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The Hidden Lives of Dreams: What They Can Tell Us and How They Can Change Our World
The Hidden Lives of Dreams: What They Can Tell Us and How They Can Change Our World
On average, we spend around six years of our lives dreaming. Yet, astonishingly, few of us understand the purpose of dreams and even fewer recognise what our dreaming mind can tell us about ourselves and our world.
Melinda Powell, psychotherapist and co-founder of the Dream Research Institute UK, reveals how better understanding our dreams can improve our waking lives.
As well as examining the importance of sleep and dreams, The Hidden Lives of Dreams explores the role of light, colour, landscapes, space, healing presence and lucidity in dreams, dispels common misconceptions and addresses our fears of nightmares. Powell shows how to tap into our dreams as a source of guidance and inspiration to enhance our wellbeing and to discover a healthier, more balanced approach to life.
'Exploring the depths of dreaming with an experienced guide like Melinda Powell will bring you closer to your heart, your purpose and your truest self. Highly recommended.'
Robert Waggoner
Inspired by dreams, Melinda Powell co-founded the Dream Research Institute, at the Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy Education, London, to promote research into the relationship between dreams and wellbeing. Melinda has served as past vice-president of the International Association for the Study of Dreams and as director of Help Counselling Centre. She works as a psychotherapist and teaches the art of Lucid Dreaming. Melinda has published and lectured widely on dreams and lucidity. Born in Southern California, she lived for a number of years in Poland and Switzerland before making her home in the United Kingdom.
On average, we spend around six years of our lives dreaming. Yet, astonishingly, few of us understand the purpose of dreams and even fewer recognise what our dreaming mind can tell us about ourselves and our world.
Melinda Powell, psychotherapist and co-founder of the Dream Research Institute UK, reveals how better understanding our dreams can improve our waking lives.
As well as examining the importance of sleep and dreams, The Hidden Lives of Dreams explores the role of light, colour, landscapes, space, healing presence and lucidity in dreams, dispels common misconceptions and addresses our fears of nightmares. Powell shows how to tap into our dreams as a source of guidance and inspiration to enhance our wellbeing and to discover a healthier, more balanced approach to life.
'Exploring the depths of dreaming with an experienced guide like Melinda Powell will bring you closer to your heart, your purpose and your truest self. Highly recommended.'
Robert Waggoner
Inspired by dreams, Melinda Powell co-founded the Dream Research Institute, at the Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy Education, London, to promote research into the relationship between dreams and wellbeing. Melinda has served as past vice-president of the International Association for the Study of Dreams and as director of Help Counselling Centre. She works as a psychotherapist and teaches the art of Lucid Dreaming. Melinda has published and lectured widely on dreams and lucidity. Born in Southern California, she lived for a number of years in Poland and Switzerland before making her home in the United Kingdom.
- GenresAudiobook
288 pages, Paperback
Published March 19, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 14, 2021
At first I wasn’t quite sure what this book, “The Hidden Lives of Dreams”, was meant to be. Was it an objective scientific study of sleep and dreams or a mystic’s whimsical thoughts about our dreams. After reading it definitely falls closer to the latter approach.
I’m not familiar with the profession of psychotherapy which the author practices but this book would lead me to believe that it is more of a pseudoscience rather than a deeply tested medical discipline.
This book and its propositions are a little bit wishy-washy and honestly you would want to take it with a pinch of salt. There are lots of wonderful ideas in the authors assessment of our dreamscapes, how much of this is wishful thinking, I really cannot say. I’m not saying that this is all bad, no harm in having a little bit of wonderment in the world, however I would be very wary to use it as as a therapy in lieu of other proven mainstream medical treatments.
The author talks a lot about the wisdom of alchemists (a discredited medieval practice) and what she does is throw in a few nuggets of real scientific information (often totally out of context) to legitimise some of her more outlandish propositions. Also she refers to a lot of outdated theories of Carl Jung which is often discredited by current scientific experiment.
The author is seem fixated with “healing light” and “healing presence” in dreams, and gateways to other worlds, much of this is very subjective and whether or not you believe it will depend on your own personal and world-views. I suppose in a metaphorical sense these propositions may have some merit.
I don’t want to sound overly negative about this book. It was alright, and there are some nuggets of wisdom in there for sure, and I am sure that there are probably some good placebo effects that help one de-stress and relax from imagining yourself as a tree and stretching towards the sky and the healing blue light (hey even if it is a placebo effect, if it helps you personally to de-stress then its only a good thing), but you will have to use your own common sense to filter out the useful knowledge from the wishy washy questionable parts.
I’m not familiar with the profession of psychotherapy which the author practices but this book would lead me to believe that it is more of a pseudoscience rather than a deeply tested medical discipline.
This book and its propositions are a little bit wishy-washy and honestly you would want to take it with a pinch of salt. There are lots of wonderful ideas in the authors assessment of our dreamscapes, how much of this is wishful thinking, I really cannot say. I’m not saying that this is all bad, no harm in having a little bit of wonderment in the world, however I would be very wary to use it as as a therapy in lieu of other proven mainstream medical treatments.
The author talks a lot about the wisdom of alchemists (a discredited medieval practice) and what she does is throw in a few nuggets of real scientific information (often totally out of context) to legitimise some of her more outlandish propositions. Also she refers to a lot of outdated theories of Carl Jung which is often discredited by current scientific experiment.
The author is seem fixated with “healing light” and “healing presence” in dreams, and gateways to other worlds, much of this is very subjective and whether or not you believe it will depend on your own personal and world-views. I suppose in a metaphorical sense these propositions may have some merit.
I don’t want to sound overly negative about this book. It was alright, and there are some nuggets of wisdom in there for sure, and I am sure that there are probably some good placebo effects that help one de-stress and relax from imagining yourself as a tree and stretching towards the sky and the healing blue light (hey even if it is a placebo effect, if it helps you personally to de-stress then its only a good thing), but you will have to use your own common sense to filter out the useful knowledge from the wishy washy questionable parts.
January 19, 2022
** SPANISH **"Los sueños nos dicen que avancemos en la vida, no con temor sino con confianza, y que de este modo vivamos el sueño del corazón que ha despertado"
Este libro podría decirse que es un compendio muy bien investigado de una persona experta en sueños, y no solo porque Melinda los haya estudiado y trabajado en sus consultas, sino porque ella misma cuenta su propia experiencia.
Este review lo escribo partiendo del hecho que soy un soñador consciente yo mismo, pues al igual que recomienda la autora, he llevado conmigo un libro de sueños desde que era adolescente y empecé a sentir esta conexión con el plano astral. "La vida secreta de los sueños" podría catalogarse como una explicación muy mental y fundamentada de la ciencia detrás de los sueños, pero solo hasta cierto punto, porque a través de los ejemplos, los casos de la vida real y los análisis de los sueños de sus pacientes, Melinda nos da una interpretación a los significados psicológicos que pueden conllevar los sueños. El libro habla de los colores en los sueños, el significado de las luces y la oscuridad, los árboles y la geometría para explicar sus conceptos. El cómo los sueños pueden ser sanadores si se trabaja con ellos y cómo dejar atras las pesadillas, y termina dando claves sobre cómo podemos volvernos lucidos mientras soñamos. Desde mi opinión, el aporte más grande tiene que ver con la frase con la que inicié este review, y es que entendiendo lo que nosotros mismos nos queremos decir a través de nuestros sueños, podemos alcanzar una libertad en nuestra vida cotidiana que nos permite afrontar lo que se venga con confianza y determinación. Muy recomendado para todos los soñadores allí afuera, sin importar que sean o no conscientes de su propio don. (less)
Este libro podría decirse que es un compendio muy bien investigado de una persona experta en sueños, y no solo porque Melinda los haya estudiado y trabajado en sus consultas, sino porque ella misma cuenta su propia experiencia.
Este review lo escribo partiendo del hecho que soy un soñador consciente yo mismo, pues al igual que recomienda la autora, he llevado conmigo un libro de sueños desde que era adolescente y empecé a sentir esta conexión con el plano astral. "La vida secreta de los sueños" podría catalogarse como una explicación muy mental y fundamentada de la ciencia detrás de los sueños, pero solo hasta cierto punto, porque a través de los ejemplos, los casos de la vida real y los análisis de los sueños de sus pacientes, Melinda nos da una interpretación a los significados psicológicos que pueden conllevar los sueños. El libro habla de los colores en los sueños, el significado de las luces y la oscuridad, los árboles y la geometría para explicar sus conceptos. El cómo los sueños pueden ser sanadores si se trabaja con ellos y cómo dejar atras las pesadillas, y termina dando claves sobre cómo podemos volvernos lucidos mientras soñamos. Desde mi opinión, el aporte más grande tiene que ver con la frase con la que inicié este review, y es que entendiendo lo que nosotros mismos nos queremos decir a través de nuestros sueños, podemos alcanzar una libertad en nuestra vida cotidiana que nos permite afrontar lo que se venga con confianza y determinación. Muy recomendado para todos los soñadores allí afuera, sin importar que sean o no conscientes de su propio don. (less)
August 31, 2020
Melinda Powell has written a magical book. She has woven the personal and the theoretical into a beautiful whole.
I learned so much of both the science and art of dreaming, which I have been able to apply to my own dreams.
I shall treasure this wonderful book for leading me back to the world of my dreams with knowledge that I didn’t have when I used to record them many years ago. I am already remembering them more clearly and am learning to trust their guidance.
In the book, Melinda says, “When two souls touch, something new comes into being in the space between them …”. In sharing openly of her own dreams and life, she has offered the reader just that. It’s a rare gift.
I learned so much of both the science and art of dreaming, which I have been able to apply to my own dreams.
I shall treasure this wonderful book for leading me back to the world of my dreams with knowledge that I didn’t have when I used to record them many years ago. I am already remembering them more clearly and am learning to trust their guidance.
In the book, Melinda says, “When two souls touch, something new comes into being in the space between them …”. In sharing openly of her own dreams and life, she has offered the reader just that. It’s a rare gift.
August 10, 2020
I just finished Melinda Powell's The Hidden Lives of Dreams this morning and what a lovely, thought- and dream-provoking experience it was! Each chapter invites the reader to explore his or her dreamscape through specific imagery and objects; in addition, the author simultaneously shares some intimate thoughts and dreams of her own. The research is meticulous as well. I was inspired to incorporate what I have learned in this book during both during the day and at night. Thank you for this experience!
July 3, 2020
At first I wanted to give this book only two stars, because it completely missed the mark for me - however, I thought a bit more about the scientific/dream side of things and decided to give it three. It still didn't grab me, but it's not the author, or the book's fault, that I never remember my dreams and thus had nothing to gain from this - and from the research side of things, it was a well-written piece, even if it still had its faults.
August 7, 2020
A thoughtful reflection on the guiding power of your dreams. Academic but approachable voice of the author shines and guides the reader to recognize how to experience and 'use' the power of your dreams.
February 11, 2021
Really enjoyed the premises in this book and the argument that dreams are so intrinsic to being a human that it is devastating we abandon them to fantasy realms and childhood. The book is very helpful and I look forward to keeping up with my analysis of my dreams moving forward.
November 2, 2020
Fascinating, just seems to scratch the surface of the world of dreaming, sleep and dream science, psychotherapy and the interconnected consciousness of the universe.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews