Evening Star Newspaper, June 21, 1931, Page 73

THE SUNDAY. STAR, WASHINGTON, D. ‘Carol Bird. DREAM is not merely a passing fan- tasy of the night. It is a self-decep- tion; a story that the dreamer tells himself in order to act as though it were a fact. Dr:amers are trying to find solu- tions to their daily prcblems, but ones which will not make any new demand on them. That Is why they spin nighttime tales thaf will dispose of their difficulties without necessitating undue effort on their pa:t. Dreaming, in short, is like cheating at solitaire. You bilk no one but yourself. . Alan Porter, New York psychologist, who studied with Dr. Alfred Adler, famous Viennese psychologist, gives this and other illuminating interpretations to dreams—those motion pic- tures of the night which most people erroneously believe are meaningless or easily translatable via the old “Dreambook” methods. After Mr. Porter, who is a graduate of Oxford end a lecturer on individual psychology and social research in New York, finishes dissecting a dream scientifically and psychoanalytically, the dreamer stands before him stripped of all pretense and self-delusion. He will know some extremely revelatory facts about himself. And Mr. Porter will have learned about all there is to know about the man; his fears and anxieties. His sacrifices and cowardice. His courage. His ambition and his self-confidence or his over- whelming lack of it. The psychologist wili know whether the man is an optimist or a pes- simist, a muscular or a visual type, a man of action or a dreamer in all that the word implies. DREAM is always a story that some one Wweaves for himself in an attempt at self- deception, declares Mr. Porter, one-time editor of the London Spectator, a slender, dark- haired, dark-eyed young man, with aquiline features and a marked British accent. “The dreamer,” continues Mr. Porter, “tells the tale to himself in the night in crder that in his waking hours he may act as though it were a fact. That is why most people forget their dreams, for otherwise they would act instead of inventing a yarn for themselves. “Let us suppose that a man dreams he is surrounded by wild animals and is fighting them off. What that man is actually telling himself is this: ‘I face dangers. They are in store for me, and I must be very careful how I act.’ That man if he encounters a new job or a decision of importance will not face it. The extremely cautious person is likely to have this sort of dream preceding “some crisis in his affairs. He is probably misrepresenting the risks and dangers that lie before him, exag- gerating them, emphasizing them. * “Although every one forgets his dreams, the mood which inspired them remains. While the ephemeral and shadcwy night images vanish in the light of day, the mood of fear or pessimism, optimism or terror in the dreamer— the moods originally responsible for the dreams —stay with the dreamer. So it is that a dream only eecurs when an individual has a particular problem to solve. He need not admit to himself that he has problems in order to dream. In fact, he doesn't. If he did it is quite likely that he would not dream at all. “Sometimes the structure of a dream is very clearly defined, and this occurs when the dreamer’s need is very urgent. But whether the dream is distinct or misty and disccn- nected, it is serving the selfsame purpose, self- deception. " HAT actually happens when a man dreams is that he is trying to solve & problem that has to do with a real struggle of life. He is not prepared to answer the " demands of reality. PR C. JUNE 21, 1931.° Trying toMalze Cherished Wishes Come True Without W orkin g Toward Their Fullelment Is the Explanation Of fered by the Modern Interpreter of Dreams, Alan Porter, Anglo-American Psychologist. “A man dreams he is surrounded by wild ani- mals and is fighting them off. He is actually telling himself: ful how I act.’ ‘I face dangers. I-must be care- That man, if he anticipates a new job or must make a decision of importance, will not face it. The extremely cautious person is like- ly to have this sort of dream preceding some crisis in his affairs.” Alan Porter tells by interpreting dreams whether @ man is an optimist or a pes- simist. Generally speaking, the problems people consider in dreams are ones cf longer standing than superficial worries, such as facing an imminent disagreeable en- counter or decision. They are very real prob- lems which go along with them in their daily lives; they do not vanish, like a light mist, with the passing of the dream and the awak- ening of the dreamer. Dreams are coun- terparts of the problems which are linked to the dreamer in his waking hours, although not at all similar in fact. “And the dreamer, instead cf solving his problems in the daytime by readjusting him- self to the situations which he encounters, goes to bed at night and works out a dream which solves his problems, but without mak- ing any new demands on him. He doesn't want to reorganize his mode of life, makes concessions, added effcrts, compromises. So he dreams a story that will exonerate him from ‘all undue effort or responsibility. Thus every dream is a self-deception. “To illustrate: Suppose a man is facing something that he regards as a test. He must go out and look for a job tomorrow. The prospect is not any too bright or pleasant. He hates the ordeal. Now the sort of dream the potential job seeker has depends largely upon the type cf man he really is. One type may dream that he is climbing a high moun- tain. He reaches the top and enjoys the wide- spread panorama before him. He is actually trying to persuade himself that he has solved the situation and that all is well with him “A less optimistic type of person, and one in the same situation, may dream, the night ”~ “—Alan Porter. before his job hunt begins, of a precipice. He is standing on the brink, just teetering to- ward the abyss. S-me one is trying to push him over, but with all his might he pulls back. It is a horible situation. This type of man, if he has already made an interview appoint- ment for the next day with a prospective employer who thinks of offering him a job, will postpone the interview. “He is a timid man, fearful of the impres- sion he will make, afraid that he cannot cope with the matter before him and that he will nct make good. He has invented a tale which really doeés not correspond with the situation. He isn't in any danger because of the inter- view. He is really in a far more precarious poslt.lon if he continues to be jobless. “The old-time dreambooks, however, or the amateur translator c¢f dreams, and always the dreamer himself, will interpret the precipice and like dreams as forecasts of personal dan- ger—magic visions projected from some out- ward source as a beneficent warning. But in reality it is tke dreamer's unadmitted mind talking to him—lying to him shamefully, of- fering a lle which the dreamer is only tco willing ta accept.” R. PORTER and the adheggnts of indi- vidual psychology d> not employ the terms “unconscious” or “subconscious” or “con- scious” mind, but use the phrase, “unadmitted mind” or “admitted mind.” “Some of the more frequent dreams which people have are those of flying,” continued Mr. Porter. “They are like the< mountaintop dreams. Men and women who have this kind of dream are saying to themselves: “‘I am faced with difficulties. surmount them.’ “This type of dreamer hes a great feeling of effortlessness and is mcre or less the op- timistic, undaunted kind of person in real life. Neverthless, while they experience a feeling of optimism in their dreams, it is really the kind of optimism that serves as self-assurance. A bolstering up. A situation or problem is to be faced which requiges courage, and although this dreamer is naturally of a brave pattern, he feels that a little self-pepping up will not be amiss. “There is a group of frightening dreams, al- most bordering on nightmares. These have a different siggificance and reveal the dreamer in a new light. They are dreamed by certain people when they face a test of some kind, a contest in which they feel that they will be defeated. These dreams occur with great fre- quency and go to prove that men, on the whole, are not very courageous. In their childhood they have been warned of the many dangers that lie before them in the battle of life, and as a result they have not been imbued with the proper courageous feeling that one must have in order to contend with them. “‘Don’t do this, my child! Be careful, don’t do that! It is dangerous.’ “These oft-reiterated warnings have en- gendered timidity. The man or woman who has heard them often in childhood develops into an adult who always exreriences fear or defeat instead of hopé for success. “Dreams of embarrassment ccme into this frightening dream class. Those who dream of appearing in ‘public in grotesque apparel or But I can How They Reveal Us Optimists dream of flying. Pessimists dream of standing be- fore a precipice. Embarrassing dreams come to the socially unadjusted. Highly = mnervous and poorly adapted individuals dream the most. Nightmares are strong anxiety dreams. Adolescents dn‘am often; old people. Those who talk in their sleep are poor listeners. Spoiled children drcams. so do happy have minus any clothing at all are usually the sol- itary types. The anti-social men and women. You will know instantly, after hearing the recital of such a dream, that the individual who has dreamed it is not very well adapt.»d sccially.” R. PORTER was asked wheth2r all people dream, to define the reasons for the vary-. ing duration of dreams, describe which type of people dream the most and to impart ofher secrets which psychologists learn after healmng recitals of various dreams. “Perhaps there are a few people who never dream,” replied Mr. Porter. “But they are numerically few. All of us have problems of one kind or another to solve in real life, and problems requiring solutions evoke dreams. Pecple who are said never to dream fall into two class:s. The majcrity are those who forget their dieams. They want, very urgently, to forget them, since they do not want to remem- ber for long their own methods of self-decep- tion. It is too rainful. So they strongly fight off the dream visions or pictures after they awaken. “They want to stir up their emotions, but do not want to know exactly how they stirred them up. The fewer problems a man has and the more inclined he is to meet them with com- mon-sense planning in the daytime, the less would such a man be inclined to dream at night. But probably there will never be a man whcse problems are all so consistently simple that he can solve them alone and without some struggle or misapprehension, even though they be slight. “People who dream the most are the more highly nervous and least well adapted persons. ““Most people have anxiety dreams at one time cr another. People who are optimisti¢ or who who endeavor to reassure themselves have pleasant dreams. They enjoy them. Spoiled children’s dreams are often pleasant. What they are telling themselves is that something nice is going to happen to them. They dream of receiving gifts, lovely new toys. Or they dream of eating luscious strawbcrries and beautifully frosted cakes. 1"\ HGHTMARES are strong anxiety dreams, The individual feels afraid, tense, cau- ticus. This same fear basis is the one which, prompts a woman in what might be termed a daydream to ask herself after she has started downtown to do her shopping: . “'‘Did I leave the gas burning? connect -my electric curling iron?’ “A boy or girl mey expect an increase in dreams during adolescence. The adolescent boy is about to face all the problems of life for himself. If not prepared for this conting- ency, he does not see a way out, and he has’ frequent dreams, some of them disturbing in nature. “Old people, on the other hand, often dream with great frequency. They have become pessi- mistic. Their sphere of action has become smaller as they advance in years. Their self-. importance has suffered a blow, for their dom- inznce in life’s affairs is lessened. They dream’ nightly. - “Dreams often seem more interesting than daytime life. This is because the people who dream such fair dreams asre badly adapted to social life. They can really have more fun’ and better entertainment in their dreams, where they attend gay functlons, perhaps, and are well received. “Dreams which occur toward morning are’ of briefer duraticn than those which take place earlier in the night. “You learn much about a person when he tells you his dreams. Sometimes he talks in his sleep. This is the kind of person who is a“ better talker than a listener. He usually holds the reins of a conversation in the daytime. ’ “Visual types will see more in a dream. Oral types will hear mcre. Olfactory types will smell certain odors in their dreams. “But regardless of the type, all dreams can be looked upon with suspicion. They are indications. of the marked - characteristics or moods of the dreamers. “While it is unfair to say that dreams are- never useful, it is uttering a truth to say that dreams are always a misrepresentation of the ctrcunu‘trbees in real life which evoked the Sobeesrefulmddon’thuanyonevht you dreamed last night! -~ (Cdpyright, 1931 ) 3 Did I dis-