Book Review: The
Hypnotic Use of Waking Dreams By Paul W. Schenk, Psy. D.
Crown House Ltd. Wales, 2006
Reviewed
by Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D., L.P.C.
Have you
ever fantasized about being someone else, or wondered who
you might be, if you were living at another time and in
another place? Do you ever dream that you are living a life
other than your own? In The Hypnotic Use of Waking
Dreams psychotherapist Paul W. Schenk explores the
therapeutic and spiritual implications of imagined
alternative lives. Through “waking dreams” Schenk invites
his clients to imagine themselves as another person, living
another life, as a “dream character.” The dream life
provides the client’s medium for working through current
life issues and problems from another perspective.
Schenk
hypnotically guides his clients to imagine being the main
character in a fictional life---one made up entirely by the
client. The client describes significant events in this
imagined life and then narrates the dream character’s death
and after-life experiences. Schenk believes that the true
power of the waking dream begins in the after-life episode,
a time of philosophical reflection and spiritual
exploration.
The author
draws from the work of Raymond A. Moody Jr. M.D., who, in
the 1970s wrote an astonishing bestseller, Life after
Life, in which he documented interviews with people who
recounted their near-death-experiences (NDEs). Moody found
that NDEs contain common features: awareness of death,
feelings of peace, a sense of bodily separation, entering a
dark region, seeing or being enveloped in light,
encountering spirit entities or deceased loved ones, and a
return to the physical body.
Schenk tells
his readers that when his clients describe the death of the
dream character, they report experiences similar to those of
an NDE. Schenk’s tenet is that by imagining the after-life
experience of an imaginary self, the client can reflect upon
the deeper meanings and purposes of his or her own life. He
asks, “What did you learn from this life?”
The waking
dream is reminiscent of Dorothy’s adventure in the Wizard
of Oz. Waking dreams serve many purposes for clients:
-
Clients discover previously unrecognized faulty
assumptions about a problem.
- They
can safely try out new solutions in a virtual reality.
- They
can develop abilities and relationships they lack.
- They
see their problems from another perspective.
- They
establish a cue to remind them to carry their insights
forward into their real lives.
- They
develop insights into the dynamics of their current
relationships.
- They
use the waking dream to address metaphysical,
existential, and spiritual issues.
Schenk asks
his clients to dialog with the dream character, to see
parallels between the dream life and the client’s real life,
and to discuss the implications of dream content. He also
asks his clients to identify and converse with “spirit
guides” representing intuitive parts of the client’s own
personality.
The book
contains several case examples of waking dream work, with
transcripts of the client-therapist conversation (often
across multiple sessions). These case examples illustrate
methods of trance induction, the use of guided imagery, and
hypnotic language patterns. Dr. Milton H. Erickson’s
influence is evident in the use of metaphor, anchoring
resourceful states, ambiguity, a permissive approach,
open-ended questions, reflective listening, utilization, and
client-initiated discovery. Each waking dream unfolds
spontaneously as a teaching tale, created by the client.
Throughout, the therapist facilitates the process by asking
questions, encouraging exploration and curiosity, and
suggesting choices and possibilities. Clients choose their
own dreamscapes, work through dilemmas in their own way,
answer their own questions, find their own meanings and
interpretations, and draw their own conclusions.
The case
examples include presenting problems such as trauma and
grief, forgiveness, belief change, life transitions,
phobias, and undesirable personality traits. These examples
illustrate what Schenk calls “the overlap between
psychotherapy and spirituality.” He also reflects on the
profound effect that 20 years of this work has had on his
own life, reporting that it has led him to examine his
thinking on past lives and reincarnation, the existence of
spirit guides, one’s after-life, out-of-body experiences,
and multiple personalities. Indeed, in reading the case
transcripts, it is often hard to tell what, in each client’s
story, is imagined and what might be true “paranormal”
phenomena. Or is it the case that all “paranormal”
phenomena are simply figments of the imagination and a game
played by a creative subconscious?
Hypnotherapists, especially those who work with metaphor and
guided imagery, will likely be drawn to working with waking
dreams, and will enjoy this book. Like one viewing a
Rorschach test, each reader will find something uniquely
intriguing about this book, depending on one’s model of what
constitutes the human personality and mind. Some will find
in this book much evidence of the subconscious mind at
play. Others will see this work as highly spiritual, giving
a glimpse into the latent supernatural abilities in each
individual. Some readers will see in this book evidence of
various therapeutic approaches and theories of personality,
such as psychodynamics, ego state theory, Rogers’ client-centered
approach, Gestalt Therapy, and of course, Erickson’s
language patterns.
In The
Hypnotic Use of Waking Dreams the line between reality
and fantasy becomes slightly blurred, and entices us to ask
questions about the mind and soul, about life and
after-life. The answers are elusive, but the questions are
sheer delight!
To purchase
The Hypnotic Use of Waking Dreams, go to
www.chpus.com. For orders outside the U.S. and Canada,
go to
www.crownhouse.co.uk.
Reviewed by:
Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D. is a licensed
mental health counselor, psychotherapist and life coach
practicing in Springfield, Virginia. She is Executive
Director of the National Board for Certified Clinical
Hypnotherapists at
www.natboard.com. She has recently published The
Weight, Hypnotherapy and You Weight Reduction Program: An
NLP and Hypnotherapy Practitioner Manual with Crown
House. Her website is
www.engagethepower.com.
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