| From my Encyclopedia. | | | | dream interpreters} system is one of the |
| DREAMS OR DREAMERS?: - | | | | weakest spots in the armor of occult science, and |
| We are told by Herodotus that in the temple | | | | was the first of its departments to fall into |
| of Bel {This is the Keltic god known as Ba'al by | | | | disrepute and become the prey of charlatans. |
| the Phoenicians, Bel might have been in Babylon | | | | There are serious students of the occult who |
| through the Byblos city on the Persian Gulf that | | | | doubt entirely the occult significance of dreams, |
| sold ships to the Egyptians in 2900 BC. Later | | | | and it must be granted that no good reason |
| Byblus in Lebanon is thought to be what some | | | | exists for classing them generally with the vision, |
| [who try to limit Phoenician interest] call Byblos as | | | | or a condition of 'second sight' or ecstasy." (11) |
| a small part of a decreasing international | | | | The amount of time we live in our dream state is |
| influence.} in Babylon, a priestess lay on a bed | | | | substantial and there are many things we can |
| ready to dream visions of the second class, and | | | | work upon in our dreams. To regard it as occult is |
| that the beds of such soothsayers were often | | | | somewhat foolish. If one learns and achieves |
| made of the skin of a ram --is well known. | | | | things that are of value, should be a higher |
| The ancient Hebrews obtained such dreams by | | | | concern. Truly some probably can gain tap-ins |
| sleeping among tombs, and this especial gateway | | | | through the dream state, especially if they |
| to the supernatural world seems to have been, | | | | become adept at conscious dreaming and astral |
| and still is known to the majority of nations, | | | | travel. To say it is supernatural is an appeal to |
| primitive and civilized, as intimately as hypnosis | | | | ignorance. There is no such thing as 'super'-natural |
| and other methods of reaching its planes and | | | | - it is all a matter of what we can't explain. Dream |
| hearing its pronouncements. Sleep was, of course, | | | | work and Yoga's 'soft focus' have answered or |
| often induced by drugs, whether the soma of the | | | | made sense of many things that mental blocks |
| Hindus, the peyote of the ancient Mexicans, the | | | | due to over- intellectualization might create. There |
| hashish of the Arabs, or the opium of the Malays | | | | are ways to become conscious and effective in |
| or Chinese, and these narcotics which have the | | | | dreams and the overall experiencing of life - that |
| property of inducing speedy sleep and of | | | | is how I prefer to think of it, rather than a |
| heightening inward vision were and still are greatly | | | | psychic developmental thing. Psychic aspects of |
| prized by professional dreamers allover the world, | | | | life usually have a more physical component. If |
| especially as they rendered dreaming almost | | | | our soul is what counts then what we interpret |
| immediately possible. (10) | | | | from the physical during the sorting out process |
| 'Professional dreamers' following visions from | | | | of dream reality might be more important than |
| above and divining our future, quickly became | | | | what happens during the waking state. |
| willing to sell their advice to those who threatened | | | | "Dreams and Psychical Phenomena |
| them if they didn't. The dependence on such easy | | | | Dreams of a supernormal character fall within the |
| answers continues among the mass of population | | | | purview of psychical research. The dividing line |
| til this moment as 'experts' and politicians join | | | | between normal and supernormal dreams is not |
| the media in a free for all. We believe the | | | | easy to draw. Subconscious elaboration often |
| breakdown in matriarchal influence and egalitarian | | | | presents supernormal affects. |
| governance created this cauldron of deceit in the | | | | Goethe solved many definite scientific problems in |
| Mediterranean after the influx created by the | | | | his dreams and also composed poems. So did La |
| rising waters that formed the North Sea due to | | | | Fontaine compose The Fable of Pleasures and |
| glacial effects if not sooner, when the northern | | | | Coleridge Kubla Khan. Bernhard Palissy made one |
| 'Hyperboreans' colonized the area. The issue of | | | | of his most beautiful ceramic pieces on dream |
| what is real about dreams is open for debate to | | | | inspiration. Maury confessed: I have had in |
| say the least but there are many who think they | | | | dream ideas an inspiration that could never have |
| can interpret the chaos of these partial insights. | | | | entered my consciousness when awake.' Tartini |
| Personally I enjoy the practice, if there is | | | | heard his Sonate del Diavolo played by Beelzebub |
| something positive to say but I regard 'free will' | | | | in a dream. Holde composed La Phantasie in his |
| as the most important ingredient in what really | | | | sleep, Nodier's 'Lydia' was similarly born. R. L. |
| makes the world 'go round'. William James and his | | | | Stevenson's most ingenious plots were evolved in |
| book 'Pragmatism' was important to Carl Jung | | | | the dream state. Kruder, Corda and Maignan |
| whose work in dream interpretation sets the | | | | solved mathematical problems in dream, Condillac |
| stage for many symbolic and archetypal | | | | finished an interrupted lecture. |
| interpreters to this day. | | | | A dream of Professor Agassiz is frequently |
| "The first treatise on the subject was that of | | | | quoted. He had been for two weeks striving to |
| Artemidorus, who lived in the time of Antonius | | | | decipher the somewhat obscure impressions of a |
| Pius. He differentiated between the dreams of | | | | fossil fish on the stone slab in which it was |
| kings and those of commoners, as he believed | | | | preserved. It was found impossible. In his dream |
| that the visions of royalty must have reference | | | | he saw the fish with all the missing features |
| to the commonwealth {The Bible and the plagues | | | | perfectly restored. The image escaped him on |
| predicted by Joseph, for example.} and not to the | | | | awakening. He went to the Jardin des Plantes in |
| individual {No reason in common sense or science | | | | the hope that an association with the fossil would |
| to believe this. Carl Jung was a commoner who | | | | recapture it. No such thing happened. Next night |
| saw the First World War in advance. Tesla's vision | | | | he again dreamed of the fish and in the morning |
| led to many great and useful inventions - | | | | the features of the fish were as elusive as ever. |
| however dreams are seldom so vivid or what | | | | For the third night he placed paper and pencil near |
| one can call 'flashes of illumination' - that is an | | | | his bed. Towards the morning the fish again |
| entirely different phenomena.}. Dreams which | | | | appeared in his dream. Half dreaming, half awake |
| represented something as happening to the | | | | he traced the outlines in the darkness as best he |
| individual who dreams them, show that they have | | | | could. On full awakening he was surprised to see |
| a personal significance, whereas if the dream | | | | details in his nocturnal sketch, features which he |
| relates to another it will concern him alone. He | | | | thought impossible. He hastened to the Jardins des |
| detailed the numerous species of dreams | | | | Plantes, began to chisel on the surface of the |
| throughout five books, and then adduced | | | | stone, taking the sketch as a guide and to his |
| numerous examples. The rules of Artemidorus | | | | surprise he found the hidden portions of the fish |
| are far from clear, and according to them, any | | | | as indicated in the drawing." (12) |
| dream might signify any event, and any | | | | I am not convinced this is dream state work. The |
| interpretation of the same might be considered | | | | early and late REM sleep is more akin to Beta |
| justifiable. | | | | brainwave relaxation. With bio-feedback and its |
| The method of testing dreams according to | | | | creative state some ad agents like those at |
| Amyraldus in his 'Discours sur les Songes divins' | | | | McDonald's have used this state to make and test |
| (Saumur, 1625) is whether the instructions and | | | | ads. Hank Wesselman has been studied by the |
| advice that they contain make for good or ill--a | | | | University of Illinois and he is even more able to |
| test it is impossible to apply until after the result is | | | | reach the 40 MGHZ brainwave state than psychic |
| known. But Amyraldus surmounts this difficulty by | | | | healers and yogis. He is a person who was part of |
| proposing to test dreams by the evidence they | | | | the anthropological or archaeological team that |
| show of divine knowledge--by asking oneself in | | | | found Lucy and his gift was brought out by his |
| short, whether the dream it was desired to | | | | wife who is a shamanic teacher. It is possible to |
| examine gave any evidence of such things as | | | | generate this kind of state while taking exams |
| God alone could know. | | | | (I've often done it.) and good marks often come. |
| It would seem from an examination of such | | | | Those who stay in alpha state and experience |
| dreams as were submitted to the diviners of | | | | tension and pressure or stress are less able to |
| antiquity that the symbolism they exhibited was | | | | recall, create or integrate. Intuition is also often |
| of a character so profound that it could only be | | | | mistaken as psychic. There can be a component |
| unriddled by an interpreter who received divine | | | | of it, and as Mr. Shepard notes it is often a fine |
| aid, such as was afforded in the case of Moses | | | | line between some of these concepts. Thus you |
| or Daniel in the Bible. It is plain, however, that the | | | | are able to see that I am not a believer in |
| most far-fetched interpretations were given to | | | | unexplainable phenomena, rather I think we are |
| many of the most epoch-making dreams of | | | | simply not able to explain it in every case because |
| antiquity, and indeed, the oneiocritical {Greek | | | | we are learning or are presently ignorant. |