SPIRITUAL: THE HIDDEN MEANING OF A DREAM

The human being consists of two parts: spiritual and earthborn, which are always active, and the bodily part that requires frequent rest and sleep. During sleep, the mind ceases its operations, but it is still active and capable of the highest achievements. The intermediate state between wakeful life and sleep is favorable for the development of magic phenomena, such as dreams. The susceptibility of the mind during this time is intimately connected to the statement recorded in holy writ that God frequently revealed his will to men in dreams. The earliest known announcement of this connection in a dream is in the Book of Job, where God came to abimelech in a dream by night. Dreams, often called Visions, have been used for guidance and provide valuable insights into our inner selves and the world around us. These dreams often reveal hidden truths and are often depicted symbolically, such as death through journeys or the deceased individual.

A traveler and a friend experienced vivid dreams, one of which led to his murder by an innkeeper. The friend urged him to help, but he later realized the dream was an idle fancy. The friend told him that his body would be carried out the next day, concealed under a load of manure. The friend's body was found, and he paid with his life for his crime. Thomas Watton also dreamed about a robbery in Oxford, and he wrote a letter to his son Henry, who was shocked by the accurate description of the robbers. The authorities arrested the guilty persons.

Cicero and his work on divination preserved several dream visions, including one concerning the Tyrant Dionysius. A woman named Amera found herself in a dream among the gods on Olympus, seeing a large man chained to the throne of Jupiter. She later found no explanation until Dionysius ascended the throne and saw the Tyrant. She was brought before Dionysius to be executed. Socrates had a similar dream before his death, but the day for his execution was not yet known.

Critter, a great philosopher, had a dream where he was told to return to his beloved home in Socrates' native place. This dream was a prophetic one, as it was the result of impressions made on the mind during sleep by bodily sensations. These sensations can be triggered by pain, shivering, or even a snake biting. A well-known story is of a young man in Padua who was bitten by a marble Lion, which led to his death. Another story is of a woman who lost a valuable ring while hunting in the woods near her castle. The woman's daughter saw an imposing man in her dream and was told to go to a crossroad in the forest to find the ring. She woke up and found the ring at the foot of a beech tree, unaware of the hunt or the loss. These stories demonstrate that the mind does not cease its activity while the body is asleep.

Many people possess the power to awake at a fixed hour and make great mental efforts during profound sleep. For example, Tartini's famous Sonata was completed in perfect delusion after abandoning the task in despair. However, the devil appeared to him and promised to finish the work in return for his soul. Tartini wakes up in perfect delusion, writing down his Devil's Sonata. Some authors believe that the spiritual part of man needs no sleep but enjoys the comfort of feeling the body is in perfect repose and forgetting the troubles of daily life and the responsibilities of our Earthly existence. Sleeping allows thinking without dreaming, and certain bodily sensations can be accurately perceived. Space and time disappear during sleep, as we can only measure them with our senses, which are inactive during the time we are asleep. This phenomenon explains why a moment's dream can last a lifetime, as our imagination's images appear to be realities while our awake dreams are known to be mere fictions.

Dreams, deprived of usual communication, often contain symbolic meanings, revealing the truth hidden within them. These interpretations can range from storms to tears, representing pain, danger, or joy. Scholars classify dreams based on nature, importance, and demoniac aspects, such as witch's Sabbath.