How to be happy though human / by W. Béran Wolfe.
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foster it. If he is ambitious, the dream will represent him conquering his obstacles, soaring over them without effort. If he is timid and fearful, the dream will encourage him to be cautious, and the like. The correct interpreta¬ tion of the dream is an artistic process. There may be several approximately correct interpretations of a dream, just as there may be several approximately correct interpretations of a novel or a painting. A “ correct ” interpretation of any dream requires the translation of the “ dynamic drift ” of the dream and its alignment in relative continuity with the dynamic pattern of the personality. 8. The interpretation of a dream is never a cure for a mental disease. The correct interpretation of any dream can only be the corroboration of the style of life which has been established by other facts in the individual's life. So far as the individual is concerned, he is constantly encouraging and reinforcing himself in his already established pattern of life by dreaming of dynamic situations in which his pattern is reinforced. The so-called prophetic dreams fall into the “ trial solution ” type. If you try out several solutions in your dreams and later actually choose one of these solutions in reality, and it turns out just as you had dreamed it, there is nothing prophetic about it. The dreamer alone can supply the magic key of associations which unlocks the hidden meaning of his dream. A word about the mysterious feeling that you have been in a place before, or have said the same words, or have heard the same reply from an individual. The French authors call this “ deja vu ", something that you have seen before. This puzzling phenomenon may best be explained in exactly the same way as the prophetic dream : you have thought of this situation in a dream, pre-figured it and pre-determined just how it would occur. Occasionally your guesses are correct, and then, when you are carrying out the dreamed-of act, you are struck with the resemblance to the forgotten dream. This is the origin of “ deja vu ” and related phenomena.