General awareness. [Night Vision by Theresa Cheung]

Night Vision is a visual field guide to the richly rewarding art of dream interpretation. Have you ever dreamt that you were flying? That you missed your flight? Or that you got a radical new haircut? Begin by learning the techniques, including getting a good night’s sleep, recalling your dreams and understanding the symbolic language through which they unfold. Then you can start interpreting: over 50 common dream themes are explained with beautiful accompanying illustrations. Understand what your mind is telling you when you’re asleep, and you’ll unlock your true potential when you’re awake. Night Vision holds the answers.

I know that dreams are important. I know they often have messages meant for the self, concerning the self or the world. But probably the general Christian tendency towards being aware of the broadness of existence while never daring to delve into the deeper hidden truths held has led to the general aloofness I have towards further inquisition into anything even loosely "spiritual." Even though the Bible has many example of dream interpreting and other esoteric spiritual activities, one is told not to delve, not to participate. I chalk it up to denominational differences and selective translations. That's not to say that dream interpretation has ever had that sense, but it's felt in the same vain. Not ever off limits, never off limits, explicitly, but more along the lines of don't go looking to deeply lest you end up on the wrong track. 

Suffice it to say, I finally took the leap with Theresa Cheung's Night Vision. Funny that I make all that talk of separation and justification, and the author is from a family of psychics and spiritualists. But everyone has dreams. And more than anything, what I'm taking away from my read is that interpretation is subjective. Logical interpretations of dream themes can have application, but individual experience and interpretation is paramount. As I read I felt somewhat deficient. I couldn't recall many dreams with a majority of the themes. I don't have flying dreams, instead I'm a child running through a maze of those circular clothing racks. And doughnuts (at least used to) always pop up. 

Personally, I couldn't connect with most of  the general interpretations of the highlighted themes. And some of them raised eyebrows, but I think the format of the book and the general logic behind the interpretation made sense to me. But what was emphasized and what stood out was the need to first remember dreams to interpret them. I had planned to read the book and trial out some of the practices, but I...just didn't, for some reason? I think I'm more interested in the dreaming state. Probably to do with my epilepsy, but still. I wish there'd been more focus on remembering dreams. Unless one leaves a heavy impression, I generally don't remember my dreams enough to consider them. But in the future I will try to be proactive in telling myself, before sleep, that I will remember my dream. In meditating on dreams as I wake up, perhaps incorporating what exercises were provided. 4 stars from me.

Night Vision was published October 12, 2020.