The Art of Transforming Nightmares: Harness the Creative and Healing Power of Bad Dreams, Sleep Paralysis, and Recurring Nightmares

by Clare R. Johnson PhD

Overview

Transform Nightmares into Healing, Creative, Spiritual Gifts

The Art of Transforming Nightmares is a friendly, hands-on guide to help you tap into the immensely rich gifts that bad dreams offer up when we work with them in healing ways. Dr. Clare Johnson, world-leading expert on lucid dreaming, shares her best practical tips for overcoming nightmares and a unique quiz that identifies your personal sleeper-dreamer type so you can fast-track to the transformative techniques that work best for you.

With forty-five practices and fifteen tailor-made nightmare solution programs, this guidebook helps you set up your own unique program for transforming your dream life. It shares practical tools to reduce nightmare frequency, manage sleep paralysis, resolve distressing dreams, and release fear. You'll tap into the deep wisdom of your unconscious mind and discover how to transform your night of sleep into a beautiful, healing refuge so that you wake up energized and ready to lead a life of happiness and wonder.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738762906
Publisher:	Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Publication date:	02/08/2021
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Clare R. Johnson, PhD, is past president and CEO of the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD). In 2007 she became the first person in the world to do a PhD on lucid dreaming as a creative writing tool (University of Leeds, UK). A global lucidity teacher, Dr. Clare Johnson has developed hundreds of original techniques to help people access their unconscious intelligence via the inner world of dreams and sleep. A lifelong, frequent lucid dreamer, she has actively investigated the world of sleep for nearly fifty years.

Clare is the author of the acclaimed book Llewellyn's Complete Book of Lucid Dreaming, which combines psychology with cutting-edge science. Clare's work in the field of sleep and dreams has been featured in documentaries, anthologies, radio shows, magazines, podcasts, and television. She speaks at international venues on topics as diverse as sleep intelligence, creativity, conscious dying, and healing dreams. Her book The Art of Transforming Nightmares proposes lucid dreaming as the world's most innovative insomnia solution and offers techniques to resolve nightmares. Elixir of Sleep offers a unique take on sleep as both a biological necessity and a spiritual journey.

A novelist, prize-winning short story writer, and poet, Clare is the author of two lucid dream–inspired novels (as Clare Jay). Breathing in Colour was written as part of her doctorate and looks at how lucid dreaming can heal trauma. Dreamrunner explores lucidity as a potential cure for violent moving nightmares. A passionate advocate of dreamwork as a way to empower children, Clare coedited a book on children's dreams and nightmares, Sleep Monsters and Superheroes. Her book The Art of Lucid Dreaming is a highly practical, how-to guide with a popular lucidity quiz. Dream Therapy (US title is Mindful Dreaming) explores the transformative effects of dreamwork and offers techniques to unwrap the meaning of dreams.

You may feel inspired to join Clare on her lucid dreaming retreats. These usually have a beautiful ocean setting, and the creative, healing, and spiritual aspects of sleep and dreams are explored. For more information, see www.DeepLucidDreaming.com/retreats or contact [e-mail].

Clare is the founder of an online school, Deep Lucid Dreaming Video Courses. These on-demand classes and live workshops are enjoyed by thousands of people and include downloadable meditations for lucid dreaming and blissful sleep (www.DeepLucidDreaming.com/classes). Clare offers live workshops, a specialised Lucid Star mentoring programme, and one-to-one client sessions on sleep, dreams, nightmares, and lucidity (www.DeepLucidDreaming.com/private-mentoring-sessions).

Sleep & Deep Lucid Dreaming is a new podcast with Dr. Clare Johnson. It offers two free audio classes, "Tips for Deep Sleep" and "How to Lucid Dream," as well as conversations to inspire you to tap into your inner genius and fall in love with sleep. Tune in on your favourite podcast platform or visit www.DeepLucidDreaming.com/podcast.

On Clare's website, DeepLucidDreaming.com, you are welcome to subscribe to receive e-books and a free guided meditation for blissful sleep.

Table of Contents

List of Practices xiii

Disclaimer xvii

Acknowledgments xix

Introduction 1

Part 1 Understanding Nightmares

Chapter 1 What Are Nightmares and How Can They Help Us? 13

Chapter 2 Understanding the Symbolic Language of Nightmares 39

Part 2 Illuminating the Darkness of "Bad" Dreams

Chapter 3 Exploring the Dark Shadow for Healing and Transformation 63

Chapter 4 Rediscover Your Inner Child Through Nightmares 93

Part 3 Nightmare Solutions for Healing & Transformation

Chapter 5 The Nightmare Quiz and Nightmare Solution Programmes 123

Chapter 6 Healing from Recurring and Traumatic Nightmares 151

Chapter 7 Sleep Paralysis and the Art of Transforming Fear 179

Part 4 Spiritual Nightmares & Transcendence

Chapter 8 Nightmares That Transcend Time, Space, and Death 209

Chapter 9 The Luminous Shadow: Spiritual Nightmares 237

Conclusion 263

Appendix I Unique Nightmare Solution Programme Template 271

Appendix II Examples of Unique Nightmare Solution Programmes 273

Bibliography 277

Resources 289

Index 295

Editorial Reviews

"Dr. Clare Johnson has firmly established herself as the Queen of Lucidity… a brilliant book that will show you there is no darkness within—only light unseen."—Andrew Holecek, author of Dreams of Light

"This is a golden masterpiece on nightmares! A magnificent resource for anyone interested in emotional healing and spiritual transformation."—Anna-Karin Björklund, author of The Dream Alchemist

"This revolutionary book empowers the reader with the little-known secret that nightmares can be transformative, healing gifts."—Dr. Angel Morgan, President of the International Association for the Study of Dreams

"I love Dr. Clare Johnson's suggestion that nightmares are gifts in ugly wrapping paper."—Robert Moss, bestselling author of Conscious Dreaming

"Dr. Johnson is a 'how-to' guru when it comes to enhancing dream lucidity and the use of dreams for healing. You'll learn all you need for real growth and transformation."—Dr. Kimberly Mascaro, author of Extraordinary Dreams

"The Art of Transforming Nightmares is a personalized and practical guidebook that can help us transform terror to transcendence and confusion to creativity. This book is essential medicine for the terrified soul."—Dr. Rubin Naiman, author of Healing Night

"The Art of Transforming Nightmares is a ground-breaking book which presents nightmares as tools for growth and a way to transform the lives of the dreamers. Highly recommended!"—Jean Campbell, coeditor of Sleep Monsters & Superheroes

"Dr. Clare Johnson treats nightmares as the great gift that they are: with love, tenderness, and curiosity. A reminder for any nightmare sufferer of the golden opportunity that every unpleasant dream offers."—Jordi Borràs García, psychologist and founder of www.mondesomnis.com

"From traumatic dreams to sleep paralysis attacks to suicide-related nightmares to insomnia, Dr. Clare Johnson has synthesized decades of dreamwork experience into a rich self-help toolbox."—Professor Tore Nielsen, Director of Dream & Nightmare Lab, Université de Montréal

"Offers a wealth of exercises and tools to empower the dreamer… A must read for anyone troubled by occasional or frequent nightmares or bad dreams."—Robert Hoss, Director of the DreamScience Foundation

"There are few reliable guides for nightmares, so Dr. Johnson's book is more than helpful: it is essential reading. I hope this book goes far – I particularly love how she splits the different kinds of nightmare types up and provides recipes for each. Very practical."—Ryan Hurd, author of Sleep Paralysis: A Guide to Hypnagogic Visions and Visitors of the Night

"Instead of trying to banish or avoid scary dreams, Johnson teaches us how to explore the messages and emotions those nightmares bring us. From monsters to zombies, trauma, anxiety, and depression, from PTSD to night terrors to sleep paralysis, she shows us how all dreams can be a source of healing and transformation. A readable and easy-to-reference manual for all kinds of sleepers and dreamers."—Laurel Clark, author of Intuitive Dreaming

From the Publisher