Thus we see that even in ancient times the relation between eating and
sleeping was recognized. In more modern days it is recorded that poets
and writers had visions from eating raw flesh, while Mrs. Radcliffe,
author of “The Mysteries of Udolpho,” is said to have deliberately
induced horrid dream phantoms by supping late on indigestible food as
a means of getting “printer’s copy.” De Quincey’s “Confessions” is a
monument to the beauty and the horror of the dreams from drugs. There
is also reason to think that the terrors of delirium tremens are true
dreams. John B. Gough described from fearful experience the agony of
seeing and feeling that which is dreadful, mainly because the sufferer
knows that it, nevertheless, does not exist and could not exist. This
can be explained, in our present state of knowledge, only by the
supposition that the subconscious mind, uncorrected and unrestrained by
the senses, alone is awake. Boris Sidis shows that we have no waking
remembrance of many of our dreams, even of most harassing ones.
It is probable that perfect sleep is undisturbed by dreams, pleasant
or otherwise. Dreams are an evidence of the semi-conscious condition
of some of the senses; the objective mind is no longer in control, but
is passive, and the subjective mind is active. Yet while dreaming, the
objective mind is not so completely unconscious (as it would be if
wrapped in profound slumber) but that it gets glimpses of the workings
of the subjective mind, often very distorted glimpses. This frequently
leads to horrible or impossible situations in dreams.
It is an interesting question how far we are responsible for our
dreams. It is true in dreams, as in waking, that from the same
sensations individuals will evolve different results, just as
nasturtiums, drawing nourishment from the same soil, will put forth
blossoms of different color and odor. The factor that changes these
same elements into different results is something inherent in the
individual person or plant.
So that we are not entirely responsible for what we dream, yet the
mental habits, the real tone of mind maintained during waking hours,
has its effect upon dreams. They constitute an index of the mind. So
far as sleep is concerned, of course, “subjective” mind is simply our
remembered experiences, our mental capital, and can be used in waking
hours and is constantly so used: we get traces of these in our dreams.
Age, sex, and temperament also affect the nature of dreams.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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