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Dream Interpretation for Beginners: Understand the Wisdom of Your Sleeping Mind
Decode the wisdom of your dreams to enrich your life and achieve your personal goals. This fantastic book shows you how to use dreams for improved problem-solving, better relationships, creative inspiration, and spiritual growth. Join dream expert Diane Brandon as she Dream Interpretation for Beginners is the perfect guide to the unseen treasures that await you in your sleep.
"A comprehensive approach to understanding and interpreting all dreams, from the mundane to the metaphysical."―Larry Burk, MD, CEHP, author of Let Magic Adventures in Healing with a Holistic Radiologist "From dream basics to interpretation to self-realization, if you have a question about dreams or want to learn more...you are likely to find the answers here. I highly recommend this book to dreamers and non-dreamers alike."―Judy B. Gardiner, author of An Entwined Adventure in Science and Spirit
"A comprehensive approach to understanding and interpreting all dreams, from the mundane to the metaphysical."―Larry Burk, MD, CEHP, author of Let Magic Adventures in Healing with a Holistic Radiologist "From dream basics to interpretation to self-realization, if you have a question about dreams or want to learn more...you are likely to find the answers here. I highly recommend this book to dreamers and non-dreamers alike."―Judy B. Gardiner, author of An Entwined Adventure in Science and Spirit
- GenresNonfiction
312 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2015
8 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Diane Brandon
7 books25 followersBorn and raised in New Orleans, Diane Brandon is an Integrative Intuitive Counselor, Speaker, Author, Teacher, Radio Host, Actor, and Singer.
She graduated from Benjamin Franklin Senior High School, a public school for academically gifted in New Orleans. She has an A. B. in French from Duke University, did Master's work at University of North Carolina in Radio, Television, Motion Pictures, and attended T. U. T. O. R., a language institute in Geneva, Switzerland for French studies.
Diane is a teacher who writes. She's the author of "Born Aware: Stories & Insights from Those Spiritually Aware Since Birth," "Dream Interpretation for Beginners,," "Intuition for Beginners," "Invisible Blueprints," and numerous articles, in addition to being a contributor author to "The Long Way Around" and "Speaking Out."
She's an expert on Intuition and has taught it in private workshops/classes, Continuing Education (Duke University and University of Memphis), and corporate seminars. She also teaches Creativity, Listening Skills, Dream Work, Personal Empowerment, Guided Meditation, and Wellness classes.
Diane works one-on-one with clients in addition to teaching and formerly hosted a radio show, "Naturally Vibrant Living." She also facilitates corporate seminars and consults.
She graduated from Benjamin Franklin Senior High School, a public school for academically gifted in New Orleans. She has an A. B. in French from Duke University, did Master's work at University of North Carolina in Radio, Television, Motion Pictures, and attended T. U. T. O. R., a language institute in Geneva, Switzerland for French studies.
Diane is a teacher who writes. She's the author of "Born Aware: Stories & Insights from Those Spiritually Aware Since Birth," "Dream Interpretation for Beginners,," "Intuition for Beginners," "Invisible Blueprints," and numerous articles, in addition to being a contributor author to "The Long Way Around" and "Speaking Out."
She's an expert on Intuition and has taught it in private workshops/classes, Continuing Education (Duke University and University of Memphis), and corporate seminars. She also teaches Creativity, Listening Skills, Dream Work, Personal Empowerment, Guided Meditation, and Wellness classes.
Diane works one-on-one with clients in addition to teaching and formerly hosted a radio show, "Naturally Vibrant Living." She also facilitates corporate seminars and consults.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 31, 2014
Intriguing and ever so much fun to read, Diane Brandon's Dream Interpretation for Beginners: Understand the Wisdom of Your Sleeping Mind is a great way to understand the hidden symbols and meaning/s behind your dreams.
Who knows - maybe you'll become such an excellent dream interpreter after reading this book that you'll land a job at Hogwarts...! :)
Who knows - maybe you'll become such an excellent dream interpreter after reading this book that you'll land a job at Hogwarts...! :)
December 30, 2019
4.5 Stars
I have always had epic dreams and wanted to interpret them from the moment I realized that they might mean something important to me and my journey through life. During my search for meanings to my dream symbols, I have discovered that the metaphysical meanings have resonated with me the most.
In this book you get a lot of great guidance all in one place. It is great for beginners and I think it is a wonderful reference to keep on your shelf if you want something to refer to when stuck deciding what something means.
A lot of the little things make this great. For example, when you wake up from a dream just lie there and let your memory grasp the dream. It is easier to remember that way. If you get up raring to start your day, your dream will disappear in a a puff of lost memory. I particularly liked the section where you get to interpret the dream and then see how you did when you read what the author thought the dreams meant.
This is not a dream dictionary. Although, I think it might have been great if there had been something close to that. Maybe there is another title in the “For Beginners” series that will address that particular concern. I have my own favorite but I don’t believe it is appropriate to mention it here.
Like the author says, keep a journal of the most significant dreams. Not every dream will elicit a great deal of meaning. Most of your every day dreams will just be you working through your daily problems and these might not even be dreams you will remember. One nugget of truth is that you remember your dreams most when your sleeping is somehow interrupted while you are in mid-dream. Loved that nugget of truth.
If you love to read books that are for beginners, check out this series by Llewellyn. This Dream Interpretation book is a keeper for sure!
I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.
I have always had epic dreams and wanted to interpret them from the moment I realized that they might mean something important to me and my journey through life. During my search for meanings to my dream symbols, I have discovered that the metaphysical meanings have resonated with me the most.
In this book you get a lot of great guidance all in one place. It is great for beginners and I think it is a wonderful reference to keep on your shelf if you want something to refer to when stuck deciding what something means.
A lot of the little things make this great. For example, when you wake up from a dream just lie there and let your memory grasp the dream. It is easier to remember that way. If you get up raring to start your day, your dream will disappear in a a puff of lost memory. I particularly liked the section where you get to interpret the dream and then see how you did when you read what the author thought the dreams meant.
This is not a dream dictionary. Although, I think it might have been great if there had been something close to that. Maybe there is another title in the “For Beginners” series that will address that particular concern. I have my own favorite but I don’t believe it is appropriate to mention it here.
Like the author says, keep a journal of the most significant dreams. Not every dream will elicit a great deal of meaning. Most of your every day dreams will just be you working through your daily problems and these might not even be dreams you will remember. One nugget of truth is that you remember your dreams most when your sleeping is somehow interrupted while you are in mid-dream. Loved that nugget of truth.
If you love to read books that are for beginners, check out this series by Llewellyn. This Dream Interpretation book is a keeper for sure!
I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.
August 5, 2018
I have read a few books on dream interpretation however most of them only concentrate on certain patterns of dreams and one-way focus on interpreting them. However, Diane Brandon has (in a very interesting approach) defined it correctly that the interpretation will be different for different people. Rather than filling the book with jargons she sticks to 2 points (How do dream works & How should you interpret them) and explains them in a very sorted yet simple manner which keeps you hooked to the book till the end.
In all, an interesting concept presented in a very well sorted and simple approach.
In all, an interesting concept presented in a very well sorted and simple approach.
August 18, 2017
This book covers various types of dreams, how they are structured (or not), and strategies for personal interpretation. Unlike some dream books that try to impose a one-size-fits-all template or dream "dictionary," the material here will get you thinking about whether a dream is significant and how to peel it like an onion to discover layers of potential meaning.
There is a basic overview of what is currently known about stages of sleep (i.e. everything you learned in psych 101 and human biology is now obsolete) and when/how/why we dream. Brandon then walks the reader through dozens of dreams and her interpretations of them. Following that, she provides a couple dozen more dreams for the reader to attempt interpretation. Obviously, interpretation in subjective, but it was interesting to see how close my thoughts were to what she provided at the end of the chapter. The final section of the book contains suggestions for how to work with insights gained from dreams in waking life. There is a robust bibliography at the end.
There are likely some readers who will discount the book because of mention of past lives, premonition dreams or some other metaphysical thing that doesn't jive with their personal world order. For me, the term "life coach" sets my teeth on edge, so I'm not immune to that response in spite of being what my friends refer to as "woo-woo friendly." Try to get past the few parts that seem too woo-woo for you because there is a lot of material in this book that is both interesting and useful.
There is a basic overview of what is currently known about stages of sleep (i.e. everything you learned in psych 101 and human biology is now obsolete) and when/how/why we dream. Brandon then walks the reader through dozens of dreams and her interpretations of them. Following that, she provides a couple dozen more dreams for the reader to attempt interpretation. Obviously, interpretation in subjective, but it was interesting to see how close my thoughts were to what she provided at the end of the chapter. The final section of the book contains suggestions for how to work with insights gained from dreams in waking life. There is a robust bibliography at the end.
There are likely some readers who will discount the book because of mention of past lives, premonition dreams or some other metaphysical thing that doesn't jive with their personal world order. For me, the term "life coach" sets my teeth on edge, so I'm not immune to that response in spite of being what my friends refer to as "woo-woo friendly." Try to get past the few parts that seem too woo-woo for you because there is a lot of material in this book that is both interesting and useful.
February 10, 2021
Interesting and fun to read. A good guide to learning more about your dreams.
January 27, 2015
This review can also be read at Witch, Wine & Words.
This book was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was excited to read this book. I have always had really bizarre dreams. For as long as I could remember, they have seemed extremely nonsensical, but very vivid and easily recalled. In fact, Ms. Brandon practically quotes my thinking:
The Good
You can read a lot on the science of sleep and on dreaming as separate entities, but they were included here together in terms of how one's sleep actually impacts the dream itself. I thought including that information was a fantastic idea.
Most of what I was wanting to note about the book was informational. This means that I found the information relevant and meaningful. Despite a lot of the information being redundant, once you got to the sections of the book actually dedicated to dream interpretation, it was clearly explained and very well put.
The "tips" and "step-by-step" sections were fantastic. They include a number of things that could be easily forgotten during dream analysis that are very important to getting a good look at the big picture. Plus it breaks the interpretation process down into easily manageable steps that can help keep the analysis focused.
The Bad
I had a hard time getting going with this book. The introduction seemed unnecessary, more like an extended table of contents than anything else. A lot of information included was pretty redundant - information that can be found in your average dream interpretation book, or with a simple Google search on dreaming & interpretation. Beyond that, though, it was hard to feel engaged. There was some information included you might not find in your typical dream interpretation book, which I think was meant to make it stand out. However, it read more like filler rather than relevant information.
As a book for beginners, I feel there was a lot of information missing. In fact, it's almost as if this should have been a supplemental book to a more robust, complete book on dream interpretation. This book could have gone a lot further with me if the same information hadn't essentially been re-written in 3 different ways, and instead different, interesting information had been used to fill the pages instead.
And I understand that while to interpret dreams you have to be able to look beyond the obvious and analyze what's really going on underneath - in a book that's specifically cited "for beginners", you shouldn't have to engage that kind of analysis to get the most out of the book.
I do see the benefit in having example dreams as well as practice dreams - but having both wasted a lot of space I think could have been used in a much more valuable manner. For a beginner's book, I think she should have skipped right to the practice dreams and spent more time fleshing out the information in the Appendixes.
In the End...
The book itself is well-written, but highly flawed. As someone intimate with their own dreams and how deep, malleable and unique they can be, I was extremely disappointed in the material provided. It may have been personally interesting, but definitely not personally useful.
This book was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was excited to read this book. I have always had really bizarre dreams. For as long as I could remember, they have seemed extremely nonsensical, but very vivid and easily recalled. In fact, Ms. Brandon practically quotes my thinking:
"If it was bizarre, it wouldn't mean anything."
The Good
You can read a lot on the science of sleep and on dreaming as separate entities, but they were included here together in terms of how one's sleep actually impacts the dream itself. I thought including that information was a fantastic idea.
Most of what I was wanting to note about the book was informational. This means that I found the information relevant and meaningful. Despite a lot of the information being redundant, once you got to the sections of the book actually dedicated to dream interpretation, it was clearly explained and very well put.
The "tips" and "step-by-step" sections were fantastic. They include a number of things that could be easily forgotten during dream analysis that are very important to getting a good look at the big picture. Plus it breaks the interpretation process down into easily manageable steps that can help keep the analysis focused.
The Bad
I had a hard time getting going with this book. The introduction seemed unnecessary, more like an extended table of contents than anything else. A lot of information included was pretty redundant - information that can be found in your average dream interpretation book, or with a simple Google search on dreaming & interpretation. Beyond that, though, it was hard to feel engaged. There was some information included you might not find in your typical dream interpretation book, which I think was meant to make it stand out. However, it read more like filler rather than relevant information.
As a book for beginners, I feel there was a lot of information missing. In fact, it's almost as if this should have been a supplemental book to a more robust, complete book on dream interpretation. This book could have gone a lot further with me if the same information hadn't essentially been re-written in 3 different ways, and instead different, interesting information had been used to fill the pages instead.
And I understand that while to interpret dreams you have to be able to look beyond the obvious and analyze what's really going on underneath - in a book that's specifically cited "for beginners", you shouldn't have to engage that kind of analysis to get the most out of the book.
I do see the benefit in having example dreams as well as practice dreams - but having both wasted a lot of space I think could have been used in a much more valuable manner. For a beginner's book, I think she should have skipped right to the practice dreams and spent more time fleshing out the information in the Appendixes.
In the End...
The book itself is well-written, but highly flawed. As someone intimate with their own dreams and how deep, malleable and unique they can be, I was extremely disappointed in the material provided. It may have been personally interesting, but definitely not personally useful.
November 21, 2014
2.5 Dream Stars
Please note I am basing this off the Kindle Copy and the Hardback may actually alleviate most of my annoyance with this copy. This book is hard to move around in. Everything is the same size/font/color. I was hoping for a decode your dream message book it would be like this:
Chapter 1 : Dreams about Ex’s
Chapter 2: Dreams about strangers
Chapter 3: Dreams about death
Etc .
But its set up like this:
Chapter 1: Why Dreams work
Chapter 2: benefits of sleep
Chapter 3: What happens when you sleep ?
Its not the book the blurb led me to believe. It has a few interesting dreams in Italics but I couldn’t relate to any of them so I really didn’t get any help there. I guess if I focus on the phrase Wisdom of your Sleeping Mind and maybe looked at this as a science only book? I don’t really know. This book isn’t for me.
Alas, I am too much of a beginner to even benefit with this book.
Please note I am basing this off the Kindle Copy and the Hardback may actually alleviate most of my annoyance with this copy. This book is hard to move around in. Everything is the same size/font/color. I was hoping for a decode your dream message book it would be like this:
Chapter 1 : Dreams about Ex’s
Chapter 2: Dreams about strangers
Chapter 3: Dreams about death
Etc .
But its set up like this:
Chapter 1: Why Dreams work
Chapter 2: benefits of sleep
Chapter 3: What happens when you sleep ?
Its not the book the blurb led me to believe. It has a few interesting dreams in Italics but I couldn’t relate to any of them so I really didn’t get any help there. I guess if I focus on the phrase Wisdom of your Sleeping Mind and maybe looked at this as a science only book? I don’t really know. This book isn’t for me.
Alas, I am too much of a beginner to even benefit with this book.
January 31, 2015
The book didn't get through to me in the beginning and I had a kind of a bad impression, as I progressed deeper and deeper, it turned out to be both insightful and interesting.
It has a lot of details about the act of dreaming, which gives you a good introduction to understanding & interpreting your dreams.
It is a good reference, and delivers the promise of being dedicated to beginners.
on a personal note, Since I have researched the topic extensively, there are some parts that I don't personally agree with, but I wouldn't consider as flaws in the book it self, but a different point of view instead.
It has a lot of details about the act of dreaming, which gives you a good introduction to understanding & interpreting your dreams.
It is a good reference, and delivers the promise of being dedicated to beginners.
on a personal note, Since I have researched the topic extensively, there are some parts that I don't personally agree with, but I wouldn't consider as flaws in the book it self, but a different point of view instead.
March 9, 2016
Interesting information about the sleep cycles and how the brain works at night.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews