Many authors who are convinced of the intimate connection between the
dream content and the waking state are impressed by the fact that
impressions which have intensely occupied the waking mind appear in the
dream only after they have been to some extent pushed aside from the
elaboration of the waking thought. Thus, as a rule, we do not dream of a
dead beloved person while we are still overwhelmed with sorrow. Still
Miss Hallam,[33] one of the latest observers, has collected examples
showing the very opposite behaviour, and claims for the point the right
of individual psychology.
The third and the most remarkable and incomprehensible peculiarity of
the memory in dreams, is shown in the selection of the reproduced
material, for stress is laid not only on the most significant, but also
on the most indifferent and superficial reminiscences. On this point I
shall quote those authors who have expressed their surprise in the most
emphatic manner.
Hildebrandt[35] (p. 11): “For it is a remarkable fact that dreams do
not, as a rule, take their elements from great and deep-rooted events or
from the powerful and urgent interests of the preceding day, but from
unimportant matters, from the most worthless fragments of recent
experience or of a more remote past. The most shocking death in our
family, the impressions of which keep us awake long into the night,
becomes obliterated from our memories, until the first moment of
awakening brings it back to us with depressing force. On the other hand,
the wart on the forehead of a passing stranger, of whom we did not think
for a second after he was out of sight, plays its part in our dreams.”
Strümpell[66] (p. 39): “... such cases where the analysis of a dream
brings to light elements which, although derived from events of the
previous day or the day before the last, yet prove to be so unimportant
and worthless for the waking state that they merge into forgetfulness
shortly after coming to light. Such occurrences may be statements of
others heard accidentally or actions superficially observed, or fleeting
perceptions of things or persons, or single phrases from books, &c.”
Havelock Ellis[23] (p. 727): “The profound emotions of waking life, the
questions and problems on which we spread our chief voluntary mental
energy, are not those which usually present themselves at once to
dream-consciousness. It is, so far as the immediate past is concerned,
mostly the trifling, the incidental, the “forgotten” impressions of
daily life which reappear in our dreams. The psychic activities that are
awake most intensely are those that sleep most profoundly.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account