OCCULTISM

Dream

Dream is the activity of mind which in the wakeful state is called imagination, and imagination controlled and directed by the will becomes a thought; so the dream controlled and directed by the will becomes a real dream. It is true that the will loses its control and the activity of the mind its direction in the state of sleep, but if we keenly study the whole nature and its workings, we shall realize that they all are under the influence of habit. Even an infant, without knowing what time it is, desires food and wakes up at a regular time, according to the habit he has formed. Our hunger and thirst, sleep and wakeful condition, all depend upon habit.


Therefore, those who control their imagination by concentration become thoughtful, masters of their own affairs, and in the state of sleep they accomplish their purpose in the dream. But the thoughtless have unruly imaginations in their wakeful state, and in the dream their mind becomes like a ship on a rough sea, sometimes high up in the air, at other times low down in the depth. 


All nightmares and unhappy dreams are caused by uncontrolled activity of mind during the wakeful state. From this we learn that, though our experiences in the wakeful state are many times directed by our dreams, yet by knowledge of the truth about it, we shall know that it is the state of our mind in the wakeful state that produces dreams.


Among various kinds of dreams there is one in which we see nothing but the reproduction, mixed up with other things, of our activities of the day. Another is the contrary occurrence to what takes place in the wakeful state in the future. The third is the real vision, either symbolical or clear, of what will happen tomorrow.


The dream of the first part of the night shows its result in a very long time, but that of the early morning shows its result very soon, for the impression of the dream in the morning is fresh upon the mind, therefore it works more quickly than the dream of the first part of the night. A puzzled dream has a puzzled result, the result of a clear dream is clear.


Mental Dream

The mind has its full play when a person is asleep, for in the wakeful state man has rein over the mind, but in sleep mostly that rein is lost, and the mind is free to produce pictures, natural or unnatural, broken or unbroken, as it happens to produce. The pictures are produced according to the life in them, and that life is given them by the mind itself. 


Plainly speaking, the things one thinks of often and the objects that one sees more gain life at every observation given to them. Therefore, one sees in the dream mostly the dearest friend or the bitterest enemy, and the same thing accounts for the dairyman's dreaming of milk and a butcher's dreaming of meat. Every person's world is separate; his world is that in which he lives and of which he thinks.


The reason why mental dreams should have an effect upon the life of a person is that the line of our fate is made on the lines of the impressions that our mind creates before our soul. It is therefore that an unhappy dream would bring about unhappiness and a happy dream would bring about happiness. It is not true that what was going to happen was shown to us in the dream, though we are always apt to think so. The fact is that the dream has built a bridge for us to land into trouble or happiness.


Symbolical Dream

It is very interesting to see how knowledge of past, present, and future is revealed to every soul in symbols. The illuminated sees and to him it is everything, and to him who cannot see, it is nothing. Nothing can teach how to read the real meaning of symbols unless our own soul discloses to us their secret.


The symbolical dreams are mostly concerning ourselves. They show us the condition of our affairs in life and the state of those whom we love. The reason why a symbol in the dream should show us what is hidden in past, present and future is that, that is how it first constructs itself, and then it changes its form on the surface. The next reason is that the former or latter effect of a happening has quite a different form from that of its real occurrence. It is just as in sound -- there is a tone and an overtone which belongs to its original note, only it is different in its effect and color.


As delicate a person's thoughts are, so delicate is the symbol. To a simple person the symbol is simple; to a complex person the symbol is complex. One reads the symbol of the dream according to the development of his soul, for in proportion to his soul's evolution, he sees things clearly. There is no end to the interest when the secret of symbolical dreams begins to disclose itself to the dreamer. It is more than an astonishment, it is more than a wonder.


Astral Dream

The astral dream manifests to the sight of pious beings who are at the same time balanced. It is scarcely vouchsafed to an unbalanced person, however spiritually evolved.


The astral dream is the real experience of the soul dwelling in the higher spheres with the vehicle of the mind. There are three aspects of the astral dream. One aspect is that a person knows the real happening as it is, not contrary or symbolical; the actual happening manifests on the surface. The next aspect is that a person meets the living or dead friend and sees their actual condition. The third kind is that the astral part of the living or dead comes and visits a person.


By means of the astral dream, a great many things are accomplished. Those who become masters of life control the astral plane, and bring about these above-said three experiences at will. 

Spiritual Dream


The spiritual dream is that during which the light of the soul has fully illuminated the mind and the mind is able to create and perceive the clear picture of past, present, and future. In the spiritual dream, one sees actually what is happening at a distance, or what has happened in the past or what is going to take place.


But in order to see the spiritual dream, one must be naturally capable or spiritually developed. Naturally capable is he who is innocent, simple and righteous, kind, harmless and loving. In spiritual development, it is not necessary that he should have the above-said virtues. If his soul can rise at will from the lower planes of existence, he can dwell in the spiritual with mastery. The greatest hindrance that veils man's eyes from the spiritual dream is the thought of self. As much as one can forget this, so capable does one become of witnessing the spiritual dream. 


Ordinary Vision

Vision is of two kinds: a vision when a person is in a trance or half asleep, and dreams a dream that either solves some important problem of life, or warns or suggests concerning something important in life.


In the ordinary vision, a person sees past, present, and future exactly as it is. For instance, if some friend or relation is about to come unexpectedly, the vision first shows his arrival. So it shows the rise and fall of oneself and of friends.


Vision is generally vouchsafed to those who are pious, righteous in their action, and of tranquil mind, for an untranquil mind is just like moving water, which does not take a clear reflection. It is still and clear water in which reflection is clear. So it is with the reflection of vision on the ocean of man's heart.

Mental Vision

There are times, when in sleep or in the waking state, man gets a glimpse of past, present, or future happening. It is not like a dream, which goes on like an act on the stage, but it is a picture. That is why it is called vision, and that is the difference between dream and vision. To those who are developed spiritually, this vision often comes, sometimes as an answer to their question, sometimes to warn them of an unforeseen danger, and sometimes to guide them toward some accomplishment in life.


Mental vision also comes to those who walk in the path of devotion and who hold an ideal in their concentration. To them at times, when it is necessary, in the form of that ideal a warning or a guidance appears as a vision. Those who master Tasawwur, meaning the concrete production of the ideal in thought, their first experience is that every form they see seems covered with the form of their ideal. This is the first step toward progress, which in the Sufic term is named Fan -fi-Shaikh. Then a vision is already created within them, and advice on any point they wish for, they receive from within.

Symbolical Vision

The dreams and visions that we have in life are mostly symbolical and scarcely ever plain. They are symbolical because everything in the inner plane shapes differently from the form it wears in the outer plane. The same reason accounts for the inspiration of the Prophets, for many others besides them, at times, touch the same goal that they touched, since the consciousness of all is one. But everybody does not realize it consciously, and some who realize it do not know the language of the inner world, for the spirit speaks a language that is unintelligible to all save a few who are gifted by nature to understand the cry of truth behind it. 


A person who has known oranges is not necessarily able to recognize the orange tree, but he who knows the orange tree can expect oranges on seeing the seedling of the orange tree. Sometimes the buds of flowers cannot at all give an idea of what the flower is like, and sometimes the shell of the nut can delude a person who does not know what it is and may not be benefited by the kernel in it.


Many people see symbolical dreams and some see symbolical visions, and yet cannot understand their effect, for they sometimes seem quite different from the effect they have. For instance, an elephant in the East is considered to be a sign of honor, and in the dream it is the sign of death. One cannot take an object as having such-and-such an effect in life; it is how it is produced that makes one realize its result. 


Intelligence is a great bliss, and when it is clear, it helps one realize the nature of things, and by that one can read symbolical visions. The study of symbology can never suffice one's purpose, for there is no limit to the variety of nature's forms. It is intuition that helps one and makes the meaning clear. 

Astral Vision

Astral vision is the seeing of the unseen beings, such as spirits, djinns, fairies, or angels. Now, to the question whether it is we who make them, or they who come, the answer is, both; in part we make them, in part they come. In saying we make them I do not mean one single individual in particular, perhaps another person. And yet, as all are children of God, although they are called children of their parents, so all seen and unseen beings are created by one Source, Whom man recognizes as the Creator.

Every unseen form that we see in a vision, be it of a spirit, fairy, or angel, or of a teacher, sage or saint, is according to man's evolution. As highly evolved a person is, so high is his vision. Sometimes he attracts the object of his vision, sometimes the object of the vision wishes to manifest to him, and sometimes he creates the object of his vision before him.


The goodness of the vision depends upon the greatness of the object. In an astral vision, a relation or a friend may appear to a person and tell him something about the other side of life. Before another, a saint or sage may appear, as Gabriel to Moses, and may give him the message of God. In all cases, vision is bliss, especially when a person is treading a spiritual path.


Spiritual Vision

Although all things that one meets with in his life's journey are either made by himself or by others or both, by an individual or by a multitude, yet when the soul is clear from all doubts and confusion, he sees the clear picture of his own life or the life of another, perhaps for whom he cares, however distant in space of time it may be. This vision manifests to a spiritual mind, and sometimes to anyone who may be for that moment in a clear spiritual atmosphere.


Sometimes man overlooks such pictures manifesting before him in a dream or in the waking state, and sometimes one cannot understand what may be the meaning of these pictures, though spiritual vision is not necessarily symbolical; sometimes it is as clear as it manifests on the surface.