The Conscious Exploration of Dreaming: Discovering How We Create and Control Our Dreams [Paperback]

Janice E. Brooks (Author), Jay Vogelsong (Author), J. Allan Hobson (Foreword)

Product Details

• Paperback: 364 pages
• Publisher: 1st Book Library; Revised edition (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585005398
• ISBN-13: 978-1585005390
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #951,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lucid Account of Lucid Dreaming, August 23, 2001

By 

Ian H Spedding (South Harrow, Middlesex United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Conscious Exploration of Dreaming: Discovering How We Create and Control Our Dreams (Paperback)

Lucid dreaming first came to my attention when it formed the basis of a story in - where else - an episode of Star Trek: Voyager. I had heard the term before but hadn't understood what it meant. Subsequently, an arch-skeptic of my acquaintance called for support in a debate he was having with the members of an Internet newsgroup called alt.out-of-body.

I lurked for a while before joining in the discussion and was surprised to find a group of people were reporting out-of-body experiences and lucid dreaming, some on a regular basis. Although I felt that a number of the explanations being offered were rather fanciful, the reports of the experiences themselves seemed genuine. This was fascinating because it meant that a part of the human population were having dream, or dream-like, experiences that others like myself had never known.

I was curious to read more, so I ordered it forthwith via the Internet.

This is a substantial tome which, in paperback, runs to nearly 350 pages, if you include the detailed annotation, extensive bibliography and index, which are the proper appendices of any work which aspires to scientific credibility.

I mention scientific credibility because, unlike some of what is written about this subject, the authors have adhered to the ideal of scientific objectivity. Although written for a lay audience, they examine the research and thinking in this field in considerable detail, and they have been scrupulously fair in giving the various theories due and proper consideration, even those that some might consider more speculative.

In one aspect, though, they have a considerable advantage over other researchers: they have experienced lucid dreams and OBEs themselves.

The human mind and/or brain has been described as the most complex object in the known universe. Imagine trying to discover how a computer works from scratch: there is no manual, no help files and, initially, no knowledge of what it is made from and how it is powered. Even worse, it is associated with baffling phenomena such as consciousness. Imagine how much of a help it would be if you could think as a computer thinks, if you could learn about it from the inside, as it were.

This is especially true of an inaccessible phenomenon like dreaming, the activity of the conscious mind while the body is asleep. Janice and Jay are, therefore, in the rare and privileged position, for scientists, of being able to observe and experiment on themselves, of having a more intimate acquaintance with their subject-matter than is afforded to most researchers.

They have put this insight to the best possible use in this book, which I would recommend as the first choice for anyone who wants to learn more about lucid dreaming, and I can only endorse the words of one of the foremost researchers in this field, J Allan Hobson, when he writes in the Foreword:

"Brooks and Vogelsong are true scientists in both their adherence to value-free description and their state-of-the-art interpretation of their data.

The Conscious Exploration of Dreaming is a healthy antidote to the abundant New Age hyperbole on this important and serious subject."

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Based on personal experiments and research., December 5, 2000

By 

Book - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Conscious Exploration of Dreaming: Discovering How We Create and Control Our Dreams (Paperback)

Most books about Lucid Dreams are found in the New Age section of the book store. If this has stopped you from exploring the fascinating world of Lucid Dreaming then I highly recommend The Conscious Exploration of Dreaming. Janice and Jay Volgelsong have written a voluminous book about Lucid Dreams. They examine popular scientific and occult theory with a critical eye. Heavily referenced, their book is grounded in their own personal research, experience and observation. If you have been curious about where dreams come from you will find satisfying answers in their book.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent naturalized approach to dreaming., April 17, 2001

By 

Topcat (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Conscious Exploration of Dreaming: Discovering How We Create and Control Our Dreams (Paperback)

In the naturalistic tradition of Hobson, Crick and Flanagan, the authors tackle dream formation and "lucid" control with an intelligence and style that is refreshing amid today's cacaphony of hype and varying agendas. In probably the best lay exposition of REM sleep since Dick McLeester's WECOME TO THE MAGIC THEATRE in 1976, these amateur dream explorers map the terrain of the sleeping brain with an excellence worthy of the prizes given to the best sanctioned "academic" publications. The book is as good in its specialized area as Steve Pinker's was to the mind in general in HOW THE MIND WORKS.

As in McLeester's book, THE CONSCIOUS EXPLORATION OF DREAMING takes a balanced and fair approach to lucid dream potentialities and dream control, demonstrating that we always control our dreams to some extent through suggestion and that control and dream behavior are highly customized to each dream individual scenario.

The book is largely anti-psychoanalytical and attemps to show that rather than constituting symbolic distortions or affective resolutions, dreams simply are build-as-you go situations which we create in response to random brain activation. There is an existential "throwness" element to them; we are suddenly in Act II without an Act I. If we dream of panicing during a school exam, it's because we actaully "haven't" prepared for the test and we should panic, given the situation. No need to involve the Id and Superego in explaining the story.

I've been researching dreams and lucid dreams for over thirty tears, and this is surely one of the best tracts on the subject that I have seen in that time. Highly recommended.