This fascinating introduction to sacred dreaming celebrates the dream experience as a way to deepen spiritual awareness and as a source of self-healing for people of all faith traditions—or none. Includes practical, step-by-step exercises in every chapter.
Lori Joan Swick, PhD
Paperback
5½ x 8½, 224 pp | 978-1-59473-544-8
Awaken to the wonders of your dreamself, and energize your spiritual potential for self-understanding and self-healing.
“Without a doubt, people of all times and places have had the capacity to dream the sacred. I write this book in a sincere effort to create space for us to share these dreams and to provide a practical guide to nurturing sacred dreaming as an art.”
—from the Introduction
Sacred dreams—those in which the dreamer experiences the immediate presence of or communication with the Divine—have shaped the spiritual history of humankind. Jacob’s ladder dream, Joseph’s dream verifying Mary’s virgin pregnancy and Herod’s plans to destroy the child, Siddhartha Gautama Buddha’s auspicious dreams on his journey to enlightenment, Muhammad’s night journey dream—the pervasive power of the sacred dream is part of the scripture and lore of virtually all the world’s religions.
This fascinating introduction to sacred dreaming celebrates the dream experience as a way to deepen spiritual awareness and as a source of self-healing for people of all faith traditions—or none. Includes practical, step-by-step exercises in every chapter.
“Offers wise guidance to all who wish to deepen their relationship with dreams and unfold their transformative power.”
—Daniel Deslauriers, PhD, professor of transformative leadership, California Institute of Integral Studies; co-author, Integral Dreaming: A Holistic Approach to Dreams
Praise for Lori Joan Swick’s Work
“Approaches the subject with fervor and provocation. Her zeal [is] coupled with her lyrical prose.... Enchanting”
—Texas Books in Review
“A satisfying resonance that makes the reader want to savor it and thumb back through the pages.... An interesting and engrossing read.”
—Shelby Hearon, author, Prince of a Fellow and The Year of the Dog
Introduction vii
Part One
Entering Sacred Dream Space
Chapter 1
The Art of Cultivating Sacred Dreams 3
Chapter 2
The Thin Veil between Waking and Sleeping
Consciousness 17
Part Two
Dreaming as a Sacred Experience
Chapter 3
Mystical Dreaming 37
Chapter 4
Lucid Dreaming as a Sacred Art 53
Part Three
Interpreting Dreams as a Sacred Art
Chapter 5
Sacred Dream Recall 81
Chapter 6
The Art of Discerning the Deep Meaning of
Sacred Dreams 93
Part Four
Sacred Dream Work as a Means of Personal
Fulfillment and Spiritual Growth
Chapter 7
Sacred Dreaming and the Creation of Sacred Art 123
Chapter 8
The Art of Sacred Dream Healing 136
Chapter 9
The Nuances of Gender in Sacred Dreaming 161
Conclusion
Nurturing the Sacred in Dreams 181
Notes 186
Suggestions for Further Reading 194
