Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-31
QUEER DREAM EXPERIENCES
MarvelOus RapIdity with Which
Events Happen I'm the Land
of Nod.

A characteristic of dreams which, as the
rather materialistic DR.. Clarke says, hints
at a life that has neither beginning nor
end, and is bounded by no limits which
human thoughts can compass" is the rap
idity with which events happen In the
dream world. Thus, when asleep and
dreaming, we live an entire lifetime In a
minute-in a Spite of time that is scarcely
more than a second We pass through ex-
periences that could not be duplicated in
this objective sphere in hours, perhaps in
years. Count Lavalette relates that one
night. when imprisoned and under sentence
OF death. he dreamed that he stood for five
hours at a Paris street corner, where he
witnessed a continuous succession OF har-
rowing scenes of blood, every one of which
wrought his soul to the highest pitch OF
excitement. When he woke he found that
he had been asleep less than two minutes,
In a more recent experiuent-made ex-
pressly to test the truth of these theories
the subject was aroused from sleep by a
few drops Of water being sprinkled upon
his forehead. 1t took but an instant to &C
complish this result, and yet, in that In
calculably brief space OF time, the mar
dreamed of going on an excursions; Of an
eccident by which he was plunged into a
lake, and, during the long struggle to es-
cape death that followed, all the expert
ences Of his life seemed 10 flash before
him, just as they are said to appear to a
person who is actually drowning.
Dreams are ~tricksters, Prof. Kitchener
Of Cornell university tells with gusto of
his experience. As a specialist in psy-
chology he has interested himself in
dreams. Like a true scientist, he once
set about gathering data. He wanted to
know what caused dreams. where they
came from, what they meant and all that.
He determined to watch himself when he
slept and to awake himself at once when
he found himself dreaming something of
value. So, with a notebook On a writing
table near his bed, he forced himself TO
waken for several nights and to write
down, while the dream Impressions were
vivid. his remembrance of the details,
and by a study OF the room, the bed and
his physical condition to attempt to ar
rive at the possible causes OF his dreams.
He was getting on famously. One night
he had a particularly vivid dream. In
accordance with his practice, he forced
himself to awake and Immediately write
down clearly everything about II. Then
went back to sleep again. The next
morning he arose and was astounded to
NhaN US hONS AN N~ bioih" -
remembered positively the notes he had
set down thereon in the middle OF the
preceding night. The next night again
he wrote down his notes after his dreams.
only TO have the same uncanny sensation
the next morning at finding nothing re-
corded
The strange circumstances set him TO
bordering. That night he impressed upon
his mind before dropping off into slum-
Der that he must awaken with his first
dream, or II not with that OF his second
dream. Subsequently this strong ante
sleeping delivered to himself
was present all through his dream con-
seriousness, When the first scenes of a
vivid dream came before his fancy he
felt himself awaken and he set about
writing down the facts upon the pad at
his table. 1t was then that from some
source of inner Consciousness he felt the
command again to awake. although he
seemed at the time TO be in full posses
sion of his normal faculties. His eyes
opened and the secret was out. He found