This is an absorbing account of a dialogue between leading Western scientists and the foremost representative of Buddhism today, the Dalai Lama of Tibet.For modern science, the transitional states of consciousness lie at the forefront of research in many fields. For a Buddhist practitioner these same states present crucial opportunities to explore and transform consciousness itself. This book is the account of a historic dialogue between leading Western scientists and the Dalai Lama of Tibet. Revolving around three key moments of consciousness--sleep, dreams, and death--the conversations recorded here are both engrossing and highly readable. Whether the topic is lucid dreaming, near-death experiences, or the very structure of consciousness itself, the reader is continually surprised and delighted.Narrated by Francisco Varela, an internationally recognized neuroscientist, the book begins with insightful remarks on the notion of personal identity by noted philosopher Charles Taylor, author of the acclaimed Sources of Self. This sets the stage for Dr. Jerome Engel, Dr. Joyce MacDougal, and others to engage in extraordinary exchanges with the Dalai Lama on topics ranging from the neurology of sleep to the yoga of dreams.Remarkable convergences between the Western scientific tradition and the Buddhist contemplative sciences are revealed. Dr. Jayne Gackenbach's discussion of lucid dreaming, for example, prompts a detailed and fascinating response from the Dalai Lama on the manipulation of dreams by Buddhist meditators. The conversations also reveal provocative divergences of opinion, as when the Dalai Lama expresses skepticism about "Near-Death Experiences" as presented by Joan Halifax. The conversations are engrossing and highly readable. Any reader interested in psychology, neuroscience, Buddhism, or the alternative worlds of dreams will surely enjoy Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying.

In this, his most famous and influential work, Carl Jung made a dramatic break from the psychoanalytic tradition established by his mentor, Sigmund Freud. Rather than focusing on psychopathology and its symptoms, the Swiss psychiatrist studied dreams, mythology, and literature to define the universal patterns of the psyche.In Psychology of the Unconscious, Jung seeks a symbolic meaning and purpose behind a given set of symptoms, placing them within the larger context of the psyche. The 1912 text examines the fantasies of a patient whose poetic and vivid mental images helped Jung redefine libido as psychic energy, arising from the unconscious and manifesting itself consciously in symbolic form. Jung's commentary on his patient's fantasies offers a complex study of symbolic psychiatry and foreshadows his development of the theory of collective unconscious and its constituents, the archetypes.The author's role in the development of analytical psychology, a therapeutic process that promotes creativity and psychological development, makes this landmark in psychoanalytic methodology required reading for students and others interested in the practice and process of psychology.

Where Dreams Come Alive documents the initiatory patterns embedded in the journey of a Zulu woman’s heroic confrontation with her calling to be a healer. The rich symbolic world of the African healer can be considered an image of a creative individuation that demonstrates the autonomy of deep psychic processes. Archetypal phenomena in the cosmology of the African healer are amplified through the stages of the alchemical opus and the psychology of C.G. Jung. These phenomena arise when there is a serious attempt to engage with the autonomous psyche. This in turn, suggests a return, with consciousness, to the instincts, to an inner numinosity, to the phenomenon of psyche and matter, and spirit in nature.\nA main focus in this work is the idea that there is a remarkable parallel between the valences given to dreams in the African healing realm as there is in the psychology of C.G. Jung. In a similar fashion to the analyst, the healer approaches the dream with respect for the numinosity of the dream images and messages. Attention to dream material is understood as essential for healing.\nThe author's direct and personal collaboration with various indigenous healing communities in South and Southern Africa, Namibia and Botswana provides a rich backdrop to and foundation for her work. The meeting of two cultures in the therapeutic temenos and the ceremonial rituals of the African healing initiation provides the vessel for the transformation necessary for the emergence of something new and as yet largely unarticulated.

Bestselling author Carlos Castaneda introduces readers to the worlds that exist within their dreams.

A groundbreaking history of the human mind told through our experience of dreams--from the earliest accounts to current scientific findings--and their essential role in the formation of who we are and the world we have made.   What is a dream? Why do we dream? How do our bodies and minds use them? These questions are the starting point for this unprecedented study of the role and significance of this phenomenon. An inves­tigation on a grand scale, it encompasses literature, anthropology, religion, and science, articulating the essential place dreams occupy in human culture and how they functioned as the catalyst that compelled us to transform our earthly habitat into a human world.   From the earliest cave paintings--where Sidarta Ribeiro locates a key to humankind's first dreams and how they contributed to our capacity to perceive past and future and our ability to conceive of the existence of souls and spirits--to today's cutting-edge scientific research, Ribeiro arrives at revolutionary conclusions about the role of dreams in human existence and evolution. He explores the advances that contempo­rary neuroscience, biochemistry, and psychology have made into the connections between sleep, dreams, and learning. He explains what dreams have taught us about the neural basis of memory and the transfor­mation of memory in recall. And he makes clear that the earliest insight into dreams as oracular has been elucidated by contemporary research.   Accessible, authoritative, and fascinating, The Oracle of Night gives us a wholly new way to under­stand this most basic of human experiences.

In a deepening of the thinking begun in The Myth of Analysis and Re-Visioning Psychology, James Hillman develops the first new view of dreams since Freud and Jung.

We all dream, and 98 per cent of us can recall our dreams the next morning. Even in today’s modern age, it is human nature to wonder what they mean. With incredible new discoveries and stunning science, Why We Dream will give you dramatic insight into yourself and your body. You’ll never think of dreams in the same way again . . .\\nGroundbreaking science is putting dreams at the forefront of new research into sleep, memory, the concept of self and human socialization. Once a subject of the New Age and spiritualism, the science of dreams is revealed to have a crucial role in the biology and neuroscience of our waking lives.\\nIn Why We Dream , Alice Robb, a leading American science journalist, will take readers on a journey to uncover why we dream, why dreaming matters, and how we can improve our dream life – and why we should. Through her encounters with scientists at the cutting edge of dream research, she reveals how:\\n- Dreams can be powerful tools to help us process the pain of a relationship break-up, the grief of losing a loved one and the trauma after a dramatic event\n- Nightmares may be our body’s warning system for physical and mental illness (including cancer, depression and Alzheimer’s)\n- Athletes can improve their performance by dreaming about competing\n- Drug addicts who dream about drug-taking can dramatically speed up their recovery from addiction.\\nRobb also uncovers the fascinating science behind lucid dreaming – when we enter a dream state with control over our actions, creating a limitless playground for our fantasies. And as one of only ten per cent of people with the ability to lucid-dream, she is uniquely placed to teach us how to do it ourselves.

“[A] solid how-to book . . . For amateur dream researchers, this is a must.”—Whole Earth ReviewLucid Dreaming—conscious awareness during the dream state—is an exhilarating experience. Because the world you are experiencing is one of your own creation, you can do the impossible and consciously influence the outcome of your dreams.Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming goes far beyond the confines of pop dream psychology, establishing a scientifically researched framework for using lucid dreaming. Based on Dr. Stephen LaBerge’s extensive laboratory work at Stanford University mapping mind/body relationships during the dream state, as well as the teachings of Tibetan dream yogis and the work of other scientists, including German psychologist Paul Tholey, this practical workbook will show you how to use your dreams to:• Solve problems • Gain greater confidence • Improve creativity • Face and overcome fears and inhibitions • Create a new sense of empowerment and liberation in your life The techniques you’ll learn in this exciting workbook will make your nightly dream journeys more enjoyable, increase your understanding of yourself, and make you realize that the possibilities of expanding consciousness are far greater than you might think.