Wake Up to Your Dreams

Sheree Haughian is an elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Dufferin County Board of Education.

You arrive at school one morning to discover you’ve somehow forgotten
to put on your clothes! The dream of being naked in public is a common
one, according to psychotherapist Sandra Collier. It can represent a
feeling of being exposed or vulnerable, and it’s one of the many
popular dream themes analyzed in Wake Up to Your Dreams.

The book begins with a question-and-answer format that explores the
intriguing world of REM sleep and the subconscious. This is followed by
comments on familiar recurring dreams, advice on setting up dream
journals and dream buddies, and suggestions on how a dreamer can master
the whole perplexing process—a definite asset for those dealing with a
cycle of nightmares or wanting to capture a particularly pleasant dream
into the daytime memory. Excerpts from the dream experience of children
are included to provide a real-life anchor to the fleeting vision of
sleep.

Young people are fascinated with “The Other,” as sales for books
about the supernatural indicate. What’s admirable about this book is
the way it manages to present dreams as a natural—even
controllable—aspect of life and to steer clear of the occult and
bizarre. Recommended.