The Waking Dream: Unlocking the Symbolic Language of Our Lives (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Symbolism, Grasse claims, is "the forgotten language." He does not mean only literary symbolism but also what Baudelaire called life's "correspondences" --the sense that everything means something, that all of life is a dream and can be interpreted as such. Drawing from mystical traditions and quantum physics, from astrology and Jungian psychology, Grasse offers us a virtual dictionary of symbolisms and the finding that contemporary culture is almost unique in its disregard for symbolist ways of thinking. His well-presented argument should open eyes and, perhaps, minds. Patricia Monaghan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

This encaging and penetrating book opens readers to the world of meaningful coincidences hinted at in The Celestine Prophecy. Weaving ancient insights with contemporary teachings on sacred psychology, astrology, and subtle energy, Grasse shows readers how to understand the deeper meaning of the symbols and synchronicities of their everyday lives.

Product Details

• Paperback: 315 pages
• Publisher: Quest Books (June 25, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0835607496
• ISBN-13: 978-0835607490
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #676,646 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What More Could One Ask of a Book?, October 20, 2001

By	OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This book represents the best, most comprehensive, exposition of the symbolist world view in a single volume. Infact, if I wanted to truly understand the deep, fundamental roots of mysticism or occultism, this is the book that I would read first. Symbolism stands in contrast to stark materialism in that it assigns inherent Meaning to the world. Symbolism holds that this physical, material world is the lowest level of reality and not it's totality, as "science" would have us believe. The lower levels merely reflect the archetypical currents, patterns, and laws of the higher: "As above, so below." To personally validate this mode of thinking in one's own life is to experience permanent mind shift. You never see creation as dead, sterile, and meaningless again. What more can one ask of a book or a teaching?

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contemporary, revealing and relative, March 25, 1999

By A Customer

Mr.Grasse brings to light the realization that everything that could ever be known or felt is a symbolic event. The issue of synchronicity and correspondences are age old understandings of how the system works. It is the way we perceive ourselves and our world. His work is extremely well researched and documented. Soon you realize that you too are a meaningful participant in an on-going synchronistic event.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite metaphysical book of 1996, April 19, 1998

By	Marcia Sacks "[e-mail]" (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Waking Dream: Unlocking the Symbolic Language of Our Lives (Hardcover)

In "The Waking Dream" Ray Grasse explains the nature of symbols, cycles and synchronicity. He calls himself a symbolist: "The symbolist standpoint considers life to be a living book of symbols, a sacred text that can be decoded." I enjoy working with the idea that our everyday waking life can be interpreted just as symbolically as our dream life to gain expanded information and personal growth. This book will be on the recommended list for every astrology, tarot, and metaphysical class I teach.