“Ihaveneverhadanyrevelationsthroughanaesthetics，butakindofwakingtrance——thisforlackofabetterword——Ihavefrequentlyhad，quiteupfromboyhood，whenIhavebeenallalone。Thishascomeuponmethroughrepeatingmyownnametomyselfsilently，tillallatonce，asitwereoutoftheintensityoftheconsciousnessofindividuality，individualityitselfseemedtodissolveandfadeawayintoboundlessbeing，andthisnotaconfusedstatebuttheclearest，thesurestofthesurest，utterlybeyondwords——wheredeathwasanalmostlaughableimpossibility——thelossofpersonalityifsoitwereseemingnoextinction，buttheonlytruelife。Iamashamedofmyfeebledescription。HaveInotsaidthestateisutterlybeyondwords？”
ProfessorTyndall，inaletter，recallsTennysonsayingofthiscondition：“ByGodAlmighty！thereisnodelusioninthematter！
Itisnonebulousecstasy，butastateoftranscendentwonder，associatedwithabsoluteclearnessofmind。”MemoirsofAlfredTennyson，ii。473。
SirJamesCrichton-Brownehasgiventhetechnicalnameof“dreamystates“tothesesuddeninvasionsofvaguelyreminiscentconsciousness。[229]Theybringasenseofmysteryandofthemetaphysicaldualityofthings，andthefeelingofanenlargementofperceptionwhichseemsimminentbutwhichnevercompletesitself。InDr。Crichton-Browne’sopiniontheyconnectthemselveswiththeperplexedandscareddisturbancesofself-consciousnesswhichoccasionallyprecedeepilepticattacks。Ithinkthatthislearnedalienisttakesaratherabsurdlyalarmistviewofanintrinsicallyinsignificantphenomenon。Hefollowsitalongthedownwardladder，toinsanity；ourpathpursuestheupwardladderchiefly。Thedivergenceshowshowimportantitistoneglectnopartofaphenomenon’sconnections，forwemakeitappearadmirableordreadfulaccordingtothecontextbywhichwesetitoff。
TheLancet，July6and13，1895，reprintedastheCavendishLecture，onDreamyMentalStates，London，Bailliere，1895。Theyhavebeenagooddealdiscussedoflatebypsychologists。See，forexample，Bernard-Leroy：L’IllusiondeFausseReconnaissance，Paris，1898。