The Individual and His Dreams

by Calvin Springer Hall, Vernon J. Nordby

A scholary approach to studying dreams

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1972

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book in a basement and took it up to read since it suits my current interest in dreams. Unlike many other dream books, this one takes a very clinical and systematic approach. Analysis occurs through the recollection and subsequent sorting of dream content. Different groupings of content can then be analyzed based on frequency (dreaming of cars in one out of every three dreams, for example, or dreaming about your boss more than your husband). One interesting aspect of this book is that they use examples from dreams from thousands of different people, from criminals to schoolteachers to Franz Kafka. They use these dreams to explain the researchers' methods of analysis and interpretation. The authors make a case for the personal value of dreams, and that the content of a dream is meaningful to the individual. They also assert that, although there are some common themes in dreams, the true meaning of a dream is subjective and objects or situations will hold different meanings to different people. Although this book is quite old, I appreciated its logical and rational approach to dream interpretation. It presented a system for the categorization and analysis of dreams that I could implement at home, if I wanted to put in the effort. for now, I'll continue to record my dreams and use some of the ideas in this book to gain a clearer glimpse of what, if anything, my subconscious may be expressing.