Siivola, M: Understanding Dreams

Understanding Dreams: The Gateway to Dreams Without Dream Interpretation is an enlightening, accessible text that helps the lay person examine and understand his or her dreams without any formal training or psychological experience. Inspired by dream research pioneer Montague Ullman's dream group approach, this book breaks down the steps of this process for readers to fully understand dreams and apply their meanings to daily life. Translated from the original Finnish, Understanding Dreams makes it easy to access dreams with a fearless, hands-on approach that anyone can learn and master.

Ideal for dreamers in all cultures, for readers put off by traditional dream psychology and dream interpretation, and even professional therapists, this book avoids clichéd terms and approaches, focusing instead on the dreamer and how dreams can help break down the thoughts and feelings we are normally too busy to analyze. Inside, you will find commonly asked questions about dream interpretation, the history of dream psychology and its researchers, the dream group approach, and dreams in relation to the universe and our world.


"Siivola writes journalistically lucid and easily readable text, divided into short chapters.[...] Understanding Dreams is an interesting book not only because of dreams, but also because of its life philosophy, art and poetry." -Jonimatti Joutsijärvi, Parnassus Literary Magazine

"The most interesting chapter in the book is the last one; Dreams and the Universe, which rises up to lyrical heights, examining from the dream viewpoint, among other topics, creativity, art, and visions born in scientific domains." -Pia Ronkainen, Oulu University Student Magazine

MARKKU SIIVOLA is a doctor of psychiatry who practiced liaison and rehabilitation psychiatry in Finland and Sweden before becoming an approved dream group leader. He has been nominated as an honorary member of the Swedish Dream Group Forum and co-founded the Finnish Dream Group Forum. His works include a Finnish translation of Montague Ullman's Working with Dreams and the bestselling Unien Opissa, a book of instructions for the dream group process.