 The recipients of the above dreams are living to-day and their names and address may be obtained, none of them are credulous fanatics or predisposed to a belief in psychic or spirit phenomena. The above dreams, except two, cannot be explained by telepathy, because the mental picture cast on the dream mind had not in either instance taken place in waking life. This would account for the dream perception of "D," which did not, in all probability, take place until after the murder had been committed. The vision of "F" might be disposed of in the same way. In this instance "F" saw the white-robed specter open the door, walk around the room and finally, taking his position as if to depart, say: "I have taken all you have." No doubt this vision took place at the exact moment of the child's death. There are thousands of similar experiences occurring daily in the lives of honest, healthy and sane human beings, that rival the psychic manifestations of Indian Yogism or Hebrew records. Still men go on doubting this true and loving subjective intelligence that is constantly wooing for entrance into the soul and is ever vigilant in warning the material life of approaching evils. They prefer the Witch of Endor, and the Black Magicians of ancient Egypt to the higher, or Christ self, that has been seen and heard by the sages and saints of all ages, assuming appropriate symbols, as in the case of the vision of "F," where the angel of death was assumed. To Paul it appeared as a great personal truth whom he was relentlessly persecuting. To many a wayward son or daughter of the present time, it appears as a dead relative or friend, in order to approach the material mind and make its warning more effective. To those who were interested in the teachings of Christ, but who after his death were inclined to doubt him, this higher self materialized in the form of the Great Master in order to impress on their material minds the spiritual import of his teachings. So, to this day, when doubt and temptation mar the moral instinct, God. through the spiritual self, as Job says, approaches man while in deep sleep upon the bed to impress his instructions that he may change man from his purpose. The spiritual world always fixes its orbit upon a straight line, while the material world is fonder of curves. We find man struggling through dreadful marshes and deserts of charlatanism in order to get a glimpse into his future, instead of solicitously following the straight line of inner consciousness that connects with the infinite mind, from which, aided by his Church and the healthy action of his own judgment, he may receive those helpful spiritual impressions and messages necessary to solace the longings of the searching soul. The philosophy of the True Master is the straight line. Pythagoras, Plato and Christ created angles by running vertical lines through the ecclesiastical and hypocritical conventionalities of their day. The new angles and curves thus produced by the bold philosophy of the humble Nazarene have confronted with impregnable firmness during the intervening ages the sophistry of the Pharisees. "In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; then he openeth the ears of men and sealeth their instruction. That he may withdraw mar. from his purpose and hide pride from man."—Job 33:15- "Man cannot contradict the laws of Nature. But, are all the laws of Nature yet understood?" "Real philosophy seeks rather to solve than to deny."-- Lytton. Those who live active lives exclude spiritual thought and fill their minds with the fascinations of worldly affairs, pleasure and business, dream with less frequency than those who regard objective matters with lighter concern. The former depend alone upon the voluptuous warmth of the world for contentment; they look to money, the presence of some one. or to other external sources for happiness, and are often disappointed; while the latter, with a just appreciation of temporal wants, depend alone upon the inner consciousness for that peace which passeth all carnal understanding. They are strengthened, as were Buddha and Christ, by sup- pressing the sensual fires for forty days and nights in the wilderness of trial and temptation. They number a few, and are never disappointed, while the former number millions. Nature is three-fold, so is man; male and female, son or soul. The union of one and two produce the triad or the trinity which underlies the philosophy of the ancients. Man has a physical or visible body, an atom of the physical or visible earth. He has a soul the exact counterpart of his body, but invisible and subjective; incomplete and imperfect as the external man, or vice versa. The soul is not only the son or creation of man, but it is the real man. It is the inner imperishable double or imprint of what has outwardly and inwardly transpired. All thoughts, desires and actions enter the soul through the objective mind. The automaton of the body responds as quickly to the bat of the eye as it does to the movement of the whole body. By it the foot-steps of man and the very hairs of his head are numbered. Thus it becomes his invisible counterpart. It is therefore the book of life or death, and by it he judges himself or is already judged. When it is complete nothing can be added or taken from its personnel. It is sometimes partly opened to him in his dreams, but in death is clearly revealed. Man has also a spiritual body, subjective to, and more ethereal than the soul. It is an infinitesimal atom, and is related in substance to the spiritual or infinite mind of the universe. Just as the great physical sun, the center of visible light, life and heat, is striving to purify the foul miasma of the marsh and send its luminous messages of love into the dark crevices of the earth, so the Great Spiritual Sun, of which the former is a visible prototype or reflection, is striving to illuminate with Divine Wisdom the personal soul and mind of man, thus enabling him to become cognizant of the spiritual or Christ presence within. The heresy and Herod of wanton flesh, degenerate victim of the sensuous filth and fermentation of self-indulgence, is ever striving to exile and suppress, from the wilderness of sin, the warning cry of the Nazarite voice by intriguing with the cunning, incestuous daughters of unholy thoughts and desires. The objective mind is most active when the body is awake. The subjective influences are most active, and often fill the mind with impressions, while the physical body is asleep. The spiritual intelligence can only intrude itself when the human will is suspended, or passive to external states. A man who Jives only on the sensual plane will receive his knowledge through the senses, and will not. while in that state, receive spiritual impressions or warning dreams. Men and women rarely ever degrade themselves so low that the small voice of the desert does not bring them a message. Sodom and Gomorrah, vile with the debauchery of a nameless crime, were not deserted by the angel of love until the fire which they had lighted in their souls had consumed them. The walls of Jericho did not fall until Rahab, the harlot, had been saved and the inmates had heard for several days the ram's- horn and the tramp of Joshua's infantry. The evangelist Jonah, the Sam Jones of Hebrew theology, exhorted the adulterous Nineveh many times to repentance before it fell. David, while intoxicated with the wine of love, from languishing in the seductive embrace of the beautiful bathing nymph, Bathsheba, heard the voice of Nathan. Surely God is no respecter of persons, and will speak to all classes if the people will not stiffen their necks or harden their hearts. Women dream more often and more vividly than men, because their dream composition is less influenced and allied to external environments. All dreams possess an element of warning or prescience; some more than others. This is unknown to the many, but is known to the observing few. There are many people who have no natural taste for music, and who do not know one note from another. There are also those who cannot distinguish one color from another. To the former there is no harmony of sound, and to the latter there is no blending of colors. They are heard and seen, but there is no artistic recognition of the same. Still it would be absurd to say to either the musician or the artist: your art is false and is only an illusion of the senses. One man apparently never dreams; another dreams occasionally, and still another more frequently; none attempt to interpret their dream, or to observe what follows; therefore, the verdict is, "There is nothing in dreams." (Schopenhauer aptly says: "No man can see over his own height. . . . Intellect is invisible to the man who has none.") The first is like the blind man who denies the existence of light, because he does not perceive it. The second and third resemble the color-blind man, who sees but who persists in calling green blue, and vice versa. A fourth man sees in a dream a friend walking in his room; the vision is so vivid he instantly gets up and strikes a match. After making sure there is no intruder about the room he looks at his watch and goes back to bed. The next day he receives the unwelcome tidings that his friend died at the exact moment of the vision. At another time he hears in his dream a familiar voice cry out in agony. Soon he hears of a shocking accident or distressing illness befalling the one whose voice he recognized in the dream. The third man, already referred to, has about the same dream experiences, but calls them strange coincidences or unconscious cerebration, etc. Again, the fourth man dreams of walking through green fields of corn, grass or wheat. He notes after such dreams prosperous conditions follow for at least a few days. He also notes, if the area over which he passes is interspersed with rocks or other adverse signs, good and bad follow in the wake of the dream. If he succeeds in climbing a mountain and finds the top barren he will accomplish his object, but the deal will prove unprofitable. If it is green and spring-like in appearance, it will yield good results. If he sees muddy water, sickness, business depression or causes for jealousy may develop. A nightmare suggests to the dreamer to be careful of health and diet, to relax his whole body, to sleep with his arms down and keep plenty of fresh air in the room. He sums up the foregoing with a thousand similar dream incidents, and is led to believe certain dreams possess an element of warning. |
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