A Broken Crystal Goblet

(photo courtesy of chinaandcrystalrepair.com)

In previous posts I have discussed the waking dream and how it works. While waking dreams consist of startling events that seem implausible, there are most likely scientific explanations for even the most bizarre phenomena. Carl Jung became aware of these phenomena early in life when he experienced what is arguably the most famous waking dream of all time: He was in his home with his mother when they heard a tremendous cracking sound—like an explosion—coming from the dining room. Carl went to look, and there he saw the family’s decades-old dining room table with a huge, new crack down the middle of it.

Quite possibly a wood expert could have done some studying of the wood structure, made some calculations about increasing stresses on aging organic material and taken some readings of the room’s relative humidity at the time of the incident. He or she might have been able to explain exactly what happened.

No one is doubting the biological cause or claiming magic—at least not in that sense. The “magic” is in the timing. Why would a stress point in a table top choose that particular moment in time to suddenly create a crack? Is it just a fluke? Most of us would argue that it was “just one of those things.” But having examined these incidents for many years, I can argue confidently that there is more to this phenomenon than chance. What follows is the latest of these events brought to my attention. In its own way, it is quite similar to Jung’s cracked table.

A cook’s waking dream

Over the holidays I wanted to cook a goose. Although I love to cook, I haven’t prepared this meal in several years because it takes a great deal of time—the process lasts off and on for three days. But it’s also fun to do, and my wife and I had invited guests whom we knew would appreciate the experience. We were intending to “do it up royally” with all our best dishes and table settings. But when my wife looked into the hutch where we keep our best china, she let out an audible gasp. I came running to see what the trouble was. We have these crystal goblets that are exquisite and have been in the family for half a century. They are etched and tinted, some in gold, and others in translucent blue or green. We love them dearly and always treat them with kid gloves. But now, my wife was looking at one of the green ones which was broken. The stem and base were fine. But the bowl part was split roughly in half with the broken-off piece lying on the shelf beside the goblet. There was no evidence of an impact. Nothing else in the hutch was disturbed. Nothing was touching the goblet. When I picked it up and realigned the broken piece, it fit perfectly; there were no shards or other missing pieces.

Stay tuned!

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