Ballantine
Books, RP 2001
ISBN: 0345396669 |
Reviewed
by Christina Gosnell
s
"reality" better glimpsed with open eyes during the daylight
hours while dreaming? Dr. Robert L. Van de Castles
Our
Dreaming Mind will make you ponder the answer to that seemingly
simple question.
Dreams
have always fascinated mankind. Even the ancient questioned what
was most real, waking reality or dreaming reality. Dreams are interwoven
into each of our lives; both consciously and unconsciously they
leave footprints on our thoughts by way of a forgotten image, a
familiar face, a strange encounter. But to some of us, dreams remain
in that dark abyss each night. We havent a clue as to what
went on. Nighttime slumber is often filled with mysteries that only
begin to unravel long after consciousness has slipped from our grasp.
At times, dreams may even seem as if they belong to someone else
because they arent always readily available for examination.
Dr. Van de Castle opens the door to this mysterious world and invites
readers to come in, take a seat, and get comfortable.
Dreams, Dr. Van
de Castle says, are the portals between our inner and outer worlds.
They might be visits from an external God, the wanderings of the
dreamers soul, or the reworking of unresolved emotional tensions
from the previous day. Dreams not only prod us to ask questions
but also provide answers, Dr. Van de Castle suggests, to most of
our waking problems. They contain keys to our present life and are
predictive of future situations. Dr. Van de Castle has spent his
life trying to answer the questions that dreams leave hanging. He
has devoted his career not only to dreams and their meanings, but
also to the history, future, and development of dream and R.E.M.
study. Dr. Van de Castle shows readers how they can begin a journey
to self-discovery by paying attention to the symbols and imagery
so prevalent in the dreaming world. This is when it gets really
interesting.
When is a snake
a snake? A stranger a stranger? According to Dr. Van de Castle and
other dream specialists, everyone or everything in a dream is often
a different facet of the dreamers personality. For instance,
animal figures in dreams represent the unacceptable and frightening
impulses that reside within us. And in fact, a strange woman or
man in our dream may not be a stranger at all, but a part of ourselves
from which we choose to unconsciously separate.
Our Dreaming
Mind is ambitious and presented in a format that is palpable
to not only the reader who is interested in their own dreams, but
also to the psychiatrist, psychologist, or physician who is interested
in dream analysis. As readers learn, dreams are a part of the history
of subjects ranging from religion to mythology, art to literature,
medicine to psychology. Dr. Castle also provides a plethora of everyday
dream examples to uncover meanings and symbolism in some of the
most commonly reported dreams.
Step-by-step, this
book shows dreamers how to uncover hidden meanings behind the images,
figures, and actions in their dreams. In fact, the book itself is
much like a dream world. The pages of
Our Dreaming Mind are
filled with illustrations, photos, and real-life dream reports from
dream studies throughout history, including those of renowned psychologists
Freud and Jung. This resource is complete, from A to Z; a magnus
opus, a consummate book that begins with an intriguing introduction
and doesnt stop until each area of dream study is satisfied.
And, unlike other books available on dreaming, theres a bibliography
filled with resources for the waking mind as well as the dreaming
one.
More than just
a reference book,
Our Dreaming Mind is an entertaining read
to dreamers on all levels. The work is divided into six parts. Part
1 offers various examples of dreams that have reportedly inspired
significant events in religion, politics, art, science, and history.
Part 2 races through dream theories from "the dawn of history" to
the nineteenth century. Part 3 outlines the major dream theories
of the twentieth century: Freud, Jung, Boss, Perls, Gendlin, Hall,
and Ullman, among others. Part 4 describes modern scientific dream
research, while Part 5 explains the methods and the findings of
content analysis. Part 6 unveils "the twilight zone of dreams,"
including psychic, lucid, and spiritual dreams.
One of the most
interesting aspects of
Our Dreaming Mind is the story it
tells of Dr. Van de Castle's personal journeys as a dream explorer.
He has been a strong and courageous figure in the study of dreams
for over three decades. Look up any modern dream study and you will
most likely find Dr. Van de Castles name. He participated
in the earliest days of sleep laboratory research, was a colleague
of Calvin Hall and with him co-wrote the highly influential
The
Content Analysis of Dreams (1966), has been deeply involved
in the study of psychic and precognitive dreams, served as co-editor
with Henry Reed of
Dream Network Bulletin, was the second
president of the ASD and host of two ASD conferences, and is the
general editor of the
Series in Dream Studies being published
by State University of New York (SUNY) Press.
Our Dreaming
Mind is the result of Dr. Castles magnificent career;
the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for a man that has closed
his eyes but attempted to see. No other resource on dream study
has or likely will measure up to the all-encompassing scope of this
book. In
Our Dreaming Mind, Van de Castle is trying to share
the insights he has gained from a lifetime of dedicated dream research.
Fueled by his sincere desire to help others better appreciate their
dreams, the information in this book leaps off the pages with excitement.