The Dreaming Universe: A Mind-Expanding Journey Into the Realm Where Psyche and Physics Meet

In his most boldy speculative inquiry to date, physicist Wolf ( Taking the Quantum Leap ) argues that dreams are a vital aspect of evolution, enabling an individual to develop a concept of self. The dream, in his formulation, is a map of possibility, a realm where synchronistic (i.e., noncausal yet meaningfully connected) events occur, producing self-awareness. Our dream images, even if we don't remember them, invade our waking consciousness as patterns that shape our lives, he insists. Wolf posits an ``imaginal realm,'' halfway between material and mental reality, that manifests in lucid dreams (wherein an alert dreamer can control unfolding dream events), in near-death experiences, and possibly in UFO abductions. In this mind-stretching synthesis that challenges accepted beliefs across many fields, Wolf bolsters his thesis that dreams connect with physical reality by drawing on quantum physics, the works of Freud and Jung, modern dream research and Australian aboriginals' concept of an eternal ``dreamtime.'' (May)