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A Secret History Of Dreaming (2000)

by Robert Moss(Favorite Author)

3.9 of 5 Votes: 4

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English

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review 1: Let me say first off I appreciate the fine job Robert Moss did researching and writing the Secret History of Dreaming. Stories which include Synesius of Cyrene, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Aleksei Remizov, Joan of Arc, Lucrecia De Leon Harriet Tubman, Mark Twain, Winston Churchill, and many others will definitely keep your attention. I found myself wanting to read more of their histories.There are many nuggets in this book related to dreaming which resonate with me. For example, "Working on a dream is not about laying bare some hidden message, but about giving a pitch-perfect voice to what is there, in front of you (117). Like many of those featured in the book, I keep a dream journal or at least try to reflect on my dreams upon waking. No need to go to a dictionary of... more dream symbols.Problem for me is, this book has less to do with what I normally associate with normal dreaming than it does with divination, visions and visitations (angelic, demonic, visitations from the dead, etc.). Dreams according to Moss transport one out of the body, can frequently be vehicles for prophecy and predicting the future, for spying in wartime and political situations, image healing, etc. Often the dreams of the dreamers include dream guides. But who or what are these guides in reality?In the epilogue Moss concludes with how "we need to revive and nurture the true art of seership." This includes those who function in the role of 1) "receivers" (waking or sleeping) who communicate with dream guides which often include the deceased 2) "travelers" who literally go to other places in this world or possibly other dimensions in their dreams and 3) "far-seers" with expanded perspectives.I can agree with what others have written (and to which Moss would agree) with regard to dreaming as providing new perspectives on situations in waking life, as a spur for creativity and problem solving, as an inner therapist, as "threat simulation" which improves ability to identify threats and increase responsiveness, and even as a vehicle which God (or spirits) sometimes use to communicate with us. I agree that we need to pay attention to our dreams and as global societies begin to recall and reflect upon them again more. But the assumptions in this book left me feeling uncomfortable. Just too much for me. For a better, balanced, and fairly recent perspective coming from the scientific angle, read "The Mind at Night: The New Science of How and Why We Dream" by Andrea Rock.
review 2: This was a facinating, mind-opening read for me. I've always been interested in dreams and Moss puts them into their historical and cultural contexts. The highlight for me was the second half, where Moss devotes a chapter each to some famous historical figures including: Joan of Arc, Mark Twain (my personal favorite), Harriet Tubman, Wolfgang Puck & Carl Jung, and Winston Churchill. I learned so much about these people that I never knew, things that make them even more remarkable as people we study for their genius, creativity, courage, whatever. I will never see them the same way. Reading this has made me even more interested in using my dreams in my day to day life and has inspired me to check out some of his other books. It seems he is somewhat of a dream guru. I highly recommed this book to everyone. Very enlightening. less

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