leep, there are no dreams; consciousness is
entirely suspended. In the ordinary stage of dreaming, there is a
peculiar sort of consciousness, many of the faculties of the mind being
more or less active while the power of volition is wholly dormant.
Carpenter describes another stage of consciousness between that of
ordinary dreaming and wakefulness, a condition "in which the dreamer
has a consciousness that he is dreaming, being aware of the
unreliability of the images which present themselves before his mind.
He may even make a voluntary and successful effort to prolong them if
agreeable, or to dissipate them if unpleasing; thus evincing a certain
degree of that directing power, the entire want of which is
characteristic of the true state of dreams."

Can Dreams Be Controlled?--Facts prove that they can be, and to a
remarkable extent. A large share of emissions occur in the state
described by Dr. Carpenter, in which a certain amount of control by
the will is possible. This is the usual condition of the mind during
morning naps; and if a person resolutely determines to combat unchaste
thoughts whenever they come to him, whether asleep or awake, he will
find it possible to control himself not only during this semi-conscious
state, but even during more profound sleep.

The following case, related by an eminent London surgeon,[55]
illustrates what may be done by strong resolution; the patient was an
Italian gentleman of very great respectability.

[Footnote 55: Acton.]

"He had been inconvenienced five years before with frequent emissions,
which totally unnerved him. He determined resolutely that the very
instant the image of a woman or any libidinous idea presented itself
to his imagination, _he would wake_; and to insure his doing so, dwelt
in his thoughts on his resolution for a long time before going to sleep.
The remedy, applied by a vigorous will, had the most happy results.
The idea, the remembrance of its being a _danger_, and the determination
to wake, closely united the evening before, were never dissociated even
in sleep, and he awoke in time; and this reiterated precaution, repeated
during some evenings, absolutely cured the complaint."

Several other cases of the same kind have been recorded. Doubtless the
plan would be found successful in many cases when coupled with a proper
regimen.

A still greater control is exerted over the thoughts during sleep by
their character during hours of wakefulness. By co