Book Description
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is commonly referred to as "the father of psychoanalysis" and his work has been highly influential, popularizing such notions as the unconscious, the Oedipus complex, defense mechanisms, Freudian slips and dream symbolism. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Useful info: Excerpt from the preface:
...The publishers of the present book deserve credit for presenting to the reading public the gist of Freud's psychology in the master's own words, and in a form which shall neither discourage beginners, nor appear too elementary to those who are more advanced in psychoanalytic study.

Dream psychology is the key to Freud's works and to all modern psychology. With a simple, compact manual such as Dream Psychology there shall be no longer any excuse for ignorance of the most revolutionary psychological system of modern times...

...Sigmund Freud's (1856-1939) attitude toward dream study was, in other words, that of a statistician who does not know, and hasno means of foreseeing, what conclusions will be forced on him by the information he is gathering, but who is fully prepared to accept those unavoidable conclusions.
This was indeed a novel way in psychology...

Five facts of first magnitude were made obvious to the world by his interpretation of dreams.

First of all, Freud pointed out a constant connection between some part of every dream and some detail of the dreamer's life during the previous waking state...

Secondly, Freud, after studying the dreamer's life and modes of thought, after noting down all his mannerisms and the apparently insignificant details of his conduct which reveal his secret thoughts, came to the conclusion that there was in every dream the attempted or successful gratification of some wish, consciousor unconscious.

Thirdly, he proved that many of our dream visions are symbolical, which causes us to consider them as absurd and unintelligible; the universality of those symbols, however, makes them very transparent to the trained observer.

Fourthly, Freud showed that sexual desires play an enormous part in our unconscious, a part which puritanical hypocrisy has always tried to minimize, if not to ignore entirely.

Finally, Freud established a direct connection between dreams and insanity, between the symbolic visions of our sleep and the symbolic actions of the mentally deranged...

André Tridon

In-depth, but fun to read and comprehensible introduction
Freud is the father of modern psychology and he established the psychoanalytical point of view. No one who is not well grounded in Freudian lore can hope to achieve any work of value in the field of psychoanalysis.

The publishers of the present book deserve credit for presenting to the reading public the gist of Freud's psychology in the master's own words, and in a form which shall neither discourage beginners, nor appear too elementary to those who are more advanced in psychoanalytic study.
Dream psychology is the key to Freud's works and to all modern psychology.

Freud's theories are anything but theoretical.
He was moved by the fact that there always seemed to be a close connection between his patients' dreams and their mental abnormalities, to collect thousands of dreams and to compare them with the case histories in his possession.
He did not start out with a preconceived bias, hoping to find evidence which might support his views. He looked at facts a thousand times "until they began to tell him something." His attitude toward dream study was, in other words, that of a statistician who does not know, and has no means of foreseeing, what conclusions will be forced on him by the information he is gathering, but who is fully prepared to accept those unavoidable conclusions.
This was indeed a novel way in psychology.

Five facts of first magnitude were made obvious to the world by his interpretation of dreams.
First of all, Freud pointed out a constant connection between some part of every dream and some detail of the dreamer's life during the previous waking state. This positively establishes a relation between sleeping states and waking states and disposes of the widely prevalent view that dreams are purely nonsensical phenomena coming from nowhere and leading nowhere.
Secondly, Freud, after studying the dreamer's life and modes of thought, after noting down all his mannerisms and the apparently insignificant details of his conduct which reveal his secret thoughts, came to the conclusion that there was in every dream the attempted or successful gratification of some wish, conscious or unconscious.
Thirdly, he proved that many of our dream visions are symbolical, which causes us to consider them as absurd and unintelligible; the universality of those symbols, however, makes them very transparent to the trained observer.
Fourthly, Freud showed that sexual desires play an enormous part in our unconscious, a part which puritanical hypocrisy has always tried to minimize, if not to ignore entirely.
Finally, Freud established a direct connection between dreams and insanity, between the symbolic visions of our sleep and the symbolic actions of the mentally deranged.
(Andre Tridon) ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (5)

THE GUY WHO WROTE THIS WAS A VICAR.HE LIVED IN MY HOUSE
ok this sounds weird but the guy who wrote this book was a previous owner of the house i live in, both me and my partner were having weird intense dreams not long after we moved in, then we get a box of these books delivered to my house, and reconied the name, he was a local vicar, the neighbours told me he went slightly mad?..the book didnt really explain too much about the murdurous dreams i was having, but just found the whole thing a bit weird.....

Some good stuff
This book was o.k.It follows Jung and Freud very well.There are a lot of symbols meanings available.I had trouble relating many of the meanings to me and my dreams.One good thing was that its not one of those books that tell you your fortune or what's in the future.Also it has a good introductory about important aspects of dreaming.

One of the best
Of the 6 or so books on dreams that I own; this is one of the best. While the interpretations given are from an analytical viewpoint, they are written in simple language and in a straight-forward manner. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand their dreams.

The best for psychological dream interpretation.
I have been interested in dream analysis for several years, but each book I read gave a prophetic interpretation of dreams. Although this can be fun, I wanted to find out the deeper meaning of the themes and symbols in my dreams. This book has several explanations for each symbol, stemming from theories of Freud and Jung. It gives the reader meaningful insights about dreams, and it is also very easy to use and understand. The symbols are listed in alphabetical order, covering everything from objects to specific feelings. I have never had trouble finding anything, even if it seemed really abstract. If you are serious about dream analysis, this book should be on your nightstand.

Facinating; my first dreambook,not my last!!!!
Like I said this was my first dreambook and i loved it. I have even brought it to work for others to "interpret" dreams, most loved it too. However, Ican't find a lot of things tha keep reacurring in mydreams and it's driving me NUTS!! So I am now looking for another Dreamdictionary. But I will keep this one and continue to use it regularlly. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good for Advanced Students
This is a clear presentation of Jungian Dream interpretation, but it is designed for the therapist, so the less advanced reader may not know some of the major ideas.Nevertheless it is clearly and logically presented and is without flights of fancy, so it has its own value.

Theory and Practice of Understanding Your Dreams
This compact discussion of the Jungian method of dream analyses is a thorough examinationof basic concepts as they are applied in practical dream interpretation. The author, a psychiatrist andJungian Analyst, clearly outlines the process of understanding dreams and addresses their purpose.Dreams are for "problem solving and personality development." First they arecompensation for conscious attitudes that are ineffective. Secondly dreams serve as guides to conscious integration of the unconscious elements of the psyche as an individual matures into an effective individuated being.
As an experienced student of dreams for 50 years, I consider this to be one of the best concise references. His example dreams illustrate the concepts and his organization of the theory of knowingone's Self is not dogmatic. Hall advises that the process is one of flexibility in differentiatingthe personal psyche of an individual from the universal and cultural structures that influence us all. ... Read more

Book Description
With an A-to-Z list of dream symbols and their meanings

Open your dream door and find greater self-awareness, knowledge, and success!

You probably recognize a connection between the dream world and the "real" world, but did you know you can actually do things to nurture your dream life? This fun and fascinating guide shows you not only how to decode your dreams, but how to remember them and even how to make a dream work for you.

Discover how to:

• Recognize your dream cycles

• Increase your ability toremember your dreams

• Keep and use a dream diary

• Notice your waking dreams

• Focus your dreams to solve problems or make decisions

Book Description
15,000 entries—from abduction to zebra …

Everybody dreams—and now there’s a dream dictionary for everyone! With 15,000 entries, this reference showcases the most up-to-date vocabulary of dream symbols, such as cell phones. It also includes a dream thesaurus with handy list collections of entries by topic; a dream quiz that offers revealing insights into your dream personality; a section called “Tuck-in Time,” which provides terrific strategies for inviting, inducing, and remembering dreams; and a dream interpretation checklist, helping readers interpret their dreams step-by-step.
--Popular reference dictionary format
--Focuses on symbols, meanings, and interpretations
... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A basic book with not much substance on dreams
I have a number of dream books, but this one was okay and very basic.The explanations of dream symbols were very short and did not give you much insight nor the tools needed to analyse your dreams in depth.It is a basic dream book and I would rate it average.

Idiot's Dream Guide
This is the most comprehensive dream book I've seen.Very informative and easy to read.

Be Your Own Dream Interpreter
Don't let the "Complete Idiot's Guide" designation fool you: This is the book for anybody who is intellectually curious enough to try and raise their awareness about the significance of dreaming life which co-authors Eve Adamson and Gayle Williamson assure us is the shadow side of our waking life, enigmatic symbolism and all.

Neatly segmented into the concise style of popular reference dictionaries, the Dream Dictionary lets inquirers go as deeply into the labyrinth of their dreams as they want; the entries are less occultish than is true of some other dictionaries yet intruiging for their emphasis on the elements of fear and desire, "universal truths" that bind humanity after the waking hours.

Adamson and Williamson write invitingly about the benefits of dream journaling and preparing the body for sleep in anticipation of lucid, creative dreaming or just opening the mind to the possibilities of getting those answers to problems that linger below the limn of consciousness.

As a user-friendly guide, the CIG Dream Dictionary promotes self-understanding with due homage to the cosmos of archetypes in a book that enables the reader to play a sharp detective with their dreams. Adamson's lively prose is a joyful bonus and helps make this book a bedside companion worthy of its dog-eared place at your side.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!
This book is a must have for the dreamer that desires to learn how to interpret dreams and journal. It gives the interpretation of various objects and places in dreams. It's a hand reference book almost similar to a dictionary. I highly recommend this book.

Lanesa Stubbs

Excellent!
This an excellent tool to help people understand how to interpret dreams. The best part of this book is the dream dictionary that is included. This helps you look up the things in your dreams and identify what they represent. It is easy to use and very accurate. I know of no other resource that provides such a complete and easy format to help understand the meaning of your dreams. I highly recommend this book!

Offers Very Limited information
Was looking for a book that would be an easy and somewhat comprehensive reference to biblical dream symbolism. Upon looking thru the book I found that (in my opinion) the information offered in this book has a very narrow and limited perspective as to the biblical symbolism in dreams.Had I not taken a dream interpretation class taught by John Paul Jackson, a respected dream interpreter of the day, I would have accepted this book as having a more comprehensive viewpoint, but it does not.Bottom line is that the information provided is very much "in the box".

An okay Primer
I have had dreams and visions since I was a child, I also have the gift of interpretation.I would recommend this to those who have not developed this gifting or at least understand its purpose.

However, I think that if the reader wishes to develop their gift, which I believe is for all Christians (You have not because you ask not, and when you do ask you ask a miss - James); a better use of their money would be spent on John Paul Jackson's material.He has an established ministry in this area, I have gone to a seminar and found his teaching well developed and proven (the Bible says to test the spirits).Another great teacher is Pat King out of Canada, eh.I am intending to buy her materials - my good(?)friend doesn't let them out of her house :(

I am sorry that another reviewer was offended by the black man reference, it was a spiritual reference not a racial ephitaph, this is a symbolic reference not a scientifically based book.To be offended by this is to be cheated out of a deeper understanding of the types and shadows in the Bible.The Bible warns about being easily offended so please pray before reading any book that tries to expound on Bible meanings or for that matter the Bible, let the Holy Spirit reveal truth to your heart.

Throughout the Bible "dark" or black shadows represents spiritual evil. God loves all his children and he created them all, none is superior to another.Consider this, only albino's are white, people come in various shades, from beige to jet black, God looks at the heart.

Understanding the Dreams You Dream
I really enjoy using this book for a reference.It's easy to read and find information quickly. ... Read more

Product Description
Yes, it's your little red wagon or, simply stated, it's your life, and only you can decide what to do with your little red wagon: you can push it, pull it or just stand and look at it! The little red wagon is a metaphor for that exciting, vibrant vehicle that transports our hopes, dreams, promise and passion. In other words, life as we would wish it to be. But to ensure that this vehicle of possibilities stays on course, we each must take responsibility for its progress and maintain control of its direction. This book is all about attitude, beliefs, expectations, thinking and behavior. It's about the power of Positive Psychology and the skills that promote optimal human functioning. And it's about developing the core strengths you need to navigate your little red wagon along the path to the good life. As Carlos Castaneda tells us, "We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

What a great book...
"It's Your Little Red Wagon" provided me with some great ideas to approach certain situations in life more positively.I've read similar books and I found this one to be the most enlightening and inspirational.I highly recommend!

Motivating and Uplifting... A Must Read!
I have read a lot of motivational self-help books, and I love "It's Your Little Red Wagon". It is a great book for anyone who is trying to live in the present, be a happier person and continue to look at life in a more positive way. The quotes throughout the entire book are inspirational and serve as constant reminders of how to approach many situations or problems positively and optimistically. Dr. Esonis has an infectious writing style that combines wit and enthusiasm with a direct no nonsense approach. She is full of liveliness and pep, and you can't help but feel energized after reading her book.

The concepts are practical and easy to understand - things anyone can do. You'll feel empowered to live a better life, and you learn the skills needed to start feeling good again. Dr. Esonis teaches you how to change your attitude and take responsibility for the direction your life is going. I love all the encouraging quotes, uplifting stories, and resources that help motivate you to turn your dreams into realities. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to take control of their life and improve their disposition.

It's Your Little Red Wagon
"Having a plan" and "working a plan" are major keys to mastering success in our lives.Dr. Sharon's book combines the psychological and biological, with motivating "wisdom of the ages".

Graced with humor and a common sense approach, I found this an enlightening read and great reference manual.With easy to use tools and techniques, this book has the potential to help you in creating that successful life - starting immediately!

Remarkably accessible, essential skills for personal growth
"It's Your Little Red Wagon" is an absolute must-have for anyone's self-help collection.As a psychologist in clinical practice, I am frequently asked to recommend books to complement the work being done in therapy.Rarely does a book come along that satisfies the needs of both the professional and the lay personal alike. Dr Sharon Esonis has supplied a first-rate addition to my cache. Not only does this easily read and understood book provide straight-forward strategies for empowering individuals to reach their own, unique goals, but it does so in a way that is clear, concise, and in plain language.

"It's Your Little Red Wagon" outlines six distinct, core strengths (optimism, courage, persistence, enthusiasm, living in the present, and resilience), each highlighted in its own chapter so that the reader can focus on one or more strength in an effort to promote growth in any of his or her chosen areas.The book does not have to be read cover to cover or front to back to be helpful.As a clinician, I am pleased to be able to encourage my clients who are reluctant to read an entire work the opportunity to focus on one core strength at a time.The descriptions and accessible examples in each chapter lay out a practical and manageable path for forward momentum.Dr. Esonis writes with such enthusiasm that the reader cannot help but begin to experience her contagious hope and power to push forward no matter how discouraged or stuck one may have felt at the start.

The burgeoning field of Positive Psychology has found a champion in Dr. Esonis.In this can-do book, she prescribes just the right dose of the tried and true, research-based strategies of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.She mixes in a touch of humor, a liberal measure of famous quotes and poems, popular movie references to supplement the learning process, and some written homework for good balance.As a whole, "It's Your Little Red Wagon" provides those essential building blocks for developing a strong sense of self that is mindful, confident, and positive.

Bravo to Dr. Esonis for "It's Your Little Red Wagon."I have already recommended this excellent book to my clients and to my colleagues.In truth, we can all benefit from the lessons in this fine work.

Practical, Useful Tools
I have read two chapters of It's Your Little Red Wagon (so far) and enthusiastically recommend it.It is a quick, easy read, which is not to suggest it is simplistic, but written in a style that is very readable.The author provides multiple tools including relaxation techniques, self-assessment guides, motivational quotes, and resources for additional study.The wide variety of suggestions allows any reader to find the appropriate solution to suit their individual style and need.Similarly, the division of the book into specific "core strengths" allows the reader to prioritize and choose the sequence with which they prefer to read...so useful, versatile, and practical.Dr. Esonis has definitely created a valuable guide to "navigating your path to the good life." ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (5)

Readable, but not a great translation
I bought this edition for a course because it was cheap. This is a good introduction to Freud's theory of dreams. Quite readable. My only problem was with the translation -- it's an early 20th century British translation and apparently some of the sex stuff was "cleaned up" by the translator, who didn't want to offend british sensibilities. I'd recommend another translation.

Freud/On Dreams
Very good for used--almost like new.Decent price and good service. Thanks.

An Interesting Look At The Concept Of Dreaming
This Review refers to the paperback edition of On Dreams (Dover Thrift Editions), composed by Sigmund Freud and as translated by M. D. Eder.

Freud's On Dreams is, quite simply, a downsized Interpretation of Dreams simplified so that non-psychologists are able to understand the basics of his theories concerning the matter. In this particular work, Freud makes an effort to explain what dreams are and how they relate to the dreamer. He also explains his thoughts on how the mind constructs dreams during their production, as well as how to analyze their content and meaning. Also included is a rather short biography about the author.

On Dreams presents wholly compelling arguments as to how the mind designs, produces, contorts, and presents the dream content. The work describes how the dreamer's psyche, he hypothesizes, will normally block the dream content while in a conscious state and due to the weakened state of this during sleep, these thoughts give birth to dreams.

Freud's work is in older English, which may make it slightly troublesome for the more modern readers to grasp. However, the work is in good composition and properly conveys his ideas and hypotheses concerning dreams. Freud also seems to have a tendency to state many educated guesses as fact in this work; therefore, the reader must keep an open mind regarding the presented concepts. The translator appears to have reproduced the text into English quite true to the original. Although, it would be desirable to read a different translation, in order to verify that the work's translation properly presents Freud's initial ideas.

Freud's theories have largely become the basics of modern psychology, for better or for worse, and are therefore all completely relevant and needed to understand the topic of psychology. On Dreams is an interesting look at what, exactly, dreams are and how they work. The overall recommendation would be that an individual interested in psychology read works by Freud and his contemporaries, however to mix those works with more modern concepts and ideas so as not to get an older, and somewhat outdated, view of the said concepts.

Dream On
This book is an extremely condensed version of Freud's thoughts on dreams. The book is 45 pages so it is an easy read that tends to be more readily available though other book selling sites.

Freud groups dreams into those with obvious meanings, those with latent meanings, and those that are incoherent. He goes on to explain how dreams can be interpreted. A section is even devoted specifically to interpreting the dreams of children. Freud has a lot of interesting things to say, but like anything he says, take it with a grain of salt.

WORD OF ADVICE: Don't let others see you reading Freud for pleasure, as they will think you are weird.

Still relevant
Freud has taken a beating in recent years, but if you ask me, far too many people blindly accept all the received wisdom about him (he was sexist,unscientific, dogmatic) instead of going straight to the source.Theagreeably brief "On Dreams," while far from a comprehensive lookat the subject, is a good crash-course on this fascinating topic, stillworth reading generations after its initial publication.

Here, Freudconvincingly demolishes the long-standing scientific argument, which isstill very much with us, that considers dreams as simply random mentalevents.He distinguishes between the manifest content of a dream (whathappens) and its latent content (what it means).He also makes valuabledistinctions among the different types of dreams, varying from the simplewish-fulfillment dreams mostly restricted to children and the bafflinglyweird ones that we all get on occasion, and takes a stab at explaining whyand how they are formed in our sleeping minds.You can love Freud or hatehim, but you cannot imagine the 20th Century without him, and he stilldeserves our attention. ... Read more

Book Description
Routledge is now re-issuing this prestigious series of 204 volumes originally published between 1910 and 1965. The titles include works by key figures such asC.G. Jung, Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Otto Rank, James Hillman, Erich Fromm, Karen Horney and Susan Isaacs.Each volume is available on its own, as part of a themed mini-set, or as part of a specially-priced 204-volume set. A brochure listing each title in the International Library of Psychology series is available upon request. ... Read more

Book Description
Everyone and everything in our dreams is part of us... We spend one-third of our lives asleep--and much of that time we are dreaming. But we don't always remember our dreams or understand that they are metaphorical messages from our soul. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A "Must Have" Guide to Dreams
This is one of the best dream books I have read in years.It goes beyond listing symbols and giving interpretations.The chapter on "Creating Your Dream Journal" gives easy-to-do steps for people who want to learn how to remember their dreams, ask for guidance in their dreams; or analyze their dreams and learn from them.There is also a great explanation of the difference between dreams and nightmares and how we can protect ourselves from getting "stuck" in bad dreams.A great book for teens, too.

A fabulous must read book.
I have been fascinated by dreams for as long as I can remember.After reading Dr. Barrick's book, I was amazed at her insight and the deep understanding she gives.I have to say it is one of the most profound books I have ever read and I have read a lot of books.

A few things I learned from the book: Dreams are like messages from your soul and higher self. They come from the unconscious realm, which is the repository of all of your memories in this and other lifetimes.Think about the whole concept of the fact that we sleep every night and dream.It is all so fascinating.Dr. Barrick teaches you how to remember and interpret your dreams.Each element of the dream is a part of ourselves and every person in the dream is you!When you start to interpret your dreams from that perspective and then put yourself in the position of that person in the dream and see their perspective, the lessons and understanding are very profound.She also talks about lucid dreaming, which is where you learn to be awake in your dreams.One example she gives is of a person who had a recurring nightmare about a tiger.He was afraid of this tiger, who appeared bigger than life.To make a long story short, when the person was lucid or awake in his dream one night, he asks the tiger who he is.The tiger turns into his father and he proceeds to have a conversation with him.After dialoging in the dream, the recurring nightmare stopped.

One other thing I noticed is that Dr. Barrick appears to be a Transpersonal and Jungian psychologist, not a behavioralist.

A title of Nightmares would be more appropriate
This book is a tired, re-hash of fundamentalist "new age" thinking without the new.A psychologist by trade, Barrick seems to be trained in the B.F. Skinner school of behaviorists.If your behavior doesn't meet her standards, you can literally go to hell.Save your money. ... Read more

Book Description
Sigmund Freud, born Sigismund Schlomo Freud (May 6, 1856 - September 23, 1939), was a Jewish-Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who co-founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. Freud is best known for his theories of the unconscious mind, especially involving the mechanism of repression; his redefinition of sexual desire as mobile and directed towards a wide variety of objects; and his therapeutic techniques, especially his understanding of transference in the therapeutic relationship and the presumed value of dreams as sources of insight into unconscious desires. ... Read more

Book Description
After decades of myth making, C.G. Jung remains one of the most misunderstood figures in Western intellectual history. This comprehensive study of the origins of his psychology provides a new perspective on the rise of modern psychology and psychotherapy. It reconstructs the reception of Jung's work in the human sciences, and its impact on the social and intellectual history of the twentieth century. The book creates a basis for any future discussion of Jung by opening new vistas in psychology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Uppermost Interest
As a conclusion, let me just say that I am convinced of the uppermost interest of this work for the Psychology's Story.

The best history of how Jung's ideas emerged
Jung and the Making of Modern Psychology is a landmark in Jungian scholarship. The author, Sonu Shamdasani, is a historian of psychology, with a specialization in Jungian psychology.
This book is both a gift and a challenge for Jungian psychology. As a gift, it provides a picture of an era in which new ideas were in the air. It carefully traces how those ideas emerged and eventually crystalized in Jung's psychology. As a challenge, it points to areas still unresolved, hopes Jung had for psychology that have largely gone unfulfilled by his successors.
Early in the book, Shamdasani says "once, when asked who he was, Miles Davis replied that he had changed the course of music several times in his life. Something similar could be said of Jung." By the end of his life, however, Jung felt that he had failed in his mission: "I was unable to make people see what I am after. I am practically alone . . . I have failed in my foremost task, to open people's eyes to the fact that man has a soul and there is a buried treasure in the field and that our religion and philosophy are in a lamentable state. Why indeed should I continue to exist?"
Perhaps by providing this history of ideas, filled both with how Jung came to his model of psychology, and with his hopes for the future of such a psychology, Sonu Shamdasani has provided a starting point for Jungians to help prove that Jung did not fail in his task. The appearance of his book is a monumental event in Jungian scholarship.

Tangible and Intangible
As I was once a prospective PH.D. candidate, I can defnitely appreciate the quality and painstaking research that went into this finely written scholarly work.However, having been coached by a very fine Jungian psychologist, Dr. H. Skipton Leonard, PH.D., I find this book more a history of psychological thought than an in-depth study of Jung and ensuing practical applications.

Meet a man you thought you knew...
Shamdasani's "cubist history" of Jung's core projects places them in their historical and intellectual context.His meticulous research incorporates an extensive review of the writing of Jung's contemporaries, Jung's own papers, Jungian commentary, and even some of Jung's personal marginalia.The scholarship alone is staggering.

Be warned: this is no anecdotal hagiography for the converted but a serious exploration of the man and his thinking.Shamdasani's style takes no prisoners.If you are heavily invested in Jungian ideas, or those allegedly attributed to Jung, you may discover the intellectual rug pulled out from under you without ceremony.Brace yourself.

But do engage, as I dared to.By his apparent scepticism of all psychologies and patent love of opening once tightly sealed black boxes, Shamdasani allows you to re-discover Jung and marvel at the unparalleled breadth and depth of the work of one of our great minds.If you square up and look this author and his subject in the eye, I'd be surprised if you are not profoundly shaken or at least significantly stirred, as I have been.
... Read more

Product Description
Dreams have variously inspired and haunted kings, poets, inventors, artists, musicians, statesmen and others since the dawn of recorded experience. Gustavus Hindman Miller's Dictionary of Dreams first appeared in 1909, ten years after Sigmund Freud's pioneering work The Interpretation of Dreams, and is therefore an historical work on dream analysis first published at the time of a quantum leap in human consciousness.
10,000 entries cover Bananas to Cauliflowers, Measles to Mustard and Virgins to Zebras. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Go Back to Sleep, Gustavus
I found the book initially entertaining as bathroom reading, for the pure nonsense value and a glimpse into our dark past.Some examples:
Banana- To dream of bananas, foretells that you will be mated to an uninteresting and an unloved companion.
Baste- To dream of basting meats while cooking, denotes you will undermine your own expectations by folly and selfishness.
However, after around a dozen entries, they all blur together as portending either great fortune or great sorrow, with separate interpretations for women, all centering around love or how orderly their kitchen will be.After more entries, the ugly side of our dark past surfaces, with entries about Negroes, Mulattos, Jews, etc.

This book was written in a time (1909) when racist sentiment was the norm, as another reviewer points out.Use of the word "Negro" is one thing, now politically "incorrect", however interpreting dreams about "Negroes with their banjoes" as signifying "unavoidable discord...worries with hirelings...sickness" etc. is beyond PC, it's racism.Similarly, dreaming of Jews "signifies untiring ambition and an irrepressible longing after wealth and high position, which will be realized to a very small extent" and so on... In short, the book is interesting from a historical perspective, like minstrel shows, but needs to be viewed in context, and is of no other value in today's world.Sadly, this book has been latched on to by all manner of well meaning new age crackpots looking for easy answers to life's hard questions.

Don't waste your time or money
I got this book as a gift and still think it was a waste of money.Every dream I have looked up so far was negative, most dealing w/ some future pending event, ie if you dream 'X' you are soon to lose your job or some other misfortune.How a dream relates to some future event in the physical world I'll never know.I was hoping it would deal more w/ what's going on in my subconscious, but that doesn't seem to be what this book is about.

The Best and Most Accurate Dream Book I've Ever Read
Based on my experiences with this book, I cannot praise it highly enough. I've read many dream books and none of them have ever been this accurate in predicting future events based on your dreams. Almost all, most of the dreams ive had - I looked up there meanings and on most of the dreams it has a diffrent thing that will happen than the exact object or person/thing you dream of. But it always comes true IN REAL LIFE. It has been bone chilling. This book is a dream bible to me and Ive had it for about 5 yrs now and have used it till its almost fallen apart. It not only has dream meanings but the preface has the whole story of dreams over the ages and exactly how they work and affect us in the waking life. Its fascinating. Some reviewers had a problem with some racist passages or writings in here, but you have to understand the meanings in this book have been studied and some are the old meanings or they stay true to the real meaning of the dream so they use defitions from older times. And it will say somthing about a person of color once in awhile during the book.( If you have a certain dream) and those definitions are few and far between. Other than that - THIS BOOK IS REAL. Take it from me and my own experiences.- It hits the nail on the head like no other book you will ever read. Just make sure you remember most of your dreams and look up the meanings and if you have a real vivid or strange dream make sure you circle and remember the meaning of it so you can go back and look it up when the meanings happen to you in real life , whether its the next day or a couple months down the line. But i guarentee it will happen - AT least thats what happened to me. Enjoy the book. Highly Recomended

PS- I started having all these dreams and i would circle the meaning in my book so i could keep track and see if that would happen in real life and the first couple months alot of the stuff happened but there were some outlandish things like finding money that said ill never have to be worried to pay my bills again and you will be ( prosperous) and At the time i could never beleive that because my life wasnt at the best at that exact time , the stuff it said i couldnt beleive so i dismissed it ,or i kept it in the back of my mind just in case, BUT about 5-6 months later ( those dreams i circles that i said ( yea right ) to or didnt beleive CAME TRUE. So if it dosent come true right away dont dismiss the book. There is definetely a coincidence between what we dream and what happens in real life to us. They still havent figured it out but they are doing more & more research every day to try to uncover the mystery of dreams. I cant say this book has been a coincidence because to many things have been accurate and right on target. I hope you get the same pleasure out of this book I have, Enjoy.

DREAMBOOK FOR THE RACIST IDIOT
It's a pity that "dictionary terminology" is use to perpetuate racist rhetoric. I find it quite the fascinating study that a few of the reviewers were actually turned on(almost orgasmic)by the idea of "purchasing" a book because it's banned (due to negative implications of another race). Perhaps "Aryan Nation" could be truly interpreted as the quintessential nightmare. But I suppose it is easier to attack another race while covering the evils of another. If you are the typical happy go lucky American RACIST,Get the book, it will suit your ignorant dream life for the typical idiot brain.

oh my god
This is, WITHOUT A DOUBT, the FUNNIEST book i have ever read in my life. Here's a sample of the great wisdom of Gustavus Hindman Miller:

Sausage: If you are eating sausage in your dream, you will lead a comfortable domestic life.

Jaundice: If you dream of Jaundice, you will be very prosperious in your affairs.

Kidneys: (my personal favorite) If your Kidneys act too freely, you will be party to some racy intrigue.

Worms: If you dream of a woman covered in worms, she may be a very materialistic person

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Amazon.com
Whether we love or hate Sigmund Freud, we all have to admit that he revolutionized the way we think about ourselves. Much of this revolution can be traced to The Interpretation of Dreams, the turn-of-the-century tour de force that outlined his theory of unconscious forces in the context of dream analysis. Introducing the id, the superego, and their problem child, the ego, Freud advanced scientific understanding of the mind immeasurably by exposing motivations normally invisible to our consciousness. While there's no question that his own biases and neuroses influenced his observations, the details are less important than the paradigm shift as a whole. After Freud, our interior lives became richer and vastly more mysterious.

These mysteries clearly bothered him--he went to great (often absurd) lengths to explain dream imagery in terms of childhood sexual trauma, a component of his theory jettisoned mid-century, though now popular among recovered-memory therapists. His dispassionate analyses of his own dreams are excellent studies for cognitive scientists wishing to learn how to sacrifice their vanities for the cause of learning. Freud said of the work contained in The Interpretation of Dreams, "Insight such as this falls to one's lot but once in a lifetime." One would have to feel quite fortunate to shake the world even once. --Rob Lightner Book Description

Freud's Revolutionary Theory

This ground-breaking work, which Freud considered his most valuable, forever changed the way we think.

Customer Reviews (34)

A New Translation
This is a new translation (2006) of Freud's Interpretation of Dreams.I hope someone qualified might soon comment on the merits or significance of this new translation.Meanwhile, the Editorial Review information offered for this book comes from an earlier edition of a different translation of Freud's work, FWIW.And the second paragraph in the editorial review prelim is entirely inappropriate--it's for another book altogether.

I give Freud's book (not the translation) a low rating because it is misleading.It's not about the interpretation of dreams in general, but more specifically it's, covertly of course, about Freud's own dreams.More basically, it's about "infantile memories" he claimed dreams concealed.(For more explanation of this point, one could consult "If Freud's Theory Be True..." in Psychological Reports (1992, 70, 611-620), which would explain how Freud himself tells us his book is not about what it appears to be about.

Don't buy NuVision Edition
I just got my 2007 edition copy of "Interpretation of Dreams" in the mail so I haven't had a chance to read it.So this rating is only on the particular edition that is published by NuVision.They did not include an index or any information about who translated this version.Also, the table of contents is nearly worthless; no detail what-so-ever about the chapters, not even titles of the chapters, just Chapter 1 etc. and a page number.Even though you may think a newer publication is better, this one is much much worse and more expensive.Go with the 1980 publication.I'm returning the book to Amazon (who gets 5 stars for customer service!)

Plenty of facts and a wrong theory
Freud's book must be read by anyone who studies dreams, because it contains about 220 dreams and valuable information about the dreamers' life experiences related to their dreams. But, his wish fulfillment theory of dreams is definitely wrong both concerning its origin and its consequences, as explained below.

Freud began to interpret his patients' spontaneously reported dreams by likening them to daydreams and psychotic hallucinations. Everyone knows that daydreams are produced for fulfilling wishes in an imaginary way, and psychologists know that most psychotic hallucinations constitute imaginary fulfillments of wishes frustrated in the waking state. But, likening waking-state products to sleep-state products does not look realistic, because the waking state is a time for fulfilling wishes, whereas the sleep state is known to realize resting and self-restoration rather than realizing new successes and gains. So, Freud's first step in dream interpretation was most probably wrong.

Nevertheless Freud became convinced that dreams meant wish fulfillments because of two dreams that he misinterpreted, as explained below.

Pepi's dream: Medical student Pepi H. was late to wake up one morning, and the landlady called through the door: "Wake up, Herr Pepi! It's time to go to the hospital!" He dreamed that he was lying in bed in a room in the hospital, and there was a card over the bed on which was written: "Pepi H., medical student, age 22." He went on sleeping, thinking that he was already in the hospital.

It is evident that Pepi had, in the disabling state of half-sleep, the incompatible wishes of staying in bed and going to the hospital. Both of these wishes were fulfilled by the image of him in bed in the hospital. This cannot be considered a true dream because of several reasons: (1) Pepi was in a state between sleep and wakefulness; (2) both of his wishes belonged to the waking state instead of being activated in the sleep state; (3) his two wishes frustrated each other; and (4) therefore the image of him in bed in the hospital, which fulfilled both of his wishes in an imaginary way, looks more like a psychotic hallucination than a true dream.

On the other hand, the image of the card on the bed, which was apparently produced after he fell asleep, can be considered a true dream element seeking to terminate the failure to go to the hospital by conveying the following message: "You are not a patient, and you are not a child; you are a medical student of age 22! So, get up and do what you have to do!" The last part of this message was only implied.

We see that, after baselessly likening dreams to psychotic hallucinations, Freud had the bad luck of encountering a mental product that was half hallucination and half dream and took it for a true dream. Below is a dream that is similar to Pepi's dream.

A man who had been driving all night was desperately trying to stay awake and to keep the car on the road, or rather to keep the road in front of the car, as he later remembered. The car jolted twice with no apparent reason, and he woke up in a cornfield. We understand that the image of the road in front of the car had become a hallucination caused by the wish and the failure to keep the road in front of the car in the disabling state of half-sleep. It is also possible that this hallucination was then replaced by a "sleep-preserving" dream when sleep prevailed. Thus, a hallucination was produced in the state of half-sleep and was then transformed into a dream when sleep took over, just like it happened to Pepi.

Freud's dream "Irma's injection" (Freud 1900).This dream of Freud's about a hysterical patient of his gave to him the final conviction that dreams meant wish fulfillments. He had it 9 months before he delivered his lecture The Etiology of Hysteria, in which he exposed his seduction theory of hysteria, according to which this disorder is caused by sexual abuse suffered in childhood. This means that the thoughts expressed in this dream were produced in conformity with the seduction theory. But when he published the interpretation of this dream in his book on dreams, he had already switched to the fantasy theory of hysteria, which said that this disorder was caused by repressed unacceptable fantasies, or wishes, of sexual nature. Thus, the dream's thoughts were based on the seduction theory of hysteria, whereas its interpretation presented by Feud in his book was based on the fantasy theory. But despite this discrepancy, Freud produced an interpretation that is correct to a great extent. He misinterpreted only the part of the dream that explained the cause of hysteria and the part that said that hysteria was incurable, as shown below.

The dream is about Freud's failure to cure his patient Irma. Many psychologists believe that Irma represented Freud's patient Emma Eckstein and others like her, whom he had failed to cure. Freud recognized correctly the subject of the dream as the presentation of several causes of his failure to cure Irma. For example, Irma did not cooperate with Freud and did not believe his interpretations, which must have been based on the seduction theory, and physicians ignorant of hysteria influenced the therapy negatively. Freud interpreted these parts of the dream correctly, including even the part that accused Freud of believing a physician's wrong diagnosis without examining the patient himself. He had to say, "the material was, one might say, impartial." We can say that the dream expressed the truth, as it was known to the dreamer, as Jung believed. The accusations directed to the physicians were realistic external attributions of Freud's failure. Freud interpreted them as "revenge on other doctors" and "derision of physicians who are ignorant of hysteria." The dream accused physicians of ignoring that hysteria was caused by sexual abuse, as explained below, whereas Freud implied that they ignored its cause explained by the fantasy theory.

The dream explained the cause of her illness as sexual violation and declared that it was incurable because it was impossible to undo the violation. This is the part that Freud misinterpreted, knowingly or by mistake, which in reality carried the following message: "Physicians thought that hysteria could be cured by physical, physiological intervention, but this is absurd, because hysteria is caused by sexual violation which cannot be undone. You all directly know that your colleague who was staying with her gave her an injection. Injections of that sort should not be made so thoughtlessly. That was a dirty injection, and you know very well what it was." The negative idea that hysteria could not be cured by physical/physiological intervention is expressed in the dream through an absurdity (this being one of the means of expressing negative ideas in dreams): Someone suggested in the dream that dysentery would intervene and Irma would be cured. This absurd thought exposed the physicians' ignorance, but also the fact that sexual violation could not be undone and therefore hysteria could not be cured. This dream shows clearly why Freud chose to lie about the cause of hysteria and switched from the seduction theory to the fantasy theory of it. Evidently, he had thought that the only means of curing hysterical patients was to deny that the sexual abuse had happened. That was the only means of "undoing" the abuse which was said by his dream to be impossible.

Freud's overall interpretation of the dream was that it "represented a particular state of affairs as I should have wished it to be. Thus its content was the fulfillment of a wish and its motive was a wish." So, Freud became convinced that dreams meant wish fulfillments by summarizing the meaning of Irma's dream taking into consideration only what he liked in the dream and ignoring, for example, the accusations directed to him by the dream and the fact the dream said that the real cause of hysteria was being sexually abused.

Freud's final belief about the meaning of dreams is this: "A dream is a (disguised) fulfillment of a (suppressed or repressed) wish."

One of the arguments that Freud used to support his wish fulfillment theory was that the mind could do nothing but fulfilling wishes, and because realistic wish fulfillment was impossible during the sleep state, it was done in the form of perception. This argument is obviously wrong, because the mind does plenty of preparatory work before it can actually fulfill a wish, and much of such work can be non-pleasurable. Ignoring these facts, Freud interpreted everything in a dream as an actual wish fulfillment, as exemplified by his misinterpretation of his Irma dream, which presented, for example, several non-pleasurable causes of his failure to cure Irma. I have shown elsewhere that a complete dream contains three types of thought (expressed in Freud's terminology): the frustration of a wish, the causes of the frustration, and the means of fulfilling it. Irma dream was about Freud's failure to cure her but did not present a means of fulfilling it and said instead that curing her was impossible, this being his honest opinion.

Freud's idea of the disguised fulfillment of suppressed or repressed wishes had one more source. He wrote in his letter of January 3, 1899 to Fliess: "I now understand why in spite of all my efforts I have not yet finished the dream book . . . . I shall be able to present the psychic process in dreams in such a way that it also includes the process in the formation of hysterical symptoms." How Freud "discovered" that psychic process is explained below.

Freud's friend Fliess claimed that hysteria could be cured by a surgical operation performed on the nose of the patient. Freud believed him, and Fliess performed an operation on Emma's nose on February 20, 1895. On March 6, 1895, a second operation was performed by another friend of Freud, and half-a-meter of gauze was removed from Emma's nose. The gauze had been accidentally left in by Fliess and had caused excessive bleeding that had nearly killed her. Nose-bleeding continued even after the second operation and was probably a consequence of the two operations. But Freud wrote to Fliess about Emma on May 4, 1896: "She became restless during the night because of an unconscious wish to entice me to go there, and since I did not come, she renewed the bleeding, as an unfailing means of rearousing my affection." And he wrote to him on February 19, 1899: "It is not only dreams that are fulfillments of wishes, but hysterical attacks as well. This is true of hysterical symptoms, but it probably applies to every product of neurosis."

We see that Freud's wish fulfillment theory of dreams and symptoms was a consequence of baseless generalizations, misinterpretations of some dreams, invalid arguments, and the wrong and wishful interpretation of a physiological phenomenon. Thus, Freud's theory is untenable as far as its origin is concerned. It is equally without proof concerning its consequences, as explained below.

Freud believed that every event that a dreamer could associate with the images of his or her dream in the waking state was part of the meaning of the dream. And he interpreted all that material as wish fulfillment by using devices such as displacement, inversion, and other types of disguising to make the dream fit his theory. It is evident that any event can be interpreted in any way one wishes by using such devices. Even this procedure shows that Fred's theory is wrong.

Freud's theory is refuted also by the difficulty he experienced in explaining the emergence of anxiety in dreams and his total failure to interpret the so-called "incest dreams." He wrote in a footnote added to a later edition of his book on dreams that anxiety was experienced in dreams by consciousness when an unacceptable wish was fulfilled without being sufficiently disguised. But if this were true, "incest dreams" interpreted as wish fulfillments would be dreams of highest anxiety, which is not the case. They are found revolting in the waking state by being interpreted wrongly as wish fulfillments. I explained elsewhere that "incest dreams" mean that sex partners must intimately know, love, and respect each other. The wish fulfillment theory has not been useful in psychotherapy either.

However, to repeat, Freud's book must be read by anyone who studies dreams, because it contains about 220 dreams and valuable information about the dreamers' life experiences related to their dreams. The book also contains some of Freud's own dreams, of which the correct interpretations tell much about his life experiences and the true geneses of his theories. Moreover, the book exposes the importance of unconscious thinking, although Freud misinterpreted the contents of the unconscious and the aims of its products, as I further explained elsewhere.

Cognitive-Behavioral Cybernetics of Symptoms, Dreams, Lateralization: Theory, Interpretation, Therapy

Theory Construction and Testing in Physics and Psychology

Dreams = Wish Fulfillment
Freud's thesis, The Interpretation of Dreams, can be summed up as follows - all dreams are the mind's subconscious effort at wish fulfillment.For some dreams this is obvious - if you eat salty foods before going to bed, you may then dream that you are drinking water. This is a simple example of you wanting something and your subconscious trying to fulfill that wish.For most dreams, quite a bit more analysis is required to undercover what exactly you are wishing for, and Freud dedicates the bulk of his book to giving examples of such analysis.Freud argues that dreams are distorted because the upper layer of the mind is trying to censor what the lower layers of the mind are wishing for - usually out of embarrassment, guilt, etc. For example, I may be envious of my friend's success, so I will dream that my friend fails, but I am also embarrassed at wishing ill will on my friend, so the dream is distorted - perhaps the activity that he fails at will be obscure, twisted, strange, etc.Freud also makes the point that all dreams have their trigger in the preceding day's events, and once triggered the dream has access to all the experiences a person has gathered during his lifetime, as long as the experiences can be linked back somehow to the trigger event.Since the mind thinks in terms of symbols, the dreams must by analyzed by trying to understand how the various symbols can be translated into wishes, or the suppression of wishes. Thus the inner layers of the mind, or the Ego (prime desires), will generate a basic wish based on the experiences of the previous day.The Super Ego (refined sense of culture, guilt, morality, consciousness, etc.) then regulates the Ego's basic wish to fit within the mind's framework of right and wrong behavior.The greater the conflict between the Ego and Super Ego, the more distorted the dream becomes.All dreams are wish fulfillment, without exception.

Freud successfully makes his point within the first 75 pages of the book - the remaining 400 pages are a dry, archaic, tiresome, and in my opinion are not worth the time to read.Much of the book is dedicated to analysis of the dreams of either Freud or Freud's patients.Since Freud lived in early twentieth century Germany, the dreams described are anachronisms and for the most part are irrelevant.Also, I think a lot of meaning is lost in the translation from German to English.

Bottom line, Freud successfully explains the fundamental truth on dreams, put this pioneering analysis is archaic and difficult to read by today's standards.For the layman, I would look for something more current.

an outstanding read that delivers esteemed perceptivity to t
My version of this book has a translation by Joyce Crick (ISBN 0192823523). She gives an insightful introduction to Freud that is well referenced. However, her style is absolutely monotonous and was far more difficult to complete than Freud's writing which was to follow. What Crick has done well with this version is that she has retained certain significant or vague tests in German (original) with their translations as parentheses, footnotes, or explantory notes. She has also added value to the version with an extensive package of explanatory notes after Freud's work. In addition, her translation of Freud's work "captures the lightness and pace of Freud's style, freed from the jargon and Victorian elaborations of James Strachey's famous version."

On Freud's work itself, The Interpretation of Dreams was a revoluationary paper of its time, discussing for the first time, concepts such as the Oedipus complex and the practice of psychoanalysis. Freud explores his personal life with this paper, enriching the reader with his self-analyses. However, I felt he over did the case studies, presenting several examples of a single concept, which was for me perhaps a little long-winded and tiring to read, especially if his first examples were good ones, and presented the concept/s acutely.

The pace of the paper picks up at the start of each new concept and tends to wind down and even drag at the middle or end portions. Towards the end however, his pace dramatically picks up (and no, it's not a placebo effect), as he summarises and pulls all his concepts together in an attempt to hold on to the reader and deliver his final call to action. Overall this is an outstanding read that delivers esteemed perceptivity to the faculty of psychoanalysis, how we perceive and interpret the arts and literature, and on the variety of complex languages with which we do so. However, be prepared for an intense read, but remain assured that upon completion of this work, you will be duly facinated, inspired, and impelled to re-examine your psyche. ... Read more

Book Description
Sigmund Freud Psychoanalysis for Beginners is surprisingly easy to read and understand for a book on science. It was in fact a best seller of its day read and understood by people from all walks of life. Freud work was a huge influence on education, business, theater, film and the arts. Freud affected the way people saw themselves and the world. ... Read more

Book Description
Our dreams fascinate us as individuals and as a society. What do surveys report people dream about? How about the dreams of the blind? The mentally ill? What does research show about the possibility of dream telepathy? How did the ancient people view dreams? This wide-ranging book also discusses such topics as REM studies, the effects of experimental stimulation on dream content, research on dreams and creativity, symbolism, and nightmares.

The book explores a number of techniques used to analyze dreams, illustrating these approaches with dream examples and case studies. ... Read more

Book Description
Dream Psychology, 3 Contributions to the Theory of Sex, and a Young Girl's Diary all in one book. 283 pages. ... Read more

Product Description
Many believers read the scriptural accounts of dreams and never think it could happen to them. Today, though, many are realizing that God has never ceased using dreams and visions to guide, instruct, and warn. This book will give you a biblical understanding of dreams that you never had before!Since we all dream for an hour or more per night, about three years of our entire lifetime is spent dreaming. We now know that uninterrupted dreaming is essential for our physical and psychological health. If a person is continually awakened over a period of time during dream periods, he will become irritated, then nervous, and may even lose his sanity. Whenever a person loses sleep, he must not only make up that sleep, but must also make up the dream time. Alcohol inhibitsdreaming; yet some suggest that alcohol makes up dream time with delirium tremens. If God has made us so that we spend so much time dreaming, then surely He has a purpose in it. All through history we find that people have received help through their dreams. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

dream interpretation
this book has literally given guidance by the Lord's nightly therapy sessions which we call dreams. Herman has applied Jungian dream interpretation to Christianity and made it possible to begin viewing your dreams in a completely different and understandable way.This book will enrich and deepen your Christian walk or if you are an unbeliever it will open your eyes to a new realm of possibility.People, objects, pets and the monsters of your dreams will suddenly have new and enlightening meaning. Giving you a chance to rectify problems in your life as well as give direction to those seeking truth. ... Read more