Yesterday, I had wanted to mention something interesting I had read
recently concerning dreams about falling but I couldn't remember where I
had read it. I usually read 2 or 3 books at the same time (I get bored
easily, I guess), and I often put them aside for a period of time until
finally finishing them, so I had to sift through a relatively large
gaggle of books. Finally last night, I found the passage I wanted in a
book by Frank Sulloway (1979; _Freud, biologist of the mind: Beyond the
psychoanalytic legend_. NY: Basic.). He was talking about the dream
research of Hervey de Saint-Denys in the 1860s. Hervey made detailed
observations of his own dreams and even attempted to alter events in his
dreams (what is now called "lucid dreaming"). According to Sulloway,
Hervey found that he was able to alter his dreams to some extent, but
that there were limitations: "For instance, when Hervey once attempted
to kill himself in the course of a dream by jumping off a tall tower, he
instantly found himself transposed into the crowd below, where he
witnessed another man falling off the same tower" (p. 324).
After reading this passage, I wondered whether Hervey's lucid dream
about trying to kill himself was the source of the popular belief that,
if you dream about falling and you hit the ground, you will die. That
is, Hervey's INABILITY to hit the ground in his dreams may somehow have
been transformed into the popular belief--the belief that students often
ask about in class discussions concerning dreaming. I have always
wondered about the origin of this belief. Whenever it comes up in class,
I always ask my students, how could we test the idea? I suggest
facetiously that we cannot test the idea because everyone who has hit
the ground in their dreams is now dead and, so, are unable to make a
report (except through a Ouija board). Of course, I realize that one
could test the idea by seeing if there are any people who have hit the
ground without dying; but Hervey's attempt suggests that this may not be
possible. The strange experiment he performed (why on Earth would he
have thought of doing this?) might have found its way into the popular
consciousness (it definitely wormed its way into mine) and been passed
down as the popular belief often mentioned by students.
Anyone have any further ideas or references about the source of this
popular belief?
Jeff
--
Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213
9000 E. Chaparral Rd. FAX Number: (480) 423-6298
Psychology Department [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626
"The truth is rare and never simple."
Oscar Wilde
"Science must begin with myths and with the criticism of myths"
Karl Popper
"If you want to learn new things, you should try reading old books."
Richard Cytowic
