NPR – Options: Dream Power – A conversaation with Dr. Ann Faraday – September 14, 1976 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
Unless you hadn’t yet arrived, or if you had, committed much of the 70s to the deep-dark basement of cringe-worthy moments, the decade of the 70s were generally known as the Me Decade – the Decade of Introspection and the Era of Wonderful Nonsense.
We were, as a society, possessed with an insatiable curiosity over how we ticked, what we ate and how we felt. And as was an often uttered phrase; “I’m not much, but I’m all I ever think about” pretty much summed up the social side of the 70s. We had EST, Gestalt therapy, pet rocks, free love, tarot cards, mood rings, saffron robes and coke spoons. We were a mess, but we were in search of ourselves to figure out why we were a mess. We were perfecting the fine art of navel gazing and had turned the concept of self-help into a multi-billion dollar industry that subscribed to the theory that “I’m Okay – You’re Okay” and Harcourt Brace had at least one answer.
And while we were on this otherwise exhausting journey of self-discovery, our mental well being came into sharp focus, and everything that went on in that mysterious labyrinth of our minds was the stuff of discovery and endless debate. Experts appeared from almost nowhere, extolling virtues and decrying the neglect of our inner children.
So of course, dreams – that thing most people do when they close their eyes at night, came up for scrutiny and endless explanation by an entire army of experts and theoreticians.
Dr. Ann Faraday was a Psychologist who worked extensively in the area of Dream Research. She became the author of two best selling books, Dream Power and The Dream Game. She has been considered a pioneer in the area of dream interpretation and was one of the first people to take the subject of dreaming out of the therapists office and into the living room.
This episode of the NPR series Options, Dr. Faraday discusses the act of Dreaming and the many ramifications it has on our day to day lives.
In case you forgot, here is that interview with Dr. Faraday and her husband and research partner John Wren-Lewis for NPR’s Options from September 1976.
