Does the soul communicate with the Spirit World at night as primitive man claimed? Of course.

Both Spiritualists and modern psychologists affirm that this is so. Sleep is an adventurous time for all of us, and surprisingly, knowledge of night time experiences seem to have come full circle. Our beliefs are similar to those of primitive man.

We know that invisible changes come over us every night and this has been happening since time began. Our closed eyes lose their sight and our minds slowly begin to fill with images. We gently recede from the demanding world drifting effortlessly, tenderly, silently, sometimes with subtle sensations, to a fragile haven of rest we call sleep.

Yet we ask, "Why do strange visions and extraordinary manifestations take place when we sleep?"

Although sleep is difficult to define, we do know some facts about sleep.

Modern psychologists have done extensive research into sleep patterns and dreams and have written about their findings. They tell us that one third of our lives is spent sleeping, and while we sleep, strange fascinating things are apt to happen.

Also, they tell us that we have four or five dreams each night, occupying an hour and a half of our total sleep. In addition, psychologists, as well as spirit guides, inform us that we can travel astrally while asleep.

At one time, sleep and wakefulness were considered to be the light and dark sides of consciousness, but now psychologists tell us there are many shades in between.

Sleep is not all unconsciousness because it is made up of experiences resembling wakefulness. Moreover, it is often during sleep that one's nature and spiritual gifts are exposed. The purpose of these things, provides a puzzle to the scientists.

As Spiritualists, we understand many reasons the body needs sleep. As a field needs rest from constant cultivation, so too does the physical body require rest from its labours.

Dreams are fascinating to experience. Spiritualists, as well as scientists, study them, and have divided them into two main categories. One is considered emanating from the Earth; the other from the Land of Spirit.

The ones originating from Earth are the vast majority of dreams. They are called ordinary dreams traceable to defective sleeping habits, impaired health and unresting thoughts. They are considered the mere play of the mental faculties under the influence of some disturbing cause connected with the world and body in which we presently reside.

No human can survive long without dreaming. This has been scientifically proven. Research shows that when interference with dreams occur, there is serious nervous system deterioration.

It has also been proven that obvious remembered dreams come during periods of lighter sleep, when one's eyeballs move rapidly (REM - rapid eye movement) and this occurs every 90 minutes.

This doesn't mean that deeper sleep is dreamless, for evidence points to significant mental activity during delta sleep.

Not all dreams are memories of spirit experiences. Current scientific opinion considers dreams are the sleeping mind's arena of confrontation with the stresses of wakefulness with the daily emotional problems that need nightly therapy, but not through reason, through feelings.

There are three kinds of dreams (1) spiritual sweet dreams, (2) dreams caused by what has accumulated in the subconscious, and (3) dreams which are a result of our daily activities.

The dreams which come from eating food too late at night, or are the result of what is stored in the subconscious mind do not bring any spiritual truths with them.

Dreams influence our emotions we can re-act to their sublime, lofty, inspiring nature, or be terrified from nightmares.

The spirit guide Silver Birch says: "When you carry back impressions of loved ones you have met in the Spirit World, this will bring a mental and spiritual warmth which enables you to differentiate very clearly indeed. One dream is like having a heavy thud on your shoulder; the other is like being kissed by a butterfly".

Psychologists have studied dreams since 'Dream Study' was first conceived in Vienna by Dr. Sigmund Freud around 1900. This study of dreams, primarily those resulting from what is stored in the subconscious mind, became a respectable scientific study eventually called Psychology. Freud's pupil, Carl Jung, continued the research.

Jung himself was inspired by dreams to change the course of his career. A disciple of Jung's, Dr. Marie-Louise von Franz, continues this fascinating study today. Von Franz has broadened the scope of psychology to include spiritual dreams.

Since Freud's theories were first published, psychoanalysts, psychiatrists and psychotherapists have become popular interpreters of dreams today.

Dr. Marie-Louise von Franz worked with Dr. Jung for over thirty years and like Jung, believes that dreams are 'the voice of nature within us'. Also, von Franz is the first psychologist to link dreams with immortality.

Psychologists accept that dreams can resolve mental problems. For dreams can represent the dreamer's own character and so dramatize a truth he/she couldn't realize unassisted.

Another interesting type of dream is called Psychic Dreams and the dreamer's power to foretell the future is a very ancient concept. Mark Twain dreamed his brother's death in vivid detail, although the brother was alive and well at the time.

A month later, Mark witnessed the very scene of his dream when he viewed the remains of his brother killed in a Mississippi riverboat explosion.

We know it was primitive man, in the earliest stages of civilization who said that the imprisoned soul had to be free to wander and communicate with the Spirit World at night.

"When our eyes see our hands doing the work of our hearts, the circle of Creation is completed inside us, the doors of our souls fly open and love steps forth to heal everything in sight."