Author

That we come to this earth to live is untrue. We come but to sleep, to dream. – Aztec Poet

BOOKS, CHAPTERS & ARTICLES

My first writing on dreams was a story I wrote at the age of seven about one of my lucid dreams. My teacher doubted I had written it and called my mother in to question it. I felt mortified and didn’t write about my dreams again for many years!
In my mid-twenties, looking for dream guidance, I sent a dream to John Sanford, an Episcopal Priest and Jungian Analyst, whose books on dreams I admired. He rang to tell me that the dream called me to work with dreams and to write about them.
In the ensuing years, I lived in Europe where I taught and published in the field of language and literature. Then, in 2006, a dream reminded me of the earlier call to write on dreams. Subsequently, I wrote numerous articles and book chapters on dreams and dream lucidity. In 2019, Bonnier Books UK commissioned me to write a book on dreams and wellbeing. Following the publication of The Hidden Lives of Dreams in 2020, my second book, Lucid Surrender: The Alchemy of the Soul in Lucid Dreaming (Archive Publishing) came out on the Winter’s Solstice 2021.
These books and other dream-inspired writings are featured here.

Lucid Surrender

The Alchemy of the Soul in Lucid Dreaming

This book approaches lucid dreaming as a means to soul-awakening, a path I call ‘Lucid Surrender’™. It derives from my first-hand experience as a lucid dreamer, my professional work as a psychotherapist and my researches into lucid dreaming. The book explores themes related to surrender in dream lucidity such as the Black Light of the Lucid Void, coloured light, mirroring surfaces, wormholes, and an alchemical perspective on ever-deepening awareness. Lucid Surrender offers readers a new way to be with the unknown so they can intimately know and express the deep Mystery at the heart of life.

Lucidity signifies being suffused with light — glowing, effulgent, bright, translucent and clear. Such statements are a fitting description for Melinda’s contribution and this new book is a gift to all those interested in the mysteries of dreaming, the depths of psychological and spiritual life, and the process of soul making.

Foreword by Stanton Marlan

PhD, ABPP, Jungian analyst and author of The Black Sun: The Alchemy and Art of Darkness

The path of Lucid Surrender unveils a radically new approach to exploring the realm of lucid dreaming. A must read for those who seek a direct encounter with the eternal part of their being-ness.

Robert Waggoner

Author of Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self, and co-author of Lucid Dreaming Plain and Simple

Publication Excerpts & Articles

The Hidden Lives of Dreams

What They Can Tell Us and How They Can Change Our World

This book initiates readers into both the science and art of dreaming, offering a response to the question, ‘Why write a book about dreams, when the world faces so many crises?’. The many dreams and the therapeutic reflections on them show that the more we develop our dreamlife, the more we take root in life and come into being. When we take time to pay attention to our dreams, our compassion towards ourselves, others and the earth grows.

Exploring the depths of dreaming with an experienced guide like Melinda Powell will bring you closer to your heart, your purpose and your truest self. An exceptional book for those listening to the wisdom of their dreams! Highly recommended.

Robert Waggoner

Author of Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self

In The Hidden Lives of Dreams, Melinda Powell has woven the personal and the theoretical into a beautiful whole. She has written a magical book. It’s a rare gift.

Marianne Rankin

PhD, Director of Communications and membership, Alister Hardy Trust

Rüyalarin Gizli Dünyasi

It’s wonderful to have The Hidden Lives of Dreams reach a wider audience through the Turkish version of the book published by Can Yayınlari.

La Vida Secreta de Los Sueños

The Spanish version of The Hidden Lives of Dreams is available on Amazon. Buenos sueños!

Metaphoric Presence in Dreams

For this comprehensive two-volume collection of research on dreams, published in conjunction with ABC-CLIO and the International Association for the Study of Dreams, I was asked to write a chapter on ‘Dreams and Spirituality’. Drawing on dreams from the Alister Hardy Trust’s Religious Experience Archive, I contributed the pilot study, ‘Metaphoric Presence in Dreams’ researching the sense of healing presence in dreams.

Dreams That Change Our Lives

For this popular book by IASD and Chiron Books, the editors invited me to contribute a dream to the chapter on ‘A Spiritual Presence’. I decided to share a dream I had in 1990 that I call ‘The Annunciation’, one that has been a touch stone for me personally and professionally ever since.

Lucid Surrender and the Alchemical Coniunctio

For this pioneering two-volume anthology on lucid dreaming, editor Ryan Hurd asked me for a chapter on lucid dreaming from a Jungian perspective. In this chapter, I explore what C. G. Jung might have to say about lucid dreaming and what he would think about Lucid Surrender.

Waking Up to the Health Benefits of Dreams

In response to the many vivid dreams reported by the public during pandemic lockdowns, the editor of The New Psychotherapist, published by the United Kingdom Council of Psychotherapists, asked me to summarise our scientific understanding of dreams and their therapeutic benefits for their January 2021 issue, p. 46.

Wake up to Your Dreams

In view of the growing interest in dreams, Balance Media Magazine, London, asked me to write an article about tapping into the unconscious through dreams to achieve a dynamic balance in life.