Evening star., 1917-03-11

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to interpret some physical sensation.
But, observe. The form the interpreta-
ton takes is by no means wholly deter
mined by the sensation itself. The
imaginative power of the dreamer, and,
above all, his temperament and the char
acter of the memories and desires latent
in his mind, cooperate co give form to his
dream. Different dreamers, accordingly,
will interpret similar sensations in differ
ent ways, exactly as different painters
paint similar subjects in different ways.
Now we are in a position to under
stand the dreams of common occurrence
with which we here are specially con-
cerned When we fly through space
or see others flying, a frequent variant Of
this type of dream-we may be confident
that our dream is due to our experiencing
in sleep certain sensations of distine-
tive sort. Psychologists have pretty
definitely localized these sensations in
the muscles of the heart and lungs, and the
state of the skin.
His position in bed, or possibly tenn
porary condition of the nervous system,
brings with it to the sleeper a heightened
consciousness of the rhythmic movement
of the heart and respiratory organs.
When this occurs, the likelihood of the
idea of flying being suggested to the
mind is greatly increased by the fact that
the usual sensations of pressure in the
soles of the feet are absent.
Also, in all probability, as first pointed
out by Henri Bergson and Havelock
Ellis, there is in sleep some degree of
lack of sensation, owing to numbness, in
the parts supporting the weight of the
body in bed Let these conditions occur
at the same time, and it is easy to see
how dream of flying can result.
But these dreams of flying. as has been
said, often change to dreams of falling,
and there are many dreams in which fall
ing is the central element throughout
Here, again, skin sensations giving an
illusion of lack of bodily support are
dominant factor in shaping the dream.
Also there is possibly, as some psycholo-
gists think, a special sensation due to a
momentary irregularity in the hearts
action, conveying to the mind disagree
able instead of an agreeable impression.
On the other hand, it is conceivable
that exactly similar physical processes
are responsible both for dreams of flying
and for dreams of falling, the state OF
mind of the sleeper determining whether
he shall interpret the sensations he feels
in terms of flying or terms of falling.
Personally | believe that this is what
happens. Those who have most ex-
tensively studied dreams-the Freudian
psycho-analysts-fnd that flying dreams
occur chiefly to persons who are, at heart
or openly social rebels persons who
wish "to be free from social restraint, and
not bound down by the conventionalities
of culture and civilization" They may
also occur to persons who, the day before
the dream, have experienced something
that puts them in an elated mood. On the
opposite, if a person is Temperament
tally inclined to gloom, or if his mind at
the moment is laden with cares and wor-
ries connected with the waking life, his
Interpretation of the sensations expert
enced from heart, lungs, and skin is likely
to be a dream of falling rather than a
dream of flying.
The Smothering Dream