Dream Prophesy

In all ages and all times, people of every kind - poets, peasants, philosophers, workers, statesmen, soldiers - have dreamed, have wondered about their dreams and about the dreams of others, have been made happy or miserable by them, have treated them with the utmost seriousness and respect, approaching awe and wonder, or with humor, scorn, and skepticism.  Dreams have, at one extreme, been regarded as divinely inspired, indicating the anger or the favor of the gods, or the divine character of the dreamer, and, at the other, as an aftermath of eating a heavy meal before retiring.  They have been told, retold, and forgotten, laughed over and cried over; they have been accepted as gospel truth or rejected as childish drivel; they have been known to influence - for good or ill - the actions and the motives of men in high places, and they have inspired and produced works of art.  From Homer to Freud, in verse and prose, the pages of world literature are filled with dreams.

The words dream and dreamer and dreaming are used in many ways and with many connotations.  In this survey of the subject, a dream is understood to mean a collection or group or series or train of thoughts, ideas, images, sensations, sounds, emotions that pass through our minds when we are asleep.

Who Dreams?

According to all students of the subject and to those who have conducted controlled experiments, the answer is "everybody dreams."  So universal and fundamental is dreaming that it is experienced by all sorts and conditions of people from the highest to the lowest and from the best to the worst, in ancient times and right down to every one of us today.

When do we Dream?

The general view is that we dream throughout the entire period that is called sleep.  A vivid, dramatic, out-of-the-ordinary dream is recalled; an ordinary, commonplace dream is likely to be forgotten.  The point to be emphasized is that the memory of the dreamer cannot be relied on.

How Long Does a Dream Take?

Opinions differ on the question of length of time a dream occupies.  It is believed that a great deal can happen and pass through the mind of a dreamer in a very few seconds.  Time and space and other relationships that restrict and control us during the day in the waking world do not operate in the dream world, and it is easy to believe that dreams actually use up only a small portion of time, however long and complicated they may seem.

Tomorrow: What Your Dreams Mean - Introduction Part 2 (of 2)

We’re going to begin something, today, that I think will be really fun. I’m going to start posting entries from a 1949 Dream Guide, "What Your Dreams Mean ." All of us know that these entries have more of an entertainment value than they do a prophetical value. Always keep that in some corner of your mind when you’re reading these entries.

Also, remember, they’re from 1949! Symbolisms have changed drastically since then - so, also keep that in mind. I’ll be typing the entries in exactly as they were printed in this 1949 book, so don’t think I’ve lost my senses or have entered a time warp, I just want to stay true to the author and his beautiful writing.

Having said all of that, these are incredibly fun and, actually, do ring very true on quite a few occasions! These entries will all be under the "Ancient Dream Guide" Category. When I get them all typed in, I’ll add a special button to the site to link to the posts.