DREAM BOOK REVIEW

In a bookstore, one can find many different books on the subject of dreams. Some are good, some are ludicrous rip-offs, some are mediocre in content but con us with fanciful artwork; and then there is the rare book that stands out from the others because the author offers us an opportunity to share his journey which helps us to open our minds to a new way of thinking that has the potential to enrich our lives from that point forward. This is one of those books.

There have been other books written on the subject of healing dreams, but this one stands out for several reasons; perhaps most importantly because it is written by someone who has lived what he is writing about, having been ill himself. I find this much more convincing and gripping than cold clinical analysis of test subjects. Marc Ian Barasch, the author of Healing Dreams, has been seriously ill and, by his own account, was guided via his dreams to find answers to his health concerns that he did not even realize he had to begin with, when his dreams took an ominous turn and served the important purpose of getting his full attention concerning his health.

Just as physical pain alerts us to the need to seek medical assistance so our bodies do not die; our dreams can become nightmares that "torture" us mentally with gruesome or terrifying images that force us to find answers and relief so these nightmares will finally stop and we can again rest peacefully. This is initially interpreted by the dreamer as a form of torture, but in actuality it is serving an important purpose: forcing us to stop ignoring a serious problem and seek help. Barasch lived this experience himself, and is now sharing his journey to healing with us, led by years of dreamwork guidance.

Many of you may see the title or read about illness and discount the need to read this book because you are not chronically or seriously ill, nor expect to be. Illness can take many forms. Dis-ease can take place in one's emotional body just as it can the physical body, for example. Dreamwork helps us overcome our obstacles to wholeness and health, and reach peace of mind. Many lessons can be learned from Barasch's book, chronicling his journey as well as those he interviewed.

I am intrigued myself, because my own personal life does involve chronic illness, as I have been increasingly ill since 1987 after contracting meningo-encephalitis. My dreamwork has involved primarily emotional break-throughs due to a dysfunctional childhood as so many of us have, and I have been very successful with those lessons learned. My journey led me here, to create this website with the desire to help others who are confused and haunted by recurring nightmares.

Ironically, however, my dreams have never involved any issues of healing, although I have tried to focus on this issue many times throughout the years. I have wondered why this issue never seems to be addressed in my dreams. Instinctively, I know that Barasch's book "Healing Dreams" holds an important message for myself, and I am intrigued and hopeful that I may also be fortunate and will be guided through the confusing maze of physical illness and find healing.

Barasch approaches the subject of healing dreams in a matter-of-fact way, being candid with his own health issues and explaining that one cannot interpret each dream as an important "message" dream. Some are more important and pertinent than others, and he explains how to discern these differences.

This book gives many accounts of other people's life-changing dreams and realizations, inviting the reader to entertain the possibility that dreams can indeed offer us tantilizing insight into our real purpose here on earth.