Nocturnes: On Listening to Dreams.

Abstract

Lippmann, Paul. Nocturnes: On Listening to Dreams. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press, 2000. xii + 264 pp. $45.00. Writing like a poet, with the wisdom of a rabbi, in the tradition of the Hebrew prophets, Lippmann argues against the current practice in psychoanalysis of ignoring dreams. Lamenting that the use of dreams in therapy has fallen out of favor to be replaced by over-preoccupation with the doctor-patient relationship, transference, and counter-transference, he calls for a return to the traditional roots of the profession laid down by Freud and his use of dreams. Lippmann's wish/dream for the eventual outcome of his writing this book is a return of psychoanalysts to the use of dreams' mysterious, inexplicable images in their practices, treating dreams with dignity, respect, lightness, play, and better manners than previously. Otherwise, he warns that the dream as a tool for deeper human understanding will remain as it is currently in the domain of Jungians, neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists, anthropologists, computer scientists, linguists, New Age practitioners, lay groups, individuals, and members of the Association for the Study of Dreams. In summary, dreams and concern with consciousness is experiencing an expanding market whereas psychoanalysis remains relatively silent, 100 years after Freud opened the gate to their scientific study with Interpretation of Dreams. Nocturnes, however, offers a rich discourse on dreams for all interested. Lippmann reaches out to a broadly defined audience involved in dream work whatever the disciple or approach. Using Freudian theory as the sheet anchor for his exploration, each chapter examines different aspects of dreaming from wish fulfillment, use of dreams throughout recorded history by all cultures and religions, dream disguises, the fate of unremembered dreams, and many other aspects of dreaming. Lists of references and recommended reading illustrate his grasp of current trends in dream research and analysis. Lippmann skillfully and unobtrusively integrates scientific findings from neuroscience, sleep labs, anthropology, and New Age approaches to further his thesis that dreams are crucial to human understanding and change. Merged throughout are examples of dreams and his use of them in his psychoanalytic practice as a "dream conversation." The telling of the dream always changes the topic of any analyst-patient discussion, raising new and relevant information. It is ironic that Lippmann's last chapter, "On Freedom and Dreams," discusses psychoanalysis at the brink of the new 21st century in terms of its contribution to helping people deal with radical change, arguing that the dream conversation facilitates that process. Yet, from the viewpoint of a psychologist whose doctoral training came in the late 1970s, rather than Lippmann's experience during the early 1950s, he does not confront the power shifts of the 20th century's last quarter. New definitions of freedom, the expansion of individual choice and options emerged, facilitated by enormous social and economic change. One of the many consequences of the civil rights and women's movements and globalization has been the shattering of the intellectual and moral monopoly of the white, European patriarchal hegemony. The use of dreams became democratized through the mass media, neuroscience, New Age practitioners, and lay groups. Authority as the sole interpreter of a dream's meaning slipped out the professional psychoanalyst's side door to wander in many directions, finally to come home to rest with the dreamer. This new freedom that the dreamer alone can know what a dream means for her understanding of emerging life choices was articulated by researchers, writers, and initiators of lay dream groups such as Ann Faraday, Ph.D. (Dream Power, New York: Berkley Medallion Books, 1972) and the Unitarian-Universalist minister, Jeremy Taylor (Dream Work, New York: Paulist Press, 1983) . This powerful technique has "gone public" to become a common tool for personal and spiritual development without the need for or aid from any professional interpreter. Yet there is room for all who wish to use dream work in whatever setting. Most seekers of inner peace require teachers, clinicians, guides, therapists, dream group members, or psychoanalysts. Lippmann's elegant, intellectually rich discourse invites us all to expand our understanding of the many implications of dreaming. The pleasure of reading his language combined with the breadth of his knowledge prompts me to suggest this volume for recreational as well as professional reading. We all are blessed by his concern for the revival of dream conversations in psychoanalysis. Paula Anne Franklin, Ph.D. President, Franklin Behavioral Science Consultants; Baltimore, Maryland