Customer Reviews

Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill: Using Dreams to Tap the Wisdom of the Unconscious

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Jeremy Taylor invites us to look inside of ourselves for healing. He takes us on a powerful journey into the dreaming mind and gives us tools to try and make sense of the often confusing signs and symbols we find there. The author is respectful in understanding that a dream is a singularly personal experience, and so does not try to fit dreams into a mold. He offers keys and clues to unlocking the mystery within. His guidelines for group dream work are grounded in respect and trust for individual members of the group, for the healing nature of the work, and for the very act of exploring the subconscious.

This dynamic book is filled with profound insights into the nature of dreaming, the health and wholeness promoting quality of dreams, and specific techniques for exploring and "unpacking" the MULTIPLE LAYERS OF MEANING & SIGNIFICANCE IN EVERY DREAM - (even the tiny, fugitive "fragmants"!) The book will be of great use and interest to those just beginning to take a deeper interest in their dreams, as well as seasoned, experienced dream workers. Filled with a wealth of fascinating annecdotes and examples, as well as clearly stated findamental principles, the book is a tool of self-empowerment for dreamers - particularly dreamers who are interested in FORMING THEIR OWN ON-GOING DREAM GROUPS.

Having read the book with care, and having experienced the author live, I can and will testify that, for the group in which I participated, the processs works, and the book fairly represents the process. All dreams that can be remembered ultimately do seem "to come in the service of health and wholeness." Taylor-style Dreamwork combines a form of intimacy with respectful distance, because only by looking deep within "as if it were my dream" can a group member have anything to say about someone else's dream. So, each dream belongs to each member of the group -- in individual versions. This process is illustrated, with huge quantities of theoretical material tantalizingly presented. Quoting Taylor again, "I am a fanatic because I am convinced from 30 years experience. Don't take my word for it. I am the circus barker outside the tent, touting the wonders of 'Jo-Jo the Dog Faced Boy.' Come inside the tent and see for yourself." I agree. The book conveys more of the flavor of the live experience than one would think possible.

A little long and round-about for getting to the very meaty stuff at the end.

The most beneficial part is at the end where it tells you to take every emotion/verb/person/place/thing in your dream that you can remember and assign its attributive description to the words "part of me." So, if you dream about your father, you might try "authoritative part of me" and retell your dreams doing this. Cleared up some major recurring dreams for me!

From Joan Mazza, author of DREAMING YOUR REAL SELF: A PERSONAL APPROACH TO DREAM INTERPRETATION; DREAM BACK YOUR LIFE; FROM DREAMS TO SELF-DISCOVERY, and WHO'S CRAZY, ANYWAY?

Jeremy Taylor's work helped to shape and influence my style and understanding as a dreamworker. This is one of the finest and most inspirational books on dreaming, sensitively written and without dogma. His description of doing dreamwork with prisoners was especially moving.

This book is the essential guide to dreamwork. Taylor guides you with a loving hand through the labyrinths and mysteries of our dream worlds. And he brings us a joyous message: all dreams come in the service of health and wholeness"!

Jeremy Taylor's use of personal experiences to illustrate his points is very effective and adds interest to the book. The clear outline of his beliefs is expressed very well and reiterated throughout.
This is a wonderful guide for anyone interested in starting and facilitatingdream groups and otherwise being involved with projective group dreamwork.