Kabbalah and the Power of Dreaming: Awakening the Visionary Life

Description

In Kabbalah And The Power Of Dreaming Catherine Shainberg unveils the esoteric practices that allow us to unlock the dreaming mind's transformative and intuitive powers. These are the practices used by ancient prophets, seers, and sages to control dreams and visions. Shainberg draws upon the ancient Sephardic Kabbalah tradition, as well as illustrative stories and myths from around the Mediterranean, to teach readers how to harness the intuitive power of their dreaming. While the Hebrew Bible and our Western esoteric tradition give us ample evidence of dream teachings, rarely has the path to becoming a conscious dreamer been articulated. Shainberg shows that dreaming is not something that merely takes place while sleeping - we are dreaming at every moment. By teaching the conscious mind to be awake in our sleeping dreams and the dreaming mind to be manifest in daytime awareness, we are able to achieve revolutionary consciousness. Her inner-vision exercises initiate creative and transformative images that generate the pathways to self-realisation.

Catherine Shainberg, Ph.D., is a psychologist, healer, and teacher with a private practice in New York City. She spent 10 years of intense study of the Kabbalah of Light in Jerusalem with Colette Aboulker-Muscat and an additional 20 years in continuing collaboration with her. In 1982 Catherine Shainberg founded the School of Images, dedicated to teaching the revelatory dream and kavanah (intent) techniques of this ancient Sephardic Kabbalah tradition. She conducts imagery and dreaming workshops internationally.

"Shainberg, a Ph.D. in psychology and student of the renowned Kabbalist Colette Aboulker-Muscat, offers not so much a book about the Kabbalah as one from the very essence of the traditional Jewish mystical text. Through our dreams, she teaches, we strive for the oneness that lies at the heart of Kabbalah--indeed at the heart of most religions. This universal search for wholeness becomes Shainberg's primary theme, making this a book for anyone seeking a deeper sense of self. Her personal story of spiritual quest and her references to a life that, at times, was less than ideal make up most of the fascinating introduction. Her candor quickly establishes a trust between author and reader, drawing readers in just enough to take a chance on the esoteric practice of unlocking dreams. Her premise, though simple in theory, requires much devotion in practice but little in the way of physical equipment--merely an armchair and a handful of notebooks. Throughout, Shainberg presents a gentle guide to techniques for merging our present conscious selves with the past and future contained within our subconscious. The result: a more unified, creative, complete individual. Like Julia Cameron in The Artist's Way, Shainberg offers the tools to ignite a deep-seated creativity, one that feeds not only the mind, but the soul." * Publishers Weekly, March 16, 2005 * "A brilliantly articulated exploration of the elusive mystery of dreams and imagination, and how they dance both sides of the veil between fantasy and reality. Combining ancient mystical wisdom with contemporary metaphor, Catherine Shainberg not only illuminates our understanding about the phenomenon of dreaming and its impact on the waking world, but also offers us ample user-friendly exercises and meditations to experience the wisdom of both. Shainberg is a foremost disciple of one of the few and most notable women kabbalists, Colette Aboulker-Muscat, herself a descendant and student of the thirteenth-century Rabbi Yitzchak Saggei Na'hor (known as Isaac the Blind) and of his mystery school. Like her teacher Colette, Shainberg has helped innumerable people through her healing work with imagery and dream. In Kabbalah and the Power of Dreaming she has, for the first time, shared with all of us the heretofore inaccessible wisdom of dream from the rich kabbalistic tradition of her teacher and her people. This is a book that delivers everything its title promises; it is an important addition to the classical literature of Jewish spiritual wisdom." * Rabbi Gershon Winkler, author of Kabbalah 365: Daily Fruit from the Tree of Life * "Catherine Shainberg contributes a fresh, creative, and innovative approach to dreaming and imagination through the practice of waking dream. In doing so she brings alive the ancient wisdom of prophetic Kabbalah in a practical and readily usable way. Kabbalah and the Power of Dreaming deserves to be read and enjoyed; its reader will be richly rewarded with the spiritual view of life it provides." * Gerald Epstein, M.D., author of Healing Visualizations: Creating Health Through Imagery * "The medieval system of Jewish Kabbalah taught that a more real world than our own lies behind the common one of day-to-day experience. Through lifelong routines of meditation and visualization, kabbalists drew on the insights of that other world. Now Catherine Shainberg, psychologist, poet, and dream specialist, provides a warm, richly detailed guide to this kind of thinking for the seekers of today. Her book opens with a moving account of her own search for bearings, then spans the ocean of kabbalistic tales and models. It is a heartfelt and generous guide to the questing imagination and, inevitably, to deepened relationships with others on the same trail." * Eleanor Munro, author of Originals: American Women Artists * "Kabbalah and the Power of Dreaming is a magnificent guide to putting soul back in the body and walking a path with heart. Catherine Shainberg is a profound spiritual teacher who reminds us that dreaming is not only about what we do when we sleep but about waking up to a deeper life by remembering and navigating from our sacred purpose. It instructs us on how to tap into our Source energy--including the images that speak to the body that can make it well--and informs us on how we can be present at the place of creation. Her book contains a panoply of practical exercises for transforming fear and anger into heart-centered energy, thereby liberating ourselves from the rule of habit and healing the wound between Earth and Sky. I highly recommend this book." * Robert Moss, author of Dreamways of the Iroquois: Honoring the Secret Wishes of the Soul * "Catherine Shainberg's book begins with an entrancing account of her personal entry into the world of dreams and images, and reveals how she discovered her own great teacher of images and dreams, the renowned kabbalist Colette Aboulker-Muscat. Shainberg draws upon many years of experience to guide us through the possibilities of inner growth through dreamwork, offering exercises along the way that are intriguing and seem likely to open the mind and heart further and further. The power of dreaming is something I've come to appreciate more and more in my own life, and Shainberg's book does justice to that power. She is on a path of great beauty." * Rodger Kamenetz, author of The Jew in the Lotus * "Many cultures believe that during a dream the soul leaves the dreamer's body and journeys to other worlds, possibly visiting the imaginal realm where the dreamer seems to break free of the limitations of time and space. In Kabbalah and the Power of Dreaming Catherine Shainberg not only takes us into that realm, she provides insights and a travel guide. Not since the time of Joseph and his prophetic dreams has such a well-written storytelling guidebook been offered." * Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D., author of Mind Into Matter * "[Shainberg's] inner-vision exercises initiate creative and transformative images that generate the pathways to self-realization." * Branches of Light, Spring-Summer-Fall 2005 * ". . . choose psychologist/healer Catherine Shainberg's Kabbalah and the Power of Dreaming: Awakening the Visionary Life if what you seek is a practical application of Kabbalah principles to daily spiritual purposes." * The Midwest Book Review, Sept 2005 * ". . . if you'd like to discover the power of your dreams and bring about inner transformation and get more in touch with your intuitive side, Kabbalah and the Power of Dreaming is a great place to start or refine your skills." * Cyndi Witkus, In the Library Reviews, July 2005 * "Shainberg unveils the esoteric practices used by ancient prophets, seers and sages to control dreams and visions." * Aznet News, Oct-Nov 2005 * "Insightful and imaginative, Kabbalah and the Power of Dreaming is about enlightenment, awareness, and intent." * Jean E. Hansgen, New Age Retailer, New Year 2006 * "My self-talk dreams began in earnest before I even finished one quarter of the book, and it has been a fun journey. I do believe that each person who reads her book will benefit from it and I really recommend this book for everyone who wishes to refine the process of listening to self and dream working!" * Reality Undefined, Aug 2008 * " . . . shows us a rarely seen side of the power of dreaming. This book is not about dreams; it is about the act of dreaming itself. . . . Learning to harness the power of dreaming through the study of Kabbalah will inevitably lead us to develop the mind's intuitive and transformative processes." * Kathryn Price, book editor, WomensRadio, April 2008 * ". . . unveils the esoteric practices that allow us to unlock the dreaming mind's transformative and intuitive powers." * Branches of Light, Spring-Summer-Fall 2005 *