A rather distressing sequela of some dreams is the feeling that what has been dreamed has teen actually experienced before; but the individual is unable to place the experience. Thus a questioning spirit pervades the mind, causing, often, much perplexity and distress. Rossetti, who was neurasthenic, refers to- this feeling, apart from dreams, in Sudden Light. Coleridge, whose mind was practically divorced from the realities of life, and who lived a waking dream almost constantly, also alludes to it:

Oft o'er my brain that strange fancy roll Which makes the present while the flash doth last. Seem a mere semblance of some unknown past, Mixed with such feelings as perplex the soul Self-questioned in her sleep.

- On the Birth of a Son.

The feeling that what is seen apparently for the first time is really an old experience is not rare; cultivated people, especially those who have travelled and read extensively, seem to be particularly familiar with it. Incidentally, it might be mentioned that the same feeling has caused some persons to believe that they had a previous existence, in which the things which gave rise to the perplexity were first encountered.

This sense of familiarity is explainable in many ways. Though we have had countless experiences, we are usually able to recognize them whenever they come to consciousness. Our self earns, however, lay stress upon the significant as well as the insignificant incidents of our varied pasts. Should one of the insignificant experiences be portrayed by the dream, waking consciousness may not recognize it, though there is a feeling that it has been met with before ,\ the failure to place the experience is hardly remarkable since our minds are crowded with experiences, some of which we cannot identify if for no other reason than that they occupied consciousness for a very brief period. Again, many dreams concerned with childhood days bring to consciousness isolated, commonplace incidents which are comparatively of little psychic importance, and which, therefore, are not easily placed. We may recognize dreams of childhood incidents by noting our own size or that of the other images. If things look very large, or as if seen from a distance or from the end of a long road the dream is usually a childhood reminiscence. Sometimes the sense of familiarity following dreams is due to redream-ing a "forgotten" dream. Again, we should be mindful that fantasies are available for dream life, that no distinction may be made between those that were entertained long ago or recently; considering the innumerable things one thinks about, it is only natural that consciousness may not be able to identify all of these, though aware of the fact that they bear a vague semblance of familiarity.

In some instances it is very likely that the memory plays us false, crediting a really new experience to something that happened before. However, it is extremely doubtful if the familiarity feeling, following dreams or not, would ever justify a belief in a prior existence. Throughout our lives we have been seeing various persons, reading books descriptive of various places, building up structures in the imagination, etc. If I visit Italy, for example, really for the first time, and note a church or other scene which strikes me as having been seen before I have countless explanations more plausible than that I once lived among these scenes, ever so long ago. Possibly the motion pictures implanted this scene in my mind; possibly I saw the scene in a picture book. At any rate, the inability of the mind to place the incident is of no great moment since it would be a supernormal mind indeed that could fully recognize everything that had made an impression upon it.

Some dreams are, of course, fantastic, though fashioned out of material with which the dreamer is acquainted. For example, one may dream of flying; true, no one has as yet been able to fly without employing mechanical devices which in many dreams of flying are dispensed with. One writer cites this as contradicting the statement that dreams are founded on experiences; however, very few of us have not imagined the sensation of flying, and we have seen birds flying; thus, it is seen that this objection is not well founded. Though we accept dream experiences as real while dreaming, we dismiss from mind on awaking those that have had no actual foundation. For example, if we had a dream of flying we would be well aware that such never occurred actually. In ill health, mental or physical, and particularly in hysteria, the dream may seem so real as to be considered an actual occurrence.

On the other hand, dreams sometimes make such a pronounced impression that the real world seems unreal. The individual acts more like a dream character, is mentally puzzled, performs daily acts mechanically, pervaded with the idea that he is living in a dream. Familiar objects look unfamiliar: one may even doubt his own existence. Such feelings may follow directly after a dream and disappear suddenly, or they may come on slowly and last for an indefinite time. Usually they cause much anxiety. Generally the persons afflicted are of pronounced nervous type. Day-dreams are more often provocative than night-dreams. In these cases the r attacks may occur at any time. They are due to the individual's living so much in an artificial world, created by fancies, that a grip is lost on the real world.