The Dream Encyclopedia

by James R. Lewis

This encyclopedia examines 250 dream-related topics from art to night terrors, including dream control, healing and dreams, nightmares, ESP and dreams, falling dreams, Shakespeare and dreams, sex and dreams, Thomas Aquinas and dreams, creative visualization, problem solving in dreams, the collective unconscious, Native American dream interpretations, day residues in dream content, memory and sleep, and nondreamers. More than 700 dream symbols are defined in a separate 100-page section.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Psychology, New Age

454 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this everytime I had a screwed up dream.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book addresses all of the different aspects of dreams. Although dense, this book is highly interesting. The book goes in alphabetical order and addresses everything that falls under that letter related to dreams. This could be scientific studies, theory results or just what a crow in your dream means. This wide variety of information helps create a highly detailed view of dreams. This book was extremely helpful in my dream research and introduced me to a lot of new topics to explore. A passage that questioned the way that I and many others think of dreams was ““I had the weirdest dream last night” which is a familiar comment. The problem with the assertion is that it seems to imply that dreams should somehow not be bizarre, but in fact, dreams often present us with twisted, surreal landscapes that almost always depart in significant ways from the logic of our everyday world.” (Lewis 42) This quote brings up such an interesting perspective. The book also talks about what some things represent. This is slightly controversial in the psychology world however it can be very entertaining. It's always fun dreaming of something and then looking it up later to find connections to the object to your life. This is directly in line with Freud's belief that the unconscious hides things from the conscious mind with slightly distorted cues. Very interesting book 5/5 definitely recommended for those interested in dreams.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this years ago so this will be a short review. Different categories of themes are matched up based on dream features. They are in short paragraph form. Some interesting enough illustrations accompany the text.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually used more as a reference book, but a good one. Easy to look up by subject or object in dreams. I often use it in conjunction with other dream encyclopedias. I would recommend it, however, for anyone who wants to look deeper into the symbols and meanings of their dreams.

[Naomi Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like having a different view of how ancient civilizations viewed dreams and the their meanings. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to understand the dream phenomenon and how our views are shaped by religion and culture.

[cheeseblab · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought this would be fun bathroom reading; I must have been dreaming.

[Cora Crotteau · Rating 4 out of 5]

very informational but it didn't have everything I was looking for

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I do not wholly subscribe to the notion of the pertinence of dreams to our everyday lives, this book nevertheless was informative in its scope, invoking intriguing symbols that frequently make apparitions in many individuals' dreams and attempting to explicate their significance by exploring their unique provenances and antiquities.
Albeit much of the "dream dictionary" information in the concluding pages of this book are doubtlessly apocryphal, James R. Lewis succeeds in providing readers with a comprehension of their subconscious imaginations that is both shrewd and skeptical (to an extent).

[Hadley · Rating 4 out of 5]

👍🏼

[Hafidha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't find the dictionary section to be very useful (you could find more info on the internet, truly) but the entries in the first 2/3rds (the encyclopedia section, I guess), is a nice collection of information on information about dreams throughout the world and across disciplines. Important names and concepts are laid out here - brief, but it's a great way to get a quick overview. The fact that it even mentions dreaming in non US or European cultures - and more than 2 or 3 "other" cultures - is good, but you will find nothing exhaustive here. Easy to read. Use this as a jumping off point and for filling in blanks. Probably good for newbies to dreamwork, although I don't think it talks enough about why one WOULD. But it's an encyclopedia, it doesn't really have a "thesis."

I did notice some typos, including a whole entry in the wrong chapter (minus its heading; it was simply printed in the wrong area in addition to being in the right area).

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book a little odd- there was 2 sections. Section one was more history of how humans have interpreted dreams, and definitions of terms, in encyclopedia form, which I wish was more sculpted and not in encyclopedia form (I have to read the whole thing through- alphabetically- to get anything out if it). Section two was the dream dictionary. I found it interesting, but I'm looking for something a lot more extensive.

[Rad]

Really gave me an interesting perspective on a lot of strange things I have dreamed about! Its not just a psychological twist on dreams

[Leeann Sheriff]

I liked how this had different segments to the book. The breakdown of the words and then historical information about others and their theories to different levels of dreaming.

[Candy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Told me what I thought. Nothing more, nothing less.