The Spirituality of Dreaming: Unlocking the Wisdom of Our Sleeping Selves

Bulkeley (The Scribes of Sleep), director of the Sleep and Dream Database, aims in this impassioned handbook to help readers “unlock new dimensions of your own nocturnal imagination.” According to the author, everyone has “the potential to become a [dreamer],” and can fuel their “dreaming imagination” by optimizing sleep patterns, exploring “the metaphorical meanings of [their] dreams,” and sharing dreams with others, whether individually or in“dream-sharing groups.” He overviews three “realms” where “spiritual energies can be especially strong”—dreams with animals and nature; gods and demons; and death and dying—and elucidates prominent themes and types for each (“visitation dreams” featuring a deceased loved one are particularly common, for example). His links between the spiritual and the unconscious illuminate (“the psychospiritual intensity of dreaming can transform an abstract idea into a deeply relevant and personally meaningful conviction”), even if the thesis sometimes stretches into hyperbole, as when Bulkeley tells readers that their “visionary gifts can make a real contribution to the collective health of those around you in these fraught and perilous times.” Still, it’s a welcome resource for those eager to dive into the mysteries of the unconscious. (Dec.)