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Patricia Garfield

Autor de Creative Dreaming

11 Obras 429 Miembros 4 Reseñas

Sobre El Autor

Obras de Patricia Garfield

Etiquetado

Conocimiento común

Fecha de nacimiento
1934-08-31
Género
female
Nacionalidad
USA

Miembros

Reseñas

I much enjoyed Patricia Garfield’s ”Creative Dreaming”, but was somewhat disappointed with this book.

Garfield had an accident in which she severely damaged her wrist. The doctor said it was just sprained, but a dream told her that it was broken, which turned out to be correct. On recovering, she decided to write this book about 1) forewarning dreams 2) diagnostic dreams 3) crisis dreams 4) post-crisis dreams 5) healing dreams and 6) convalescence and wellness dreams.

In this comprehensive book dealing with all stages of health crises and recovery, Garfield refers at length to many other writers on dreams throughout the ages, including Hippocrates, Asklepios, Galen, Artemidorus, Jung, Freud, LaBerge, Oliver Sacks and Kasatkin. She also refers extensively to many cases of injuries and illnesses and the respective patients’ accompanying dreams and their interpretations.

I myself was and am in a similar situation since I a couple of years ago also had an accident and subsequently had to endure several operations. But I remembered no dreams or nightmares reflecting the accident, the various surgeries and so forth. This might have had to do with my being given morphine and other strong pain-killers. As far as I can see, Garfield does not mention that pain-killers might impede recollection of dreams.

It was not until months after the last operation that I have begun to dream again.

Garfield being a dream expert obviously had no problems in remembering her dreams. However, not everyone recollects their dreams with ease. It would have been helpful had she indicated those remedies available to us that might aid our recollection, such as Vitamin B6, mugwort tea, guayana tea and so on.

She goes into much detail regarding how to relate our dreams to physical problems, Strangely enough, I have remembered no dreams whatsoever relating to the body parts that I have had problems with, not that I have been able to interpret.

She gives us many examples of how we can interpret body symptoms. For example, injured body parts are symbolized by broken building parts, defective objects and defective cars. Dreams of fire or heat = Body Part too hot. Dreams of fiery hair = headache. Dreams of fiery foods = having pain in stomach. Dreams of houses on fire = fever or burning sensation. Dreams of cold objects = inadequate blood circulation. Dreams of excessive water = body edema or mucous production. Etc, etc.

The author suggest how we can work with our health problems, for instance by drawing or painting our dreams, and includes various such drawings in the book.

The last chapter comprises a meditative journey to our inner dream temple. However, I found this journey much too long and detailed to be practicable, though it may be useful to some. The object of this long and laborious journey (which would take several days of meditation to complete) is to meet our inner guide, but I think a shorter process could have been much more helpful.

Thoroughgoing appendices list dream images relating to various disorders.

The book is well-written and thorough, perhaps too thorough, as I did not find it to be particularly readable – it was too full of dream statistics and the like.

Though I personally would not recommend that you read the book, it will probably be useful to many with health problems, especially those that are good at remembering their dreams. Use your intuition to feel whether this is the right book for you.
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IonaS | Jun 29, 2014 |
I bought this book years ago in about 1987 and recently felt the urge to take it up again. So it is not the latest edition I’m here reviewing.

The author explains that we can plan our dreams and provides suggestions on how to do so. We will need to accept that it is possible to induce dreams and should present ourselves with suggestions for the intended dream when in a deeply relaxed state. Put your intention into a “concise positive phrase”, for example: “To-night I fly in my dream”

To induce dreams on a certain topic it may help to involve yourself in activities relevant to your desired dream. It is most helpful to intensely focus your attention in your area of interest for at least two or three days at a time.

Record your dreams as soon as possible.

You may obtain many creative solutions in your dreams if you take the following preliminary steps: 1) Be motivated 2) Have gathered relevant information and 3) Have made initial attempts to synthesize material. The “illuminating” solution will then come either during the dream or immediately after awakening.

However, the solution may or may not be the correct one. The author quotes the case of Dorothy Parker who after dreaming that she had the answer to the world’s problems scribbled it down; in the morning she found she had written: “Hoggimous, higgimous, men are polygamous. Higgimous, hoggimous, women monogamous.” Ha, ha!

There is a chapter on learning from American Indian dreamers. We learn that if we regard our dreams as important we will receive and remember valuable dreams. Our dreams will become more relevant to our waking life as we value and use them. The more dream friends we have, the better. Successful problem solving in dreams carries over into waking life. And much more.

We are introduced to the Senoi, a primitive tribe in Malaysia, who report their dreams at breakfast and later in village council continue the work of dream discussion. Most of their lives revolve around dreaming and the interpretation of their dreams, and, apparently because of this, the Senoi “show remarkable emotional maturity”.

The author has personally interviewed members of the Senoi tribe. Some main dream rules according to the Senoi are 1) Confront and conquer danger 2) Advance towards pleasure in a dream (this includes sexual pleasure) 3) Achieve a positive outcome.

Patricia states: “The dreamer should not allow his dream to end without completing a positive action. He should fall or fly some place, make love to orgasm, fight to the death (or be killed) and always obtain a creative product.”

When one dream image attacks another, you, the dreamer, are attacking part of yourself. These conflicting elements can be reorganized and unified in a positive way by applying the Senoi concept of dream control. The dreamer who uses his dreams properly can become integrated – he can work for peace on Earth by first establishing peace in his body.

We should ask for a gift from the aggressor we conquer. It does seem to me that remembering to attack our aggressors and demanding gifts from them requires that the dreams be lucid. Patricia doesn’t mention this in the Senoi chapter though there is a later chapter on lucid dreams.

A lucid dream is one in which the dreamer is aware that he is dreaming. When you become lucid you can do anything in your dream, including flying anywhere you will. One way to become lucid is to be frightened in a dream and then realize it is a dream.

The author includes much about flying dreams, which often precede lucid dreams. Lucid dreamers have many more flying dreams than the ordinary dreamer.

There’s also a chapter about yogi dreamers, keeping your dream diary and how to develop dream control.

The author refers to various famous persons who worked with their dreams, e.g. the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Thomas De Quincey, the author of “Confessions of an English Opium Eater”. William Blake and Robert Louis Stevenson who had “little people” or “Brownies” create stories for him in his dreams.

She recounts and interprets many of her own dreams, which increases the already great readability of the book.

To sum up, this is a fascinating, informative, well-written book. I have not yet managed to have a dream on a given subject, but after reading the book and focusing on obtaining dreams on a specific subject I have begun to dream much more (or rather remember more of my dreams).

I would strongly recommend that you read this book. I’m sure Patricia Garfield has written many other books on the subject and, if so, I will definitely be getting hold of some of these.
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Denunciada
IonaS | 2 reseñas más. | Sep 24, 2013 |
Say whatever else you will, one thing Garfield gets truly right. The imagery, symbols, themes of your dreams are your imagery, symbols, and themes. There is no boilerplate or cookbook approach to interpreting dreams. You have to look at your own dreams as your dreams. What does this connect to in my waking life? Does that occur repeatedly? Any standardized "book of dreams" interpretation is doomed to greater failure than weekly horoscopes in your entertainment magazine.
 
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ari.joki | 2 reseñas más. | Nov 25, 2010 |

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Obras
11
Miembros
429
Popularidad
#56,934
Valoración
½ 3.7
Reseñas
4
ISBNs
38
Idiomas
5

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