The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-16
DREAM INFLUENCES Hx H. AnpINGlON RRUCE

That dreams may profoundly influence hu- man behavior is a fact appreciated far more by psychologists than by the general public. Most people recognize dream influences only in their sensational aspects-as in somnana- bulism or in mishaps of the type recently re- ported by the unfortunate man who gashed himself with raEor while waking from 6 dream that had terrified him.
 But there are dream influences more sub tie than these, some working for harm, some for good. Under the influence of dreams--- especially dreams in which some loved one has seemed to utter words of admonition, Of warning, or of encouragement-men have been helped to new and better courses of living, have been aided to escape from the slavery of bad habits.
 In this category of dreams influential for good comes one narrated by Dr. Ernest Jones, in his Papers on Psycho-Analysis." an elaborate work to be recommended to all who would master the principles of Freudian psychology. l have space for only part of the story as Dr. Jones tells it
 At the age of twenty a Canadian engineer interrupted his studies to do some surveying for the government in an unexplored part of the country. He was away two or three years, and became so enamored of the free life in the woods that he was exceedingly loath to go back to town life.
 "One night he had most unpleasan nt dream to the effect that all of his family were dead. and throughout the next day he was very disturbed at the thought. The same dream recurred in three successive nights.
 Although he was in general the reverse of superstitions, the impression thus made on his mind was so vivid that, in order to re- assure himself of his family's safety, he at once started for home. Here he found them all well, and they prevailed on him to stay at home and take up his studies again"
 T,, hso ata tha fn,rm hnt impelled to a definite action was clearly traceable to the remembered dreams3 Often it happens, oddly enough, that forgotten dreams are similarly provocative of pleasant or unpleasant moods.
 This has been well established by some experimental researches by medical psycholo- gists. In the case of certain patients op- pressed by periodic attacks of gloom for which no reason could be found, the experi- ment was tried of questioning them during hypnosis as to the cause of their gloomy moods. Then it was discovered that distress ing draems of the night before were to blame. On awakening the patients seemingly had forgotten all about their dreams. At most they vaguely knew that they had been dis turbed in their sleep. In hypnosis they re- called the dreams clearly, and it became evil dent that these had subconsciously tormented them into a state of seemingly inexplicable anxiety and despair.
 Or instead of causing a mental disturbance, bad dreams may cause a physical distur- bance so extreme as to imperil life itself. Maurice Chideckel, Baltimore physician, does not hesitate to incriminate dreams as occasionally a cause of death by shock. He cites as typical instance:
 "A man with chronic nephritis and high blood pressure led quiet life and felt fairly well. His next door neighbor was killed by robbers during one night. A few days later the nephritic was heard to scream in his sleep, articulating the word, police dis tinctly..
 By the time his bed was reached he was dead. The excitement of his dream led to an enormous increase, of his blood pressure, rup- turing large cerebral artery and killing him."
 All of>which, of course, emphasizes the de- durability of cultivating optimism, courage and emotional control as aids to dream con- trol.
 And that dreams can be to a surprising extent controlled. both indirectly by the gen eral life attitude and directly by self-sugges- tion, is a belief that would seem to be steadily gaining ground among students of dream psychology.