The Dreaming Universe: A Mind-Expanding Journey Into the Realm Where Psyche and Physics Meet (Paperback)

by Fred Alan Wolf (Author) "For as long as Western cultures can remember, there has been a deep fascination with dreams..." (more)
Key Phrases: Allan Hobson, Michael Grosso, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In his most boldy speculative inquiry to date, physicist Wolf ( Taking the Quantum Leap ) argues that dreams are a vital aspect of evolution, enabling an individual to develop a concept of self. The dream, in his formulation, is a map of possibility, a realm where synchronistic (i.e., noncausal yet meaningfully connected) events occur, producing self-awareness. Our dream images, even if we don't remember them, invade our waking consciousness as patterns that shape our lives, he insists. Wolf posits an "imaginal realm," halfway between material and mental reality, that manifests in lucid dreams (wherein an alert dreamer can control unfolding dream events), in near-death experiences, and possibly in UFO abductions. In this mind-stretching synthesis that challenges accepted beliefs across many fields, Wolf bolsters his thesis that dreams connect with physical reality by drawing on quantum physics, the works of Freud and Jung, modern dream research and Australian aboriginals' concept of an eternal "dreamtime."
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews
New Age border-crossings that blur more than clarify where physics and the dreaming psyche meet. As in The Eagle Quest (1991), physicist Wolf extends Jung's idea of synchronicity to explain the connection between an individual's dream and the ``dreaming universe.'' He finds Freudian dream theory analogous to, and as limited as, Newtonian physics- -it's no surprise that Jung in turn is praised as being analogous to Niels Bohr, ``the father/mother of quantum physics.'' Reverting to ideas explored in Parallel Universes (1989), Wolf considers the ``essential mystery'' at the heart of quantum mechanics, using a variety of coyly autobiographical anecdotes to suggest that the dreaming brain, by entering the unconscious mind, is experiencing synchronicity. It's this kind of sloppy mixture of anecdotal and scientific material that keeps New Age thought on the fringe. It doesn't get any better when Wolf throws in superficial chapters on ancient views of dreams, the research of neurophysiologist Benjamin Libet, and Crick and Mitchison's theory that ``we dream in order to reduce faults by feeding in certain `unlearning' inputs that poisoned the unwanted modes.'' In each, the analogies are all simplistic and reductive. Wolf claims that dreams are ``an altered state of conscious awareness,'' equivalent to a ``quantum mechanics of dreaming.'' But his thinking is confused; sometimes he uses quantum physics as a model or a metaphor to understand dreams, but ultimately he wants to posit a world in which there is no outer world of space and time separated from the inner world of mental activity, but only a third ``imaginal realm...of the big dreamer.'' Subjectively anecdotal, dilettantish wish-fulfillment. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; Touchstone ed edition (June 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684801590
• ISBN-13: 978-0684801599
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #68,021 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A provocative exploration of lucidity & consciousness, April 13, 1999

By	Cynthia Sue Larson "www.realityshifters.com" (San Francisco bay area, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

The Dreaming Universe picks up where most lucid dreaming books leave off... and challenges the reader to consider the deeper implications and significance of dreaming and reality. This book will excite and stimulate anyone already interested in the subjects of lucid dreaming or consciousness as it raises new questions and combines old ideas in creative new ways as only Wolf can do -- with his unique in-depth experience with physics, spirituality, and magic.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Basic Instincts, April 25, 2001

By	T. Speas "speas3" (Winston-Salem, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This book is a must if you've ever wondered why it's easier to hunt deer with a computer game than it is to hunt the real thing. A computer (and the brain, according to some physicists) operate under Boolean theory. A program contains all possible scenarios at once, with overlaps in some segments of each. A specific inquiry narrows the choices, but ultimately, there is only one outcome. Fred Alan Wolf attempts to explain the variable 'instinct' that is the ancient universal holding place for all knowledge. Instinct can't be duplicated by a computer, so it must exist in a Quantum environment. A semi-conscious state like a dream would be necessary to access such an environment. An excellent thought-provoking read.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacles for the Mind's Eye., March 11, 2001

By	Corey Wicks (Spokane) - See all my reviews

Fred Alan Wolf takes us closer than ever to understanding the "Mind's Eye," and how the brain produces pictures through holograms.

Whether you agree or disagree with Wolf's conclusions, you can't read this book without learning something, or seeing something new in the world of consciousness, matter, and dreams. I highly recommend this book.