Dreaming at the Gates: How Dreams Guide Us

I enjoyed the exploration page after each chapter to look into how the teachings can pertain to my dreams and offered insight of great value. With offering different approaches to the unconscious as well as waking life. I also liked the description of Jung’s and Freud‘s relationship between the two it helps me understand their differences and appreciate where I connect to my experiences. And different ways they were brought up to see what insecurities we can have depending on what was lacking from caregivers ( which I have experience with)I used to have night terrors and reoccurring dreams and when I really dove into looking at what those were it helped me understand more when they finally shifted.A quote that stuck out..”Acknowledging our shadow parts, to treat them honorably at the same time diminishing the harmful impact on your life.”Honoring our Darkside seems to allow me to except it and move through it much faster than resisting it. Thank you very much! this is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it.

This is a wonderful introduction for how to understand your dreams. It's intended for anyone, new or experienced with dreams, to explore the meaning of their own dreams. And there's something for everyone: for those interested in the dream work of Carl Jung or medium Jane Roberts and to those interested in the interviews with ordinary people about their dreams. I especially liked the questions at the end of each chapter, which help readers begin or continue a dream journal. This book is a rich resource!

This book will be a meaningful read for those just beginning a relationship with their dreams as well as those who have been engaging with dreams for some time. It is well organized, offering samples of dreams from a variety of people and age groups and suggesting exercises and reflections. Kathryn Ridall, a psychotherapist in Ventura, CA, brings her therapeutic sensibility to her writing and readers will appreciate that. Readers may wish to check out her other books as well as her poetry.

Kathryn Riadall's book, Dreaming at the Gates, is a gift for all seekers, people who want to explore the territory beneath their everyday lives. She gives us a world of ways to work with our dreams. I loved the practice of giving titles to my dreams. It allowed me, when I came back a month later, to immediately know the kernel of what the dream was all about. If you are looking for a way to creatively explore your inner world, this book gives a multitude of options.

Kathryn Ridall’s book is a compact resource for anyone interested in or curious about dreams. It acts as both a how to guide and an invitation. Ridall illustrates a deep understanding of and respect for the various ways people work with their dreams. She includes examples from “primitive” cultures to Jung and Freud, from a prison dream group to a family that begins their day by cuddling in bed and sharing their adventures of the night. Sharing dreams in person, in a private dream journal or piggy backing on dreams you read about in this book can be an experience that deepens your connection to others and to yourself. Kathren Ridall invites us to join her in the quest for night wisdom, to begin or to continue our journey of exploration and inspiration. I think it is a trip you will both value and enjoy.

I dreamt I learned the cause of my insomnia, and woke amazed and grateful. I hadn't even finished the book when this major health challenge fixed itself from within. Kathryn Riddal's clarity on dreamwork is the key that inspired my breakthrough. Laid out better than many another volume on subconscious symbol and wisdom that I have studied, this 180-page slim book provides blissfully brief summaries of what any dreamer needs to grasp.Now in my work with clients, they too are benefitting as insights emerge from the simple yet profound steps Kathryn spells out for our self-knowledge.- Amanda McQuade Crawford, Herbalist, LMFT

Even for those who have worked extensively with dreams or read books by and about Carl Jung or Jane Roberts/Seth, Kathryn Ridall’s chapter on these pioneers is especially insightful. She provides a context and chronology helpful in grasping the arc of their growth and contributions. Her approach is fresh, wry, grounding and encouraging. Claudia Lapp, Eugene, Oregon.

I have been tracking my own dreams in journals, groups, and individually for years now. I am also a therapist. I found this book treated each topic in a respectful and skillful way. I would recommend it to a client.