Dreams can be one our most valuable sources of self-knowledge - if we understand how to interpret their meaning and symbolism.

Even if we awake from a nightmare that has seemed all too real, or a vivid dream teeming with what may be significant imagery, it is rare for us to reflect on it beyond breakfast, or make it more than the subject of an idle chat with friends. From the five stages of sleep to the effects of sleep deprivation, from Freud's legacy to the work of contemporary dream specialists, a wide range of material unfolds, all beautifully and lucidly described.

Paul Roland explores:

The science of sleep and dreams

The effect of sleep deprivation

Sensory deprivation

Lucid dreams

The psychology of sleep

Freud's legacy and Jung and the House of Psyche

Find out about waking dreams and dreams of prophecy, prediction, disaster, and inspiration or consult the Dream Directory for a closer analysis of more than 200 detailed dream scenarios.