Tracks in the Wilderness of Dreaming

by Robert Bosnak

In Tracks in the Wilderness of Dreaming Bosnak teaches us to reevaluate our dreams in a new light, and to utilize our dream interpretations as never before. As an outgrowth of his work with Australian aborigines and twenty-five years of leading dream groups internationally, renowned Jungian therapist Robert Bosnak has developed a highly visceral and tactile method of reentering and exploring dreams as real worlds--in a communally accessible, cathartic, and transformative experience. In this book Bosnak offers all the practical tools and techniques with which to explore our inner lives--and to change the way we look at our dreams and ourselves forever.

Genres: Psychology, Anthropology

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[M Void · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, if you enjoy dream psychology. Bosnak reads like a professional. He narrates his journey through the Australian wilds and the wilds of his and his patients' minds like someone with years of experience.

His methods of analysis are of personal interest to me. I'd never thought about identifying with my dream characters. Naturally, I assumed they were fragments of my mind personified, but Bosnak invites us to take a step further, asking us to step into the bodies of the dream figures, feel what they feel, see what they see. Only then does he ask us to interpret their meaning through importation and exportation.

I enjoyed the heck out of this book. However, I wish he had written more about his time in the Pitjantjatjara region. I'd be fascinated to know more about the Aboriginal dream world and the spirit doctor, Ilyatjari's, practice, and his thoughts about the reality of dream worlds.

Are dreamscapes real places like Bosnak posits? Do our dream characters live on once we wake or do they fade back into the unconscious? This book leaves many questions unanswered, but in the end, it sparks spirals of thought that I'll certainly lose myself in over the following days.

I give this book a formidable 8/10.

[Simão Cortês · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book Bosnak's ideas come to full bloom. Honestly, I thought the Little Course in Dreams was amazing but it actually pales in comparison to this one.
The book has three main points that are extremely important to me:

1- Bosnak's interaction with an Australian Aboginal dream doctor, in which he has an extremely interesting and non-judgemental exchange about what it means to dream in the West and what it means to dream in Australia.

2- Bosnak's idea that the interest work in dreams would be a conscience exchange with other characters in the dream so the person can experience fully the different sides of the story and break illusions they create about their own dreaming. I am attempting this practice based on Bosnak's instructions and it is amazing.

3- Bosnak's long chapter about working with your own dreaming and techniques to overcome resistances and deal with the various aspects of dreams.

It is noteworthy that throughout the book Bosnak admits that he has no idea what dreams are and does not attempt to make an explanation out of thin air. He recognizes certain regularities across dreamers in the world (we all believe a dream to be true most of the times, we perceive other characters to have a consciousness different than our own, etc) but he does not go much further than that, and he should not. The non-judgemental way he approaches material, the ability he has to deal with mystery and his cultural sensitivity make Bosnak a very rare author indeed. And it is amazing.

[Josh Clement · Rating 5 out of 5]

If the "imperative of dreamwork (is) to press deeper into the sensitive areas that repel consciousness", Bosnak has done so with his own life in this book. It's an excellent mix of biography, practice and theory.
Bosnak cuts a bit of a sad figure. His intelligence seems to misfire and backfire a bit. But he's obviously skilled at dreamwork, and I think the world is better off that he's devoted so much time to it. I deeply enjoyed his style of writing too - He uses everything from film to Scuba diving to impressionistic painting to shine light on different surfaces of dreams.

[David Loiseaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing work of both dream analysis and biography. I have tried his method of analyzing dream sequences with much success. He also led me to read the works of Henri Corbin on the Imaginal world and Ibn Arabi. I highly recommend this to anyone dream work.

[Zoe Zuniga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good ideas on working with your dreams.

[Grace Dadoyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book on the study of dreams and how to use dreams for knowledge and insight. Makes me want to read his other books too.