is not level, but is broken by a wave which stands above the rest; which is but
another way of saying that some one thing is always more prominent in our
thought than the rest. Only when we are in a sleepy reverie, or not thinking about
much of anything, does the stream approximate a level. At all other times some
one object occupies the highest point in our thought, to the more or less
complete exclusion of other things which we might think about. A thousand and
one objects are possible to our thought at any moment, but all except one thing
occupy a secondary place, or are not present to our consciousness at all. They
exist on the margin, or else are clear off the edge of consciousness, while the one
thing occupies the center. We may be reading a fascinating book late at night in
a cold room. The charm of the writer, the beauty of the heroine, or the bravery of
the hero so occupies the mind that the weary eyes and chattering teeth are
unnoticed. Consciousness has piled up in a high wave on the points of interest in
the book, and the bodily sensations are for the moment on a much lower level.
But let the book grow dull for a moment, and the make-up of the stream changes
in a flash. Hero, heroine, or literary style no longer occupies the wave. They
forfeit their place, the wave is taken by the bodily sensations, and we are
conscious of the smarting eyes and shivering body, while these in turn give way
to the next object which occupies the wave. Figs. 1-3 illustrate these changes.
FIG. FIG.