The Dreaming Universe: A Mind-Expanding Journey into the Realm Where Psyche and Physics Meet

by Fred Alan Wolf

In The Dreaming Universe author Fred Alan Wolf examines the psychological and scientific elements of this most personal yet most enigmatic of human processes. By linking research ranging from the ancient Greek "dream temples" and modern experiments in telepathy, REM, and lucid dreaming to his own research on human consciousness, he theorizes that dreaming is the basis for consciousness, and that it is through dreaming that we are able to manifest a sense of ourselves.

Genres: Psychology, Physics, Nonfiction, Science, Philosophy

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Jimmy Ele · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book that explores the idea of the Universe as a dream as well as the Creator doing the dreaming. It delves into the religious knowledge of aborigines as well as Quantum Mechanics. The reason that it lost a star in my rating was due to it's haphazard writing. The writing at times was quite frankly unorganized. This caused a jumping of subject to subject without proper transitioning and thus created an exasperated kind of reading experience. Also, the book became overly pedantic at times with the over use of scientific jargon. One would get the sense that the author was either showing off about his knowledge or was blissfully unaware that he was getting into highly complicated subject matter that required elucidation. Overall for the knowledge gained from it alone it garnered a 4 star rating. If one can get past the unorganized sections and the overly pedantic and jargon rich areas, then one finds the book to be a rewarding experience.

[Doug Dillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Fred Alan Wolf offers readers some delightfully interesting possibilities about our connections to All That Is through dreams. Considered as "groundbreaking" by some, his work as presented here is the construction of a direct link between consciousness and the essence of reality.

Using developments in quantum physics, anthropology, biology and psychology, Wolf asserts that our dreams are the base upon which our consciousness is built. Citing examples in telepathy, synchronicity, lucid dreaming and dream interpretation from ancient cultures, he says our survival might well depend upon our nightly dreaming.

Chapter titles like, "We Dream to Create a Self", "The Dreamtime", and "The Physics of the Imaginal Realm" give you a hint at the mind-bending but clearly stated concepts this book holds. If he is right, the possibilities are endless.

Solid end notes, an extensive bibliography and a detailed index testify to the author's research and the accessibility of his presentation.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when I was in my mid-20s and it has stuck with me. My memory of it is vague now. I should go back and reread it to see if it is still striking in my early 40s. No doubt my physicist friends would ridicule it as pseudo-science but that's OK. It is what it is. It takes something as complex as quantum mechanics and makes it something most people can relate to and that seems relevant to their lives. I remember feeling inspired and connected to the universe after reading it. Maybe I'll read it again and laugh at my younger self. But I don't think so. I believe there is something to it. And if there isn't, it's still fun to think there is.

[Alicedewonder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initially, when I read Parallel Universes by Wolf I said, "hmmm sounds like this guy has tripped." That's what quantum physics is. It is the science that attempts to describe what we tripped out 60s people were experiencing - and we did. The final pages of this book, which I read long after Parallel Universes, and even after "What the Bleep do We Know was released. On that last page of this text Wolf admits his LSD adventure. That is why LSD 25 was so frightening to those guys that released it on us in the sixties. Those guys were the CIA and they didn't know that they were opening the real door to reveal the man behind the curtain.THANKING THE CIA GUYS FOR THE 60S DRUG CULTURE! I HAD A BLAST! http://hubpages.com/hub/LSDTHESIXTIES

[Oruç · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you think god does not exist? Take the Lsd and look around you. There is someone dreaming everything and everyone. Although the language and the quantum part of the book was quite incomprehensible for me, it can make sense if you can even taste a little part of the idea. Alan is exploring a deep part of the reality which i think he is referring as the dream world and effect of quantum principles on that world. I think , freud or jung or anyone never think like this before.

[Chris Meger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I keep this very close by while I write simply for the massive barrage of IDEAS coming off of every page. It would be easy to call this pseudo-science, but I think it is closer to fringe science. He doesn't break any rules here, and his extrapolations are based on genuine science. It's worth reading just for the chapter on Pauli's dreams. Fucking fascinating. Read and re-read.

[Molly wemder · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember those late-night, far-ranging, mind-blowing conversations back in college? You know. The ones in which you and your friends let your imaginations range wide? No idea was off limits. A strong sense of profundity ingnited your mind.

Now imagine you are, years later, a successful and respected physicist but you can't shake that speculative glow from years before. Gaps in scientific theory and evidence are tantalizing doorways to potential revelations. Wolf is that man.

I greatly enjoyed reading The Dreaming Universe shortly after it first published. I was practicing lucid dreaming and searching for any verifiable evidence of self-aware consciousness being able to affect the material world directly, without the physical intervention of our bodies or conventional communications (words). I found lucid dreaming a real and interesting phenomenon but also satisfied myself that I had never found verifiable, repeatable evidence of the primacy of consciousness over material reality. Still, it is fun to tag along on the philosophical adventures of adventurous thinkers like Wolf.

I recommend The Dreaming Universe to readers interested in questions relating to the origin and meaning of the sort of self-aware consciousness we possess, particularly in relation to the physical universe. Those interested in ancient (e.g., aboriginal and mythological) and modern perspectives on dreaming will find the book worthwhile.

[White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fred Alan Wolf has always humbled me. He is able to take what others view as the superior consciousness of the human race and put it in perspective. It was through his writings that I came to fathom that animals are superior because the real world is not blocked through the huge filter called the Cerebral Cortex. Well, that's one way of looking at it.

In The Dreaming Universe, Wolf comes into our human consciousness yet again and discusses the purpose of dreaming and how important it is to who and what we are. This is a daring book of proposals that connects psychology to sentients.

I would recommend this, and I have recommended this to so many people.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been engrossed by quantum physics and dreams for quite awhile now, and this book delves into both with fascinating conclusions. Fred Alan Wolf has written some of the best books for lay people on this subject.

Am rereading. I love this book!!

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

one physicist's reflection on quantum physics....where it's come from and where it's gone. a great example of how quantum physics and religion are very, very similar. loved it!

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's embarrassing to admit that I don't specifically recall much of this book as it is too much like so many others I've read.