“The Mystique of Dreams: A Search for Utopia Through Senoi Dream Theory” by G. William Domhoff

Abstract

This book begins with an analysis of “Senoi dream theory,”a therapeutic praxis introduced to Americans by Kilton Stewart, allegedly on the basis of his ethnographic work with indigenous hill peoples of Malaysia. (The theory is that a nonhierarchical supportive community in which people freely discuss their dreams can teach dreamers to confront and overcome their own destructive feelings in lucid dreams, resulting in complete sanity and the abolition of social strife.) Domhoff’s discussion moves on to consider the place of dreams in American life and science.