Dreams and How to Guide Them

Book excerpt: The first unabridged English translation of a classic work on dreams by an author regarded as the father of lucid dreaming. First published anonymously in 1867, Dreams and How to Guide Them is the lost classic of lucid dreaming—that is, the art of becoming aware that one is dreaming and then continuing to dream, whether to fly, have erotic encounters, or just explore the dream world further. It has long been a rare and legendary work. Freud knew of it, but never managed to find a copy, and surrealist André Breton begins his own book The Communicating Vessels by discussing it This is the first complete English translation—there was a heavily abridged edition in 1982, much-loved and also rare—and it is now published to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Hervey de Saint-Denys. This new edition is edited and introduced by Phil Baker, who traces the author’s life and connects his work with Tibetan Buddhist dream practices, and surrealism, as well as to more recent research in lucid dreaming.