A Chicken Hawk Goes Home
One Man’s Journey Through Archetypal Dreamwork
Book Review by Ann Perkins

Bob’s Murray’s life reads like that of a modern-day Siddhartha—he was a semi-pro hockey player, businessman, desert hermit, poet, and high school teacher, as well as husband and father. In his finely crafted spiritual memoir, A Chicken Hawk Goes Home: One Man’s Journey Through Archetypal Dreamwork, Murray shares his journey towards wholeness—his learning to let go of trying to “be a man” in the world and instead embarking on an intense and committed descent into his dreams. He writes:

This book is the tale of my falsity dropping, the process of becoming naked. It is about vulnerability, my relationship to it, my struggle with it. The struggle to find myself by way of the truth of my dreams. It is about fear and pain and love and the power of healing, a seemingly non-traditional approach to an age-old goal—spiritual growth, individuation.

Murray stepped into the rich landscape of his dreams with the help of Marc Bregman, the founder of Archetypal Dreamwork. What his dreams revealed was the life he could have . . . but only by facing into the hard truth of the life he was living.

What I love about this engaging story is Murray’s refreshing honesty about his failed relationships, attachments to false beliefs, and missed opportunities. He “owns up” in a way that is not typical in today’s world—no embellishment, no drama—just a clear, insightful recounting of his inward journey.

He tells the story of his father-in-law, Ernie, who offered him his first great job, treated him like a beloved son for years, and always had his back. Even after Murray was divorced from Ernie’s daughter, Ernie never rejected him. Murray, closed off from his ability to receive love, and with too much pride to even acknowledge the support he was given, brushed Ernie aside to the point of not even attending his funeral. When Ernie comes in a dream, his arm around Murray’s shoulder, it breaks him open to the love that had always been available to him but that he had never been willing to feel—a love both human and divine.

Murray’s path was as unique as each dream he had, bringing him to an intimate exploration of all of his relationships—with himself, with others, and with God. In one of his later dreams, the divine archetype comes in the form of the Boss (Bruce Springsteen), who invites Murray up on stage to play music with him. In response, Murray wrote “O Boss Man,” a kind of anthem to Archetypal Dreamwork; shortly thereafter he was asked to perform at a North of Eden Archetypal Dreamwork retreat. He has been writing and performing his music ever since. The life he had formerly only dreamed of had become the life he was living.

In reclaiming his soul through his dreams, Murray invited many new gifts into his life: an intimate and tender relationship with his young daughter; a healed relationship with his father; a passionate exploration of his calling towards music through singing, songwriting, and teaching; and finally, a spiritual community in which to grow and sustain the arc of his new life. All because he decided to listen—really listen—to what his soul was telling him through his dreams.

Bob Murray is an author and musician with two solo CDs (Alligator Tears and Lifelines) and a collaborative CD with Jeremiah McLane called O Boss Man. He holds an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and an MFA in Creative Writing—Poetry from Vermont College. He teaches Musicality (vulnerability through music) at the Center for Archetypal Dreamwork in Montpelier, Vermont.

Annie Perkins, a former museum and gallery director and curator, is currently a student of Archetypal Dreamwork. She is passionate about the transformative power of dreams and our creative expression.

Melina Costello’s debut memoir about her journey of individuation has been selected as a finalist for the DaVinci Eye Award, presented by the Eric Hoffer Awards for books. Seeking the God of Ecstasy: A Spiritual Journey of Sexual Awakening is an account of Costello’s dreamscape encounters with the half-mortal, half-god Dionysus, a mythological archetype who is her guide and trickster companion on her inner journey of integration and individuation. The book’s forward is written by esteemed Jungian analyst Robert A. Johnson, who wrote, “I am honored to have my name associated with this marvelous book.” Published by O Books, Seeking the God of Ecstasy is available through Amazon.

Costello’s poetry and essays are also gaining recognition. Chosen from over 250 poetry submissions, her poem entitled “Gardenia” will be published in the Creative Literary section of the journal Psychoanalytic Perspectives in Fall 2011. Additionally, Costello’s essay titled “Monica” will be featured in Bruce Ballenger’s The Curious Writer in its upcoming 4th edition scheduled for publication in spring 2012.

Melina Costello has devoted twenty-five years to the practice of meditative disciplines, exploring psychologically sensitive ways to integrate diverse modes of spiritual experience. A poet, children’s book author and teacher in early childhood education, she is currently pursuing studies in Counseling Psychology at Marylhurst University and lives with her husband in Oregon.

More information can be found online at http://www.eleanorvannatta.com

Edited by Lynn Gamwell
Cornell University Press, Binghamton, NY, 2000

When Sigmund Freud published The Interpretation of Dreams in 1900, he began the modern study of a phenomenon that has fascinated human beings for thousands of years. At the same time he opened a new realm, the unconscious mind, to filmmakers and artists who were inspired by his theories. This beautifully designed and lavishly illustrated book–written to commemorate the centenary of Freud’s classic work–examines the shifting roles that dreams have played in twentieth-century art and science.

Over the course of the twentieth century, as scientists have researched the psychology and physiology of dreams, artists from Odilon Redon and Joan Miró to Jenny Holzer, Ingmar Bergman, and Laurie Anderson have produced dramatic images centered in the unconscious. An exploration of this artistic output, this volume features a hundred color and fifty black-and-white illustrations depicting work by a broad range of artists in painting,photography, sculpture, video, film, performance, dance, and other media.

In her opening essay, Lynn Gamwell reviews the psychoanalytic understanding of dreams and explores the ways in which Freud’s theories have been interpretedartistically. The next essay, by Ernest Hartmann, traces attempts to link somatic and psychological dimensions of dreaming and to discover parallels between these dimensions and creative thought. In the final essay, Donald Kuspit assesses the impact of the transition from the mystical outlook that human beings held in the nineteenth century to the twentieth-century scientific paradigm for the human mind.

A century of dreamwork is captured in this stunning volume, which concludes with a “dream archive”–an illustrated catalogue raisonné of approximately five hundred examples of twentieth-century art about dreams. Contributors include: Lucy Daniels, Lucy Daniels Foundation, Raleigh, N.C. , Lynn Gamwell, State University of New York, Binghamton, Ernest Hartmann, M.D., Tufts University School of Medicine, Donald Kuspit, State University of New York, Stony Brook , and August Ruhs, M.D., Universitätsklinik für Tiefenpsychologie und Psychotherapie, Vienna.
{Review by the publisher, Cornell University Press , 1999)

Purchase or examine Dreams 1900-2000 online.

This is the autobiographical story of a young woman bumping into the enigmatic sorcerer Running Deer and her initiation into the sorcerer’s world and mastering conscious dreaming. It takes the reader throughout the magic realms of the unknown and gives a new approach to the traditional training of women sorcerers. The riveting autobiographical account written by Dreamshield takes the reader throughout the magic realms of the unknown and mastering conscious dreaming. This book, following the traditions of Carlos Castaneda and others, gives a new approach to the traditional training of women sorcerers. The author describes her initiation into the surrealistic world of dreaming and magic, following the teachings of ‘Man of Knowledge’ Running Deer. In the heart of Amsterdam, a thrilling stride unfolds in obtaining the knowledge of the Second Reality on the way to the ultimate goal: finding the Totality of the Self! The combination of unusual instructions and experiences within the sorcerer’s world and the level-headedness of a very Dutch woman offers the reader excitement and contemplation on the way to the source of this reality, finding the ultimate self through the experiences and understanding of Dreamshield herself. Up until the last page the reader remains intrigued whether Dreamshield will reach her goal. Right by the author’s side or facing her stands the character of Running Deer. Sometimes mysterious, then challenging, strict as a guru, or vulnerable as a visitor in a foreign country. However, the precise description of these distinctive steps on the road to her initiation stand like milestones in the landscape of this unique history. (more…)