheeded.

We often observe matters of dress and exterior appearance through mirrors, and we soon make the necessary alterations to put our bodies in harmony with existing formalities. Then, why not study more seriously the mental images reflected from the mirror of the soul upon our minds through the occult processes within us?

Thirdly, the spiritual dreams are brought about by the higher self penetrating the soul realm, and reflecting upon the waking mind approaching events.

When we put our animal mind and soul in harmony with our higher self we become one with it, and, therefore, one with the universal mind or will by becoming a part of it. It is through the higher self we reach the infinite.

It is through the lower self we fall into the whirlpool of matter.

These dreams are a part of the universal mind until they

transpire in the life of man. After this they go to make a part

of the personal soul. Whatever has not taken place in the mind,

or life of man, belongs exclusively to the impersonal mind.

But as soon as a man lives or sees a thing, that thing

instantly becomes a part of his soul; hence, the clairvoyant,

or mind reader, never perceives beyond the personal ego,

as the future belongs exclusively to God or the universal mind,

and has no material, subjective existence; therefore, it cannot

be known except through the channels of the higher self,

which is the Truth or the Word that is constantly striving

to manifest itself through the flesh.

Our psychical research people give us conclusive proof of mental

telepathy or telegraphy between finite minds. Thus communications

or impressions are conveyed many miles from one mind to another.

This phenomenon is easier when one or both of the subjects are

in a state of somnambulence or asleep.

In thought transference or mind reading it is absolutely

necessary to have a positive and a negative subject.

Through the same law that mental impressions are telegraphed

from one finite mind to another a man may place himself in harmony

with the infinite mind and thus receive true and healthful

warnings of coming evil or good. Homer, Aristotle and other

writers of the ancient classics thought this not improbable.

The statesman, the poet, the philosopher of the Bible were

unanimous in attaching prophetic significance to dreams.

Has the law of ethereal vibrations undergone any recent

changes to debar or molest the communion of the soul with its

spiritual father, any more than it has debarred contact with its

material mother or environments?

We only understand the great laws of nature by effects.

We know that vegetation planted in native soil and properly attended with light, heat and moisture, will grow and yield a certain species of fruit. We may infer how it does this, but we cannot

explain the process of transformation any more than we can explain

why certain tropical birds are burnished with glowing colors,

and that other birds under the murky skies are gray and brown,

while in the Arctic regions they bleach.

In sleep we see, without being awakened, the angry lightning rend

the midnight clouds, and hear the explosive thunder hurl its fury at us; but can we explain it any more than our scientist can explain the natural forces of thought, of love and hate, or the subtle intuition of woman?

What of the silhouette or the anthelion of the Scandinavian Alps,

and the aerial cities so often seen by explorers and travelers?

Do not they defy the law of optics? Must we understand the intricacies of articulation and the forces back of it before we can appropriate speech?

Must we discard all belief in an infinite mind because we cannot

understand it, and therefore say we are not a part of it because there is no Infinite? Should we discard the belief in the infinitude of number, because we cannot understand it, and therefore say that finite number is not a part of the infinite?

No scientist or naturalist is so grossly stupid as to deny

the infinite expansion of numbers? If this be so, it establishes

the infinite of number, of which every finite number is a part,

and thus we have a parallel in mathematics, the very cornerstone

of the exact sciences, for a finite and an infinite mind.

It is from the prototype of this infinite of number, namely,

the infinite of intelligence, that spiritual dreams proceed.

They are, therefore, the reflection of truth upon the dream mind

and occur with less frequency than do dreams of the other two classes.

There are also mixed dreams, due to a multitude of incidents

arising from one or more sources, which being reflected upon

the mind at the same instant, produce an incoherent effect similar

to that which might be produced by running the same newspaper

through two or more presses all of different size type.

Again, if you sit before a mirror where flashlights of faces and

other things are reflected simultaneously and instantly removed,

you will fail to obtain a well-defined impression of what passed

before your mind.

If you should pass on a train, at the speed of two miles a minute,

through a forest of flowers and trees, your mind would be unable

to distinguish one flower or tree from another.

It is in a similar way dream life and incidents may fall upon the mind.

A woman may dream of receiving a letter, and in the same connection see muddy water, or an arid landscape. Closely following, in waking life, she is astonished to receive a letter in about the same manner of her dream, but the muddy water and the arid landscape are missing.

This is a mixed dream and is due to more than one cause.

The first part is literal in its fulfilment, and belongs to

the spiritual class; the other part of the dream is subjective,

and therefore allegorical in meaning. Together with the letter,

it was a forewarning of misfortune.

These dreams are more difficult of interpretation than those

belonging to the spiritual type. In such dreams you may see water,

letters, houses, money, people, and countless other things.

The next day you may cross water or receive a letter; the other

things you may not see, but annoyance or pleasure will follow.

Again, you may have a similar dream and not receive a letter or cross water, but the waking life will be filled with the other dream pictures and you will experience disappointing or pleasant surprises as are indicated by the letter or water sign.

I have selected the allegorical type of dreams for the subject of this work.

Dreams that are common occurrences and are thought by the world

to be meaningless.

I have endeavored, through the occult forces in and about me

to find their esoteric or hidden import.

_Dreams transpire on the subjective plane. They should therefore

be interpreted by subjective intelligence_. This, though burdened