Dreams

I have been intrigued by dreams for a long time. Growing up in the home of a Christian minister, I've spent my whole life hearing and reading about dreams in the Bible. Many times I've wondered about my own dreams. I'd like to be able to interpret them and/or find someone who can do it. And to be honest, I would love to have the "gift" of dream interpretation. This book is written by a Jungian analyst and Episcopal priest and I learned a lot about dreams through reading it. It is written from a basically Christian viewpoint - that God spoke through dreams. And, Sanford asserts, He still does. Sanford draws heavily on Jungian views on dream interpretation. In his introduction he does a careful definition of these terms: 1. Ego - the conscious part of our personality. 2. Unconscious - all those parts of our personality which we do not know. He prefers this term to SUBconscious, as he states that the unconscious can be as much above the ego as below it. 3. Psyche - the entire personality, including the ego and the unconscious. 4. Psychic - the inner energy or activity of the psyche. He does not refer to these in a spiritualist sense. He divides the book into two parts, neither of which has a specific name. He deals with the nature and structure of dreams and how they relate to the Christian life. He gives many examples of dreams in the book, and by the time you finish, you will understand dreams much better than before. I appreciate his emphasizing that you can't put dream interpretation into a box - each person's situation has to be considered as unique. I still cannot interpret my dreams. But I've learned to appreciate them even more, and who knows? Maybe some day either I will get the insight to interpret them or find someone who can.

Dreams is a very good read. I found it concise and informative. I like Sanford's style and tone -- instructive and direct. His simple and direct explanations of Jungian pyschology are excellent -- all wheat, no chaff. Sanford does an excellent job of relating biblical quotes and stories to dream pyschology. Very practical and immediately useful for my own dream analysis.

As a society we are quick to look inward to analyze our dreams when in actuality we should look outward. The premise behind this book is excellent. The material, however, is a tad dry and tough to get through. If you can finish this book, you will feel truly enlightened to yourself and God's voice within you.

During the course of reading this book, it gave me a sense of the power that I never realized existed. I learned to use my dreams for God to talk to communicate with me about so many areas of my life that I seemed to avoid and fear. In addition, in my dreams, it was there that I learned to face my fears and reall see the shadows of who I really am as my TRUE self. If you are ready to learn about the person that you are TRULY, then READ THIS BOOK!