Description
Book SynopsisIntegrating traditional dream analysis with family psychology, clinical science, and parapsychology, Edward Bruce Bynum, Ph.D., ABPP, details how our personal unconscious is interwoven into our larger family unconscious. He shows how these dreamlife connections and patterns are as old as humanity itself, exploring ancient dream traditions from around the world. He explains how the dreamlife of a family can be viewed as a shared field or hologram, where each family member is enfolded into the dreams of the other members. This shared reality reveals itself in family and personal illnesses, in nightmares and unusual dreams, and during critical times such as crisis, pregnancy, conflicts, and medical emergencies. It also reveals itself in cases of simultaneous shared dreams and telepathic and precognitive dreams, explaining why so many people have dreams in which a family member appears to say good-bye, waking the next day to discover the same loved one has passed away.
Trade Review“Healthy families dream together. This is the essential good sense of
The Dreamlife of Families, which carefully amasses evidence that family members dream of each other and
for each other and may have shared adventures in deeper realities accessible in dreaming. He helps us recognize the vital function of ‘crisis telepathy,’ in which we receive alerts about emergency situations that prepare us to handle them and sometimes to contain them. Bynum grounds his study of family dreams in an understanding of the vital role of dreaming in human evolution. He gives us the science of the dreaming brain while recognizing that the brain is within the mind. He encourages us to expand our understanding and practice to aspire to the continuity of consciousness called Yoga Nidra in the East. I recommend this wise and heartening book.” * Robert Moss, author of Conscious Dreaming and The Secret History of Dreaming *
“
The Dreamlife of Families presents a novel approach to working with dream-based family interrelatedness. Drawing on a broad range of ancient beliefs, the book emphasizes African traditions especially, which are less known to modern psychology than those of ancient Greece or China. Bynum writes with a level of scholarly sophistication such that dream psychologists, family therapists, and other clinicians will learn much from the book. However, it’s also clear and entertaining and will engage families who want to utilize this approach to dreams to enrich their relationship.” * Deirdre Barrett, Ph.D., author of The Committee of Sleep *
“An effective case that nocturnal dreams can be interpersonal communications between family members. The numerous examples that Bynum provides make for fascinating reading while providing a convincing argument. I recommend it for anyone interested in dreams or the deeper levels of their own psyche.” * William M. Boylin, Ph.D., supervising psychologist at Connecticut Valley Hospital *
“A beautiful and visionary book. Bynum explores the world that lives between private and public space--the unconscious of the family. He shows us how this understanding can be applied to healing and therapy. Fascinating read for the professional and lay reader.” * Lynn Hoffman, ACSW, author of Foundations of Family Therapy *
“This book guides us to true connectedness in the family. A must-read for the serious family worker or member.” * Jayne Gackenbach, Ph.D., coauthor of Control Your Dreams *
Table of ContentsForeword: Does Your Family Need a Catalyst?
Carl A. Whitaker, M.D.
Introduction: The Labyrinth of Dreams
Part One The Nocturnal Emissary
1 The Inner Landscape of Dreams The Intimate Web of Family and Self
Modern Dream Interpretation
2 The Ancient Way The African Cradle Cross-Cultural and Transcultural Modes of Dreaming
The Ancient Method Itself
3 The Web of Dreamlife in Family and Self
4 Research on Dreams: The Contribution of the Laboratory
The First Laboratories
The Modern Map of REM and Non-REM
Pathways of the Unconscious: Dreaming, Biochemistry, and the Brain Family Dreams and Bodily Sensations
The Dream and Bodily Illness
Dreams and Creativity
5 Defining Normal Family Dreams The Intimate Web Is Awake
Family Dreams, Nightmares, and Night Terrors
Family Patterns: Dreams and Ways of Enfoldment
6 Extrasensory Family Dreams Forms of Psi: ESP, Precognition, and the Shared Image
Precognitive Dreams
Psychokinetic Family Matters
The Dynamic Family Pattern as Psi Unfolds
Part Two Family Dreams and Healing
7 Family Dreams of Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA): A Specific Style
The Inward Asylum
Family Dynamics of ACOA
ACOA Dream Styles
ACOA Family Roles
ACOA Dynamics: The Dream and Art
Oedipus and ACOA
The ACOA Family Legacy
Clinical Fallout of ACOA
Summary of ACOA Family Styles
8 Family Dreams during Pregnancy The Ocean of Birth: Dynamics and Themes
Research on Dreams and Pregnancy: The Trimesters
Six Common Themes of Pregnancy Dreams
Three Additional Dream Themes: The Hero in Family, Psyche, Myth, and Spirit Summary
9 Family Dreams in Therapeutic Form Kinship Bonds and Family Dreams
Family Dreams in Individual Therapy
Family Dreams Outside of Therapy
Dreams in Couples Therapy
Dreams in Family Therapy
Group Dreamwork
Kemetic Imagery and Healing Assessment Protocol
Guiding Questions to Unfold Imagery and Healing Processes
10 The Dream of Infinite Life: The Further Reaches of the Dream in Family and Self Organizing Images and Behavior
Family Dreams and Death
Family Dreams Beyond Death
Dreams and Reality
The Disciplines of Sleep: Lucid Dreams and Yoga Nidra Creativity and Dreams
Dreams, Imagery, and Healing: A Return to Personalism in Science and the Universe
Epilogue: From Matter to Dream to Light
Appendix A: The Family Dreams Research Project: Protocol for Participation
Appendix B: Kemetic Imagery and Healing Assessment Protocol
Appendix C: Films in Which Dreaming and/or Dreams Are Depicted
Appendix D: Recommended Reading Notes Works Cited Author Index
Subject
Index
About the Author
