Customer Reviews

Conscious Dreaming: A Spiritual Path for Everyday Life

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Industrialized people such as ourselves are people who have inherited a profoundly distubing situation that has two faces: one is the destruction of our environment, the other are our atrophied spiritual senses, what I call our Otherworldly senses. Moss' book breathes new fire into our situation, calling on us to re-enliven a dreaming culture every bit as in tune with our souls and the living earth as the Australian culture that influenced him in his younger days, and the Scottish-Celtic druidic culture that shaped his ancestors. The problem with some of the other reviews I have read of this book are two-fold: instant, jaded disbelief, and what seems to be a lack of follow through on a pivotal point that Robert makes time and again: that success with active dreaming requires an active dreaming practice. Practice. The book Conscious Dreaming is a profound introduction (or shall I say, reintroduction) of an ancient way of relating to our dreams and ways for apprehending a greater fluency with non-ordinary reality. Anyone interested in dreams or incorporating a more shamanically-based dreaming practice into your life should consider CONSCIOUS DREAMING part of your required reading.

At the time I read this book for the first time - I have particularly appreciate the section that deals with working with nightmares and the simple and true statement that "nightmares are unfinished dreams". The book provides practical methods that work with "finishing the dreams" and effectively stopping the nightmares - and it works. Sometimes, though, the appearance of a nightmare may call for some active action in one's daily life, instead of just "finishing the dream" and this book does further provided methods for getting insights into the messages that dreams are attempting to communicate.

This books is a rich resource of techniques and numerous case histories to inspire you not only to explore your dreams but to embark on wild and wonderful advetures, beyond anything you may have thought about before.

I loved this book, and found it to be a very "shamanic" dreamwork manual. It has wonderful exercises for both the beginning and more advanced dreamworker and includes everything you could imagine, from dream incubation, dream reentry and working with nightmares to shape-shifting, meeting deceased loved ones, angels and psychic self defense.

Conscious Dreaming has much to offer both the beginning and more advanced dreamworker and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in finding out more about their inner world of the Dreamtime.

It's very simple, really. This book changed my life. Robert Moss' basic rule of dream exploration is NEVER to let anybody tell you what your dreams mean. Such integrity is what has attracted me to the practice of Active Dreaming.

In Conscious Dreaming, Mr. Moss explains very clearly how to work with dreams and create one's Own dictionary of symbols. What's important to me might not be important to you. He delves appropriately into dreaming with the departed, and into precognitive dreaming - things that drew me to dream work to begin with. He illustrates in practical terms how we can return to night dreams in a waking state and look around some more - or possibly change things if we don't like them! Haven't we all had dreams that we wish we could have enjoyed for longer, or nightmares that we would change if we could? A dear friend used to have horrific nightmares. The kind that had him punching holes in the bedroom wall. Since he has read this book and been sharing his dreams using Robert Moss' Lightning Dreamwork process, his frequency of nightmares is Way down (1 or 2 per Year, rather than per Week). I asked him Why he feels this change has taken place. He replied "Because I'm finally paying attention and honoring my dreams!" To me, this is Healing at its most basic - SELF-Healing! The seeds of which are all very skillfully set forth in this one little book.

Mr. Moss now has a series of videos from Psyche Productions called "The Way of the Dreamer". They expand beautifully on Conscious Dreaming, showing the history that brought the author to dream work, and depicting very clearly the practical applications of the principles illustrated in the book. And listening to Robert Moss speak is a remarkable experience in itself!

I have given this book to many friends over the years, and it's my sincere hope that everyone who reads it will begin to Pay Attention to their dreams!

Robert Moss certainly knows how to dream- he talks about Aboriginal, Celtic and Native American shamanic and dreaming practices, as well as his own dreams and the dreams of memebers of his Active Dreaming workshops, and explains how the average person can use dreams to make the most of their everyday life. He shows why dreaming is so important, how to make it a fun and enjoyable experience, and gives tips on exploring the dreams and symbols of your dreams (note: Moss does not take symbols on a dry Freudian level- according to Moss, symbols may have different meanings for different dreamers, and some symbols are transpersonal). His discussion of shamanic dreaming goes far beyond any book I've read before (except, possibly, "Dreamgates", another book by Moss.) This is one book I could not put down.

There is one slight weakness in this superb book (if you want to call it a weakness)- he doesn't fully explain the methods of shifting consciousness into the dream state. Complete beginners might even be wondering exactly what it means to "shift consciousness". However, this is information you can find in nearly any other dream or astral projection book (as well as slews of internet sites), and Moss opts to go a step further- by showing the reader that the dream world is a real world, full of real characters and real things- perhaps more real than physical reality.

Robert Moss has a way of bringing the magic and mystery of dreaming to a practical level of understanding,giving the dreamer tools for a clear path of action. The steps on catching your dreams and the nine keys to dreaming are basic, concise and refreshingly free of psycobabble. The idea that dreaming is like personal radar into the future is a thrilling possibility! I found the section on Dreaming with the Departed to be particularly helpful and reassuring since those were the dreams I remembered most vividly. We all dream yet the tendancy to dismiss dreams because we don't understand or have time to ponder them is the common reaction. Robert Moss gives the reader a different perspective on using dreaming to empower and enhance life in a way that can be incorporated into the busiest schedule. Conscious Dreaming does not offer a dream dictionary. What it does offer is a roadmap to dreaming made easy with techniques and stories inviting the reader to become an active participant in their own dreams.

To read Conscious Dreaming with an open, attentive mind is to take the first step on the path to self-discovery through dreamwork. The other nine steps are vividly described by Robert Moss within the book itself. Extensively researched and full of illuminating examples, one is inspired to try all of the various methods and fun exercises presented so clearly.

The book's tone is accessible and supportive, as the author takes us from the rudiments of dream gathering and journaling to the proper etiquette of sharing dreams with others. He explains that the use of shamanic drumming to harness our brain's theta waves helps us succeed at active dreaming techniques, such as re-entry, journeying and changing the outcomes of dreams. (note: for those who dream, but don't drum, a drumming CD by Robert Moss is now available for purchase.) We travel and meet our higher selves and spiritual guides with whom we can interact. Our dreams routinely include the departed. Robert Moss is clear and precise when he warns of psychic intrusions and how to defend ourselves. This book obviously goes the entire distance to help prepare the reader for the myriad possibilities of the dreamscape.

And what can one learn? Practically anything! Health issues, soul loss, future selves, ancestor influences, creative thinking, global visioning, romance--the list goes on. Probably the final step to honor this process would be to bring gifts of healing and hope to the world community, as we each reclaim our soul's purpose. The goal is no less than that.

If I were a richer woman, I would be buying up copies of this by the boatloads and distributing them as party favors and gifts. Not only has it been a pleasure to read, but by surrounding myself in a focused "study" of Moss's dream theory/reality, I've immersed my subconscious in the task at hand - to dream Big dreams and to get much more out of my sleeping states beyond pleasant fancies.

Completely renewed my sense of spirituality. It doesn't matter what your religious orientation (including atheism) is, this book has the power to inviggorate the spirit and make sense of much more than your nightly hours if you let it.

One of the best books I've ever read. If not the first best, then it's the second best (and certainly the best book on the subject).

I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to integrate their dream experiences into their whole life experience.

Robert Moss offers a wide and quite comprehensive view of the range of dream experiences, along with descriptions of the impact such experiences can have. He provides numerous tips and examples of daily practice that are extremely useful in working with dream material which by nature is often enigmatic and can be confusing.

He does not clutter his approach with psychological jargon, but is nevertheless clearly familiar with the Jungian perspective on dreams; with the benefit of that knowledge in the background.

The methods described in Moss' book are superb, especially for those who want to use their dreams for life guidance without utilizing psychological dream work methods, which often can be loaded with psycho-jargon and can be overwhelming at times. But even those who use psychological methods of dream work will find a richer experience by reading this book.

Don't underestimate the value of embarking on this work - dream work can open your life to amazing and wonderful adventures!

Although all Robert Moss books are wonderful, Conscious Dreaming is one of my favoites. Moss is by far my favorite dream author. The book is fascinating, easy to read, and very informative. It contains excellent istructions for beginners as well as experienced dreamers. Not only do I remember more dreams after reading this book, now but I can use them more effectively to guide me through life. My life is richer and more meaningful.
The only thing that has helped my dreaming more than this book are Robert Moss workshops, which make this book come alive! Moss is so obviously not in this for the money. After doing a dozen or so workshops I can tell that his teaching and writing come so passionately from his heart. He writes and teaches because he truly believes in helping others with dreaming- it's his calling. Other dream teachers in the field honor,recognize and hightly respect him as a pioneer in the field. He has synthesized dream work like no one else. I enthusiastically look forward to future dream books by Moss and highly recommend this one to you.