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Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill: Using Dreams to Tap the Wisdom of the Unconscious
Based on intensive study and thousands of case histories, this remarkable guide opens up the world of dreams by showing readers how to remember and interpret dreams, establish a dream group, learn the universal symbolism of dreaming, and change their lives using their dreams.
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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About the author
Jeremy Taylor
10 books8 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Jeremy Taylor, an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, has worked with dreams for over thirty years; he blends the values of spirituality with an active social conscience and a Jungian perspective.
Founding member and past president of the Association for the Study of Dreams, he has written four books integrating dream symbolism, mythology, and archetypal energy. The latest is: The Wisdom of Your Dreams: Using Dreams to Tap Into Your Unconscious and Transform Your Life. His earlier books - The Living Labyrinth: Universal Themes in Myths, Dreams and the Symbolism of Waking Life; Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill; and Dream Work, have been translated into many languages.
Jeremy appears regularly on local, regional, and national radio and TV, and pioneered on-line dream work as host of AOL's innovative dream work show. He has taught in the schools and seminaries of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA for 30 years and teaches at a wide variety of colleges and universities in the Bay Area and in South Korea.
He has led workshops (most recently) in Canada, Mexico, Australia, South Korea, England, and Peru as well as all over the United States.
Jeremy Taylor died January 3, 2018 of a heart attack less than 48 hours after his wife and life partner of 55 years, Kathryn, died. They are survived by their daughter Tristy.
Jeremy Taylor, an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, has worked with dreams for over thirty years; he blends the values of spirituality with an active social conscience and a Jungian perspective.
Founding member and past president of the Association for the Study of Dreams, he has written four books integrating dream symbolism, mythology, and archetypal energy. The latest is: The Wisdom of Your Dreams: Using Dreams to Tap Into Your Unconscious and Transform Your Life. His earlier books - The Living Labyrinth: Universal Themes in Myths, Dreams and the Symbolism of Waking Life; Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill; and Dream Work, have been translated into many languages.
Jeremy appears regularly on local, regional, and national radio and TV, and pioneered on-line dream work as host of AOL's innovative dream work show. He has taught in the schools and seminaries of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA for 30 years and teaches at a wide variety of colleges and universities in the Bay Area and in South Korea.
He has led workshops (most recently) in Canada, Mexico, Australia, South Korea, England, and Peru as well as all over the United States.
Jeremy Taylor died January 3, 2018 of a heart attack less than 48 hours after his wife and life partner of 55 years, Kathryn, died. They are survived by their daughter Tristy.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 29, 2019
Parts are interesting, parts were a slough.
February 15, 2008
There are many dream books - some are truly terrible - the ones that say - if you dream "X" it means "Y." There are dream books that teach a particular technique - and by the time you have learned and applied the technique - your dreams are dried and shriveled and receding from conscious memory. Then there is this GEM of a book!
Jeremy Taylor's book on dreaming is a synthesis of all the great techniques AND it treats dreamwork with great sensitivity and respect. I learned more from this book about my own process with dreams than I learned working with a trained dream therapist. I continue to work with the therapist - but now our work is much deeper.
What makes this book different than other approaches - is that the work relies on projection - we borrow another's dream - try it on as our own - project our unconscious material - and the dreamer chooses what fits - what is an aha! and what is not.
Dreams always come with a message to help us in our journey towards wholeness. They always come in service to our Self. This is an immensely useful and affirming book that is never far from my night stand.
Jeremy Taylor's book on dreaming is a synthesis of all the great techniques AND it treats dreamwork with great sensitivity and respect. I learned more from this book about my own process with dreams than I learned working with a trained dream therapist. I continue to work with the therapist - but now our work is much deeper.
What makes this book different than other approaches - is that the work relies on projection - we borrow another's dream - try it on as our own - project our unconscious material - and the dreamer chooses what fits - what is an aha! and what is not.
Dreams always come with a message to help us in our journey towards wholeness. They always come in service to our Self. This is an immensely useful and affirming book that is never far from my night stand.
May 10, 2018
I once belonged to a dream interpretation group, facilitated by my friend, Lori DeWitt. We read books by Jeremy Taylor: WHERE PEOPLE FLY AND WATER RUNS UPHILL and THE LIVING LABYRINTH: exploring universal themes in myth, dreams, and the symbolism of waking life. I came to love all of those who participated in the group and found that the suggestions for techniques in the book related to dream interpretation that were utilized group reflection times were very revealing and often helpful in walking through some of the days of our lives at that time.
October 26, 2011
Contains much good and helpful info on the interpretation of dreams. E.g. – all dreams come in the service of health and wholeness, no dream comes to tell dreamers what they already know, a nightmare is frightening to ensure that the dream will not be forgotten and because its message is of great importance. Author assumes all dreams come from God and helps the reader see spiritual meaning in them.
March 4, 2019
Tons of fantastic insight and knowledge that was entirely new to me. I do feel that this book could have been cut in half though, lots of repetitive and disorganized passages.
May 13, 2019
Read this a LONG time ago when I was in a class with Jeremy Taylor, who was also my friend. I grieve his death this past January.
January 26, 2020
Used this book in a small group and it helped us sparked fabulous realizations.
January 21, 2021
Jeremy Taylor spent his whole life analyzing dreams and it was inspiring to read his stories about helping people overcome their internal struggles. Dreams are often our subconscious mind telling us things we don’t want to hear. Like the young man masking his aversion to his religious promises or the woman who realizes her dreams are covering up a childhood molestation. When people repress these struggles, and refuse to acknowledge them, they can manifest in their slumber. Especially recurring dreams, which can often be nightmarish.
By the time I had finished the third chapter, I had the first dream that I’ve remembered in a long time. In his book, he suggests that simply deciding to remember one’s dreams will help with recollection, and that is exactly what happened to me. I had a dream where I was trying to get into a fortress. In the dream it was a house, but I recognized that it felt impenetrable. I was then following a cat that seemed to be leading me on a path to get inside, when at the very last minute the cat slipped into a doorway that was immediately shut off to me.
My interpretation is thus: The “impenetrable fortress” is representative of a loving romantic relationship. My subconscious is telling me that I want one yet it is something I feel like I cant quite attain. I’m trying to get into one by the means of chasing pussy (aka getting laid is my main motivator) which always seems to slip away at the last moment. Naturally I have spent this past week wondering if I should ditch the casual lifestyle for a monogamous relationship.
It’s funny how sometimes a book seems to fall into your hands right when you need it most. I wonder, however, if instead of the right “time” for a book to come across your path, if perhaps it is the right book that makes the magic. I think this is that kind of book. No matter when I was going to read it, it would have impacted me because I inevitably would have had a dream that spoke to me. And sure enough I did.
I was amazed at all the scientific and industrial insights that came from dreams. Most importantly was the idea for the modern sewing machine. With the inventions of the spinning jenny and the power loom, the sewing machine was the last bridge for the industrial revolution to cross. The idea for putting the thread hole in the tip of a sewing needle came to Elias Howe in a dream, and the sewing machine was born. It completed the economic structure of the retail clothing industry we know today.
Although not the aim of this book, the final chapter on zen meditation left with me a really golden nugget on enlightenment: “Enlightenment is habitual intuition.”
By the time I had finished the third chapter, I had the first dream that I’ve remembered in a long time. In his book, he suggests that simply deciding to remember one’s dreams will help with recollection, and that is exactly what happened to me. I had a dream where I was trying to get into a fortress. In the dream it was a house, but I recognized that it felt impenetrable. I was then following a cat that seemed to be leading me on a path to get inside, when at the very last minute the cat slipped into a doorway that was immediately shut off to me.
My interpretation is thus: The “impenetrable fortress” is representative of a loving romantic relationship. My subconscious is telling me that I want one yet it is something I feel like I cant quite attain. I’m trying to get into one by the means of chasing pussy (aka getting laid is my main motivator) which always seems to slip away at the last moment. Naturally I have spent this past week wondering if I should ditch the casual lifestyle for a monogamous relationship.
It’s funny how sometimes a book seems to fall into your hands right when you need it most. I wonder, however, if instead of the right “time” for a book to come across your path, if perhaps it is the right book that makes the magic. I think this is that kind of book. No matter when I was going to read it, it would have impacted me because I inevitably would have had a dream that spoke to me. And sure enough I did.
I was amazed at all the scientific and industrial insights that came from dreams. Most importantly was the idea for the modern sewing machine. With the inventions of the spinning jenny and the power loom, the sewing machine was the last bridge for the industrial revolution to cross. The idea for putting the thread hole in the tip of a sewing needle came to Elias Howe in a dream, and the sewing machine was born. It completed the economic structure of the retail clothing industry we know today.
Although not the aim of this book, the final chapter on zen meditation left with me a really golden nugget on enlightenment: “Enlightenment is habitual intuition.”
April 4, 2012
This is one book on Dreams that I feel comfortable in recommending. I do not Believe that anyone else can interpret your Dreams. Your Dreams are your own and only you can really interpret there meaning.
What I like about this book is Taylor's formation of Dream groups meeting on a regular basis to interpret each others Dreams. How this works is that talking about one's Dreams with others gives the person different possibilities as to the possible meaning of the Dream. This exploring of one's Dream allows one to expand on the possibilities and at some point the person will reach the "AHA..." and will come to a self realization of the meaning of the Dream.
The other advantage of meeting regular with others to interpret one's Dreams also gives the person a reason to remember their Dreams. One think about Dreams is the difficulty in remembering them in the first place. Having to remember them so that you have something to discuss with the group, helps in a big way in starting to remember them on a more regular basis.
I have included this book under Shamanism only because Shamanism deals with Dreams in a big way - Dreamtime and Spirit Journeys are part of Shamanism. Although Taylor does not talk about these directly, it is still understanding our Dreams.
What I like about this book is Taylor's formation of Dream groups meeting on a regular basis to interpret each others Dreams. How this works is that talking about one's Dreams with others gives the person different possibilities as to the possible meaning of the Dream. This exploring of one's Dream allows one to expand on the possibilities and at some point the person will reach the "AHA..." and will come to a self realization of the meaning of the Dream.
The other advantage of meeting regular with others to interpret one's Dreams also gives the person a reason to remember their Dreams. One think about Dreams is the difficulty in remembering them in the first place. Having to remember them so that you have something to discuss with the group, helps in a big way in starting to remember them on a more regular basis.
I have included this book under Shamanism only because Shamanism deals with Dreams in a big way - Dreamtime and Spirit Journeys are part of Shamanism. Although Taylor does not talk about these directly, it is still understanding our Dreams.
September 19, 2008
-only the one who can consciously consent to the power of the inner voice becomes a personality.- Carl Jung
This book demonstrates how dreams can be conceived as keys to understanding our past as well as leading one to creative inspiration for the future. this book discusses the universal symbolism which wakes its creapy head in our dreams. Dreams can be either crystal clear or unexplainably mysterious. dreams always lead the dreamer to discover truths about their deepest selves as well as one's truest relationships with the world.
a dream is the most private communication...L. sommerfeld.
This book demonstrates how dreams can be conceived as keys to understanding our past as well as leading one to creative inspiration for the future. this book discusses the universal symbolism which wakes its creapy head in our dreams. Dreams can be either crystal clear or unexplainably mysterious. dreams always lead the dreamer to discover truths about their deepest selves as well as one's truest relationships with the world.
a dream is the most private communication...L. sommerfeld.
September 9, 2014
Jeremy Taylor's book Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill was one of my first great experiences in working with dreams. I took a workshop with him in Spokane many years ago and it changed my life. Made me a believer in how we can access other parts of ourself and heal our lives. I was able to work a dream in class that resulted in the understanding that I had "picked up my cross" and was on the right path. I'll find that journal article and post it here later. Perfect book to begin as we move into fall!
Read
August 2, 2011A great read to begin working with dreams. The book offers some comfort to those of us who rarely remember our dreams by reassurance that even dreams unremembered are moving the dreamer to health and wholeness. The techniques for improving dream recall have been helpful to me.
November 24, 2007
Another book on my "get those creative juices flowing shelf."
September 26, 2008
If you are interested in learning more about your dreams without going off into theories.
Inspires you to pay attention to your dreams.
Inspires you to pay attention to your dreams.
February 23, 2009
This is a great read for anyone interested in dream analysis.
November 7, 2013
One of the legends of dream interpretation.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews