Customer Reviews

An Introduction to the Psychology of Dreaming

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This eight chapter approximately 130 page book is an amazingly concise, but comprehensive volume. It covers the major psychological theories of dreams and dreaming from Freud to the present in a fair and balanced manner.

This book is organized around three basic questions about dreaming -- formation, function and interpretation. This provides a useful basic framework for the well-written and organized chapters that follow.

The Psychology of Dreaming also honors the deep mysterious questions about dreaming. In other words, it is not written in a reductionistic fashion or with an obvious slant. It remains open to the value of subjective meaning without sacrificing intellectual rigor. In fact the book also includes excellent references and an extensive bibiography.

What I most liked about this book was its ability to cover a lot of territory quickly. It's like a tour of the history of dream theory in an easily readable format. While it doesn't attempt to be completely comprehensive, it is certainly thorough in covering the major movements and thinkers.

The only things I didn't like about the book was the choice of font and the cover. The expression don't judge a book by its cover certainly applies here. It doesn't look like a lot of thought went into how to best market this book. This is a shame because the contents are very solid.

I am a current student in dream studies and An Introduction to the Psychology of Dreaming by Kelly Bulkeley was introduced to me as part of the curriculum for the Institute for Dream Studies in Charleston, SC headed by director and dream specialist, Justina Lasley. It was a fascinating read and I found myself deeply absorbed in this book due to its accessibility, eloquence and succinct style on an otherwise complex topic. The comprehensive way in which Bulkeley organized each subject matter, as well as how he introduced each theorist, was extremely helpful to me. I now have a better understanding of such complex figures as Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Frederick Perls and have discovered new pioneers in this field that I might have otherwise dismissed as being "over my head." For example, Stephen LaBerge, Ann Faraday and Gayle Delaney, who take a more modern approach to the dream but in very unique directions, are just a few I will look out for in my own research.

One of the most fascinating aspects of this book was when Dr. Bulkeley psychoanalyzed his own dream by using various theorists and their personal methodologies. I appreciated seeing the dream viewed in diverse (and surprisingly objective) ways which reminds me of the value of my own dream group in terms of gathering various perspectives. The dream itself is both rich and complex and Bulkeley's process illustrated the many layers of the dream on a personal, communal and global scale. This exercise relates to Justina Lasley's theory in that an individual can work on just one dream for her entire life. I also realize that we can learn from all perspectives even though we might not agree with them like a Crick, Mitchison or Foulkes who believe dreams carry no significant higher meaning or intention. This amazing task demonstrates Dr. Bulkeley's impressive wealth of knowledge as well as his own keen insight into dreams

There is a healthy need to challenge dream theories just as we, the dreamer, challenge the "shadow" parts of our many selves. Bulkeley notes these psychological debates in three main areas of Form, Function and Interpretation (how are dreams created, what's their significance and, finally, what does it all mean?) are clearly and thankfully ongoing. As more interest and discussion in dreaming are produced so new leaders and enterprising research studies. This is an exciting time for dreamers like Kelly Bulkeley and I can see An Introduction to the Psychology of Dreaming becoming an indispensable resource for my own personal journey.

This is a very neutraland informative explanation of the process of dreaming and the different theories on how to interpret dreams and find meaning with in your dreams. Bulkeley wirtes so that someone with no prior knowledge or who has been studying dreams for years can understand and really learn from what he has to say. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about dreaming from a psychological approach, but that doesn't dimiss the mystical aspect of dreams.