I SUPPOSE YOU COULD NEVER PROVE
TO THE MIND OF THE MOST INGENIOUS MOLLUSK THAT
SUCH A CREATURE AS A WHALE WAS POSSIBLE.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Dreams have been the basis of many studies which indicate that everyone dreams from 4 to 8 times per night, although we often cannot recall our dreams and will awaken, convinced we have had none.
Scientific evidence leaves no doubt that dreams are vitally important to everyone’s mental, as well as physical, health.
In laboratory experiments, 2 groups of people were used to test the importance of dreams. Both groups were wired to EEG machines in order to determine the precise moments when they experienced dreaming.
Increased brain activity, or REMS (Rapid Eye Movements) indicated these moments. In the 1st group, the people were awakened whenever they started to dream. They were allowed to sleep an average amount of hours but were not allowed to dream.
Within 3 days the members of this group underwent "marked personality changes".
In the 2nd group, the people were awakened the exact same number of times, but weren’t disturbed while dreaming. They were allowed the same number of hour’s sleep as those in the first group.
Members of the 2nd group developed no adverse personality changes.
"MOSCOW —- After 28 years of studying dreams, Dr. Vasil Kasatkin reported in the Soviet press that dreams may be a reliable way of forecasting illnesses. He was interviewed after publishing a treatise on more than 6,000 dream cases." (Psychic Magazine)
In the United States, the Maimonides Dream Laboratory in Brooklyn, New York, has received considerable publicity over the years, including:
"Recognition of the Dream Laboratory’s work has been received at the many professional society conferences at which the staff have delivered papers. Typical of such groups that regard their work with an open mind are the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association." (Psychic Magazine)
Sigmund Freud named dreams representative of suppressed desires.
Albert Einstein is reported to have said dreams are fundamental insights into nature.
"Descartes discovered the essence of his philosophy in his dreams. Dante, Goethe, Tolstoy,
Mozart, Schumann, and Wagner all drew from their dreams in their work." (Psychology Today)
Calvin Hall, director of the Institute of Dream Research at the University of California at Santa Cruz, in the 1970’s, described dreaming as "a personal document, a letter to oneself." By recalling our dreams and studying them, he is further quoted, "we look inside ourselves, uncover conflict, discover hidden psychic resources."
In the realm of parapsychology, dreams have long been considered important, not only because they appear as an aid in tapping our precognitive, clairvoyant and clairaudient capabilities but also because many believe dreams afford the opportunity for astral projection.
You may have experienced astral projection in those dreams in which you remember yourself floating. Those in which you found yourself in surroundings you could see in vivid detail, or dreams during which you visited a place you had always had a desire to see and — when you awakened — were convinced you had actually been there.
Such out-of-body-experiences (OOBEs) could have taken place in those dreams where you saw and carried on a conversation with a deceased person, possibly a loved one. It could be that, in the course of the conversation, you were told about something that was going to happen — something that eventually did occur.
It is alleged that there are those among us who have developed the ability to astral project intentionally and while in a conscious state. This involves considerable training, and is not recommended for the amateur. Specific dangers are believed to be involved in such an undertaking. (See JOURNEYS OUT OF THE BODY, by Robert A. Monroe, Doubleday)
There are also those who astral project while under the influence of illicit drugs. When such people talk of "taking a trip" they are closer to the literal meaning of the phrase than they realize.
Then there are those who experience an OOBE while under the artificial influence of anesthetics, or while in a coma.
Some who have reported on their experience with astral projection have recalled the presence of a "silver cord" connecting their spirit body to their physical body.
Ecclesiastes 12:6-7
"Or ever the silver cord be loosed — then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."
Many, who practice intentional astral projection and are aware of this silver cord, theorize a literal meaning from that particular Bible quote: if the silver cord is broken they will not be able to return to their physical bodies.
Such dangers are not thought to be necessarily present under natural astral projection. It is wise, however, to make certain you’ll not be disturbed while practicing an intentional OOBE. If someone should come into the room and touch you, or if the phone should ring — and you are startled — you may be running the risk of not being able to return or of returning to your body too quickly. The result, it is said, could be a heart attack.
