Product Description

"A MASTERPIECE ON DREAMS...This book is a singular resource.... If it inspires you to remember your dreams, this book will change your life. If it inspires you to act on your dreams, this book will change the world."
--Henry Reed
Author of Getting Help from Your Dreams
and Dream Solutions
In this brilliantly researched and thorough study, internationally recognized dream authority Robert L. Van de Castle examines the vital role that dreams have played throughout history, from the dreams of ancient Sumerian kings to the pioneering dream research of nineteenth-century psychologists. Our Dreaming Mind delves into the most provocative experiments that scientists are conducting on the dreaming mind in this century and surveys ongoing dream experiments: dreams and sexual arousal, the impact of pregnancy on dreams, the connection between dreams and creativity, and the possibility of paranormal dreams.
"In Our Dreaming Mind, Robert Van de Castle pulls decades of accumulated wisdom together in a sweeping panorama unsurpassed in the literature for its scope, its insight, and its ability to captivate its readers.
--Stanley Krippner
Director of The Saybrook Institute
Editor of Dream Time and Dream Work
"IMMENSELY READABLE...A monumental history of dreams."
--Publishers Weekly
"Our Dreaming Mind is really a dream come true--the most comprehensive, authoritative, and inspiring book on dreams I know about. At heart, this book is about human consciousness and our place in the universe. A magnificent contribution."
--Larry Dossey, M.D.
Author of Meaning & Medicine:
A Doctor's Tales of Breakthrough and Healing

AN ALTERNATE SELECTION OF THE BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH CLUB

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #419630 in Books
• Published on: 1995-10-17
• Released on: 1995-10-17
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 576 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Inspirational imagery revealed in dreams to Muhammad, Gandhi, Descartes, Wagner, Handel, Coleridge, Yeats, Orson Welles, Elias Howe and many others has wrought significant changes in politics, science, art, music, film, literature and religion. Yet dreams have been devalued in Western culture, and one reason for this, suggests Van de Castle, is that Freud's forging of strong links among dreams, neuroses and sex has thwarted a wider exploration of the full meaning of dreams. Former director of the University of Virginia Medical School's Sleep and Dream Laboratory, the author explores the dream theories of Freud, Jung, Montague Ullman, Fritz Perls and others. He surveys the importance of dream imagery in ancient and non-Western cultures and crams in a wealth of information on children's dreams, recurrent dreams, nightmares, gender differences in dreaming and much else. This immensely readable resource is a monumental history of dreams and a practical stimulus for those who want to remember and work with their dreams. Illustrated.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Van de Castle, former director of the Sleep and Dream Laboratory at the University of Virginia, presents the scientific facts surrounding dreams as well as some of the more prophetic, paranormal associations. He begins his well-organized text with a history of dreams, using such anecdotes as the revelation in a dream of the location of Kuwait's great oil reserves to a British political official. Van de Castle proceeds to describe modern dream theories of the 20th century with a particular emphasis on Freud and Jung. He continues with the current state of dream research and ends with the paranormal qualities of dreams. While books concerning dreams abound, this broad and intelligent work is highly recommended. [QPB main selection; BOMC alternate.]-Jennifer Amador, Central State Hosp. Medical Lib., Petersburg, Va.
--Jennifer Amador, Central State Hosp. Medical Lib., Petersburg, Va.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Contrary to popular belief, the dream factory is not located in Hollywood's film studios but right in our own noggins. The brain's fantastic store of products parades by one's eyelids, and here a dream researcher dips into the trove of reports that people have made. Portentous or picayune, all dreams are valid to Van de Castle, who after lollygagging through a hundred pages on famous dreamers (Plato to Patton), finally gets down to the meat of the matter: interpretation. It was popularized by Freud, who invented such stalwarts in the analytical vocabulary as "wish fullfillment." Van de Castle, even more analytical, dons the white coat to summarize what lab studies, including his own, have revealed about the physiology of dreaming, the themes in dreams and their whole symbology, and gender-specific patterns. More speculatively, he ponders the premonitory and telepathic powers of dreams. The author's solid knowledge, encompassing such diverse subjects as ancient omens and modern statistics, and enthusiastic lucidity beckon a huge readership. Gilbert Taylor

Customer Reviews

My Dream Text Book!
Of all the books I have about dreams Our Dreaming Mind has the most comprehensive research. Unlike other dream books that are use to promote the author point of view; Dr. Van de Castle uses facts and research to promote his claim. ***I believe most people don't remember their dreams, some or all, because they can't handle how far their dreams take them.*** Anyone that can easily remember their dreams and has a bit of a scientific mind will be overjoyed that some scientist is taking dreams seriously. I use this book as the core text for my dream study. Thank you Dr. Van de Castle!!!

Perfect Library Resource
As other reviewers have stated, this book reads like a dissertation given all of the works cited. The author has definitely done his research and is comprehensive in covering all aspects of dreaming. The information presented is interesting and fascinating, but the book is not for those who would rather read a novel than a textbook or term paper. I, alas, am one of those people and donated my copy to our Women's Circle library. This book is a valuable resource and is recommended for those who are taking on serious study.

Fascinating
This book is a compendium of information about dreams, ranging from folklore and ancient beliefs through current scientific research. The book is organized into 6 parts: anecdotes and famous dreams, early dream research from the dawn of history up until Freud, modern dream theorists including Freud and Jung, experimental dream research, scientific dream analysis, and paranormal and lucid dreams. There are also two appendixes that provide contact information for dream networks and organizations, and how to keep a dream diary. The book is extensively documented with endnotes, and there is a 20 page bibliography as well as an index. There is a phenomenal amount of material crammed into this volume- -the pages are extra wide to accommodate two columns of text on each page. The book is illustrated with black-and-white photographs and dream-influenced artwork.

The early part of the book seemed almost like an extended literature review for a dissertation or an encyclopedia. The thoughts of dozens, perhaps even hundreds of philosophers, researchers, and other dreamers are briefly summarized in chronological order, from Plato to Artemidorus, from Erik Erikson to Calvin Hall. I found the sections on Freud and Jung particularly illuminating. As someone who has heard a lot about Freud, but never read his works, I found the overview of Freud's work on dreams and his school of psychoanalysis quite informative, especially when it was directly contrasted with Jung's work. The contributions of each of these men to the topic of dream research were presented in great depth, and supplemented with example analyses in their corresponding schools.

I also found the section of the book covering contemporary dream research to be quite fascinating. It would have been better, however, if this section were expanded and brought up to date with the latest laboratory findings. One annoying habit that Van de Castle has is using this book to defend criticisms of his research methodology. In several places in the text, he reports that other researchers disagreed with his findings, and then he launches into in-depth justification of his conclusions. While he is certainly within his rights to defend his views, it makes no sense to do so in a popular work such as this one- -all he needed to do in this text was mention the disagreements (perhaps in an endnote) and briefly explain that he had answered the questions in print elsewhere. By discussing the points in detail here, it makes it appear as if he is defending his research by appealing not to his scientific peers, but to the general public. In contrast, it might have been good to explain the experimental design of his research in a little more detail in this book. From his descriptions here, he makes it sound as if he does dream research by positing that certain elements of dreams are common or absent in a particular group of people, and then checking their dreams to see if this is indeed the case. He never mentions whether this research is conducted using double-blind methods or control populations. If he had mentioned here that he consistently used such methods, his research would sound a lot more credible. (If he actually didn't use such methods, then his research would be dreamy, indeed.)

In any case, I found much of what Van de Castle reports to be consistent with my own experiences. After reading this book, I am even more certain that following one's nightly dreams can be a very illuminating and worthwhile practice. I plan to use the book's extensive bibliography to follow up on the ideas presented here.