The hidden power of dreams - Dr Robin Royston

Have you ever woken suddenly from a vivid or terrifying dream, uncertain where the dream ends and reality begins? Since the publication of Freud'sThe Interpretation of Dreamsin 1900, there have been enormous scientific advances in our understanding of the nature of the mind. Yet there is still no agreement on one key question: why do we dream? InThe Hidden Power of DreamsDr Robin Royston challenges our most fundamental ideas about dreams and what they are trying to tell us.

Increasingly, in this age of spiritual poverty people are searching for a more rewarding, imaginative way of life. Instinctively, we know that we can influence our world and improve our own lives. So how can dreams help?

As Dr Royston draws on the real-life experiences of people who have had unusual and disturbing dreams, he describes how, when we dream, we slip into a hidden world where nature takes control and where the dream, not the dreamer, holds the key to understanding. With information no longer 'filtered' or viewed critically, the brain freewheels in neutral, spinning pictures around problems in an attempt to solve them. Dr Royston also shows us how to approach decoding our dreams, and explores how our inner mind can unlock our creative depths.

Whether mildly engaging or horrifically disturbing, if interpreted accurately, our dreams can help us to solve complex problems and reassure or, equally importantly, warn us. Life will always be unpredictable, and forewarned is forearmed. Dreams may even have the power to offer clues to illness and, in exceptional cases, save lives.