Customer Reviews

Recurring Dreams: A Journey to Wholeness

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If there are any accidents, my first contact with this author seemed to be one. Acquainted with her work on National Public Radio, my wife asked me to attend Kathleen Sullivan's presentation of her research paper to the 16th International Conference of The Association for the Study of Dreams, at the University of California Santa Cruz. Even in that rarified setting, I was unprepared for the warmth, personal relevance and impact of her information. Her pioneering exploration of the often-ignored phenomenon of serial dreams [and the active symbols they employ] struck a chord with my own experience...in which, having been urged to keep a dream journal for years, I'd found the results almost entirely indecipherable. Much thanks to amazon.com, I was able to quickly find this, her latest yet published book. I continue to re-read it and to use its valuable insights...as have several close friends in this country and abroad whom amazon has made it easy for me to gift with it. Among so many works intended to make it possible for us humans to understand and change our lives, Kathleen's shared experience and good council stands out clearly.

Reading Kathleen Sullivan's RECURRING DREAMS was so satisfying. She courageously uses her specific and recurring dreams to understand, on many levels, what is going on in her life. This is a fascinating, colorful and creative process. She lets us know that the unconscious can be accessible through dreams and once brought out into the open, is a useful tool to help understand out present day realities.

Each chapter begins with interesting information about dreams in general. This is then followed up by an insightful quote relevant to the presented material. From page l67, on a chapter titled "Imperfection", by Joan Borysenko,Ph.D.: "It takes a lot of nerve to believe that we can or should be able to outwit natural laws, but perfectionism requires just that. As a strategy evolved to ensure love and approval, (perfectionism) is rooted deep in the fears and longings of childhood, making it an emotional need, not an intellectual choice."

I found RECURRING DREAMS to be not only satsifying but exciting as well. Through dreams, we can get to know ourselves from the inside out. How intimate and how necessary!

The above reviews say a lot of what I would say. So I'll just add that it's refreshing to read an author who is candid about her own challenges and lessons.This book is really two in one. First a fascinating story and then practical, clear directions for doing your own dreamwork. It's a must for those who want to discover their own truth and guidance. (offered up into consciousness through the dream) This author walks her talk. The proof is in the transformation she's achieved in her life.

I've been in a dream group for the past 3 years and have read numerous books on dreams. Yet, when I stumbled across Recurring Dreams: a Journey to Wholeness a few months ago, I felt that it illuminated dreamwork for me in a whole new way -- perhaps because I hadn't learned a lot about recurring dreams and their meanings until now. I was mesmerized with Kathleen's transformation out of a life of struggle and pain -- and into the authentic and passionate life she is now living. Her life gradually transformed from cocoon to butterfly as a result of working with a recurring dream character who came to her in different scenarios over a span of 35 years, showing her what she needed to work on in her conscious life. Her courage to take a hard look at herself and make healthier choices as a result of the dream character's messages was both inspiring and motivating. Her story really made me look at my own journey and commit to my own dreamwork on a much deeper level. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

I had a copy of "Recurring Dreams: A Journey to Wholeness" (Crossing Press) for several weeks before I got around to reading it. As I began, I felt a familiar tightening in my stomach, and thought, "One thing the world really doesn't need is yet another book which could be subtitled, `How I Survived an Inhuman Childhood with a Mother Who Never Nurtured Me, and I Turned Out Okay Anyway.'" I was wrong. This book deserves a careful reading and attention to how it can map to almost anyone's life, whatever type of childhood they had.

In "Recurring Dreams," Kathleen Sullivan presents a warts-and-all view not only of her own inner process of healing and recovery via the meandering path of dream work, but also a series of Inner Exploration hints and exercises to help the reader begin or perfect her or his own journey down that path. While reading it, I experienced a number of "body hits," as Sullivan calls the physical sensation associated with realizing a deep truth about oneself. To quote Sullivan's chapter on "Changing World View:"

"One of the many thrilling benefits of dream work is the release of energy when a previously buried truth is uncovered. New power is now available to commit to a new goal and direction. It very much feels like the soul gulps in a breath of relief, knowing that the right track has been found, leading where the soul--not the personality--wants to go."

One of the most useful portions of "Recurring Dreams" deals with resistance, a concept with which I myself am clearly wrestling. I thought I had resolved one particular aspect of my life, but realize after reading Sullivan's book that my best efforts have barely scratched the surface. Judging from the number of sticky notes, underlined passages, and notes scribbled in the margins of my copy of this book, it's a useful tool for me. Sullivan's sage advice about "recovering that natural self (which) requires as much awareness of who we are not as of who we authentically are" will! no doubt help me walk the balanced path between honoring my Self and the toxic self-absorption which constantly beckons to anyone who attempts the journey to wholeness.

I salute Kathleen Sullivan's brave heart, and wish her well on her continuing journey. I also look forward to her next book, which she mentions in "Recurring Dreams" as forthcoming. Among the myriad authors out there writing "been there, done that" books, Sullivan emerges as someone worth listening to. Kathleen, I'm all ears.

This is a marvelously inspiring, gutsy book - an amazing achievement. If anyone has recurring dreams that haunt them, this book will inspire you to find out what they are trying to tell you. Just the story of the author's journey to unravel the meaning of her recurring dreams, and weave them together into a meaningful whole, which reads like an exciting spiritual detective story, is worth the price of the book. But not only do you get the story, you also get many good tips on what to look for in your own dreams and what they might mean. I plan on revisiting and working on my dreams after reading this book. When I do, I can only hope I have half the courage and perseverance this lady showed.

An incredible story of emotional and physical healing emerging through the power of dream analysis. The content is moving. The author is authentic and offers many suggestions for the reader to incorporate this valuable, rich resource in their own personal and spiritual growth process.