F. Spanner, U. S. Navy, Retired, woke up in the morning still full of the ideas he had gotten from a dream that was as clear as a real experience. It impressed him so much that while it was still fresh in his memory he went and told it to his wise old friend, Mr. Whitely. It ran very much as follows.
"It seemed as if my old Navy shipmate Sparks, the Radioman, and I were having an interesting experience testing a new radio device by which a person could listen in to the thoughts of other folk — their actual thought — not the seeming thoughts back of their conversation, and also that the same device made it possible for Sparks and myself to broadcast our actual thoughts to impinge on the minds of any particular persons we wished.
"While I was intent on broadcasting to a certain group some thoughts that seemed helpful and kind and friendly, I happened to glance over at Sparks. His face showed a sort of puzzled concern, so that I asked him what was wrong. He answered that he had been listening in on the thoughts of a group of people together at some apparently friendly entertainment. There seemed to be, as it were, two sets of thought-actions going on in the minds of each of the folk he was studying. There were the thought-forms directly connected with the conversations, which were amiable and friendly, and then there seemed to be certain vigorous thought-forms that appeared to be stamped with suspicion, distrust, and fear. And further, these qualities of thought coming from one person seemed to react on others so as to increase the disturbing thoughts already in their minds. While Sparks and I were talking about it, I woke up."
After Mr. Spanner finished telling his dream Mr. Whitely remained quiet, in deep thought, for a while. Then he turned to Mr. Spanner and said: "You have been dreaming about some very serious facts that the majority of men do not consider. Men's brains are very wonderful radio sets that are fitted for both sending and receiving ideas. It is very important to understand this quality of brain structure in these days when people are in such close association with each other. It is just as dangerous to be ignorant of this as it is to be wilfully destructive, as you can see. Unfriendly ideas, unexpressed, build up into dangerous forces for destructiveness. It is a further fact that a person in a group where such harmful thought-emanations are building up, can by a strong, positive, friendly, good-will thought-force from himself counteract the unfriendly thought-structure and may even start a wave of positive friendly thoughts that will build up into bases for real trust and true friendship. Refuse to think unkind thoughts; think kind thoughts, and trust and friendship are bound to develop. That is what makes real civilization."