The Oracle Of Night

A groundbreaking history of the human mind told through our experience of dreams—from the earliest accounts to current scientific findings—and their essential role in the formation of who we are and the world we have made. "A resounding case for the mystery, beauty and cognitive importance of dreams." —The New York Times What is a dream? Why do we dream? How do our bodies and minds use them? These questions are the starting point for this unprecedented study of the role and significance of this phenomenon. An inves­tigation on a grand scale, it encompasses literature, anthropology, religion, and science, articulating the essential place dreams occupy in human culture and how they functioned as the catalyst that compelled us to transform our earthly habitat into a human world. From the earliest cave paintings—where Sidarta Ribeiro locates a key to humankind’s first dreams and how they contributed to our capacity to perceive past and future and our ability to conceive of the existence of souls and spirits—to today’s cutting-edge scientific research, Ribeiro arrives at revolutionary conclusions about the role of dreams in human existence and evolution. He explores the advances that contempo­rary neuroscience, biochemistry, and psychology have made into the connections between sleep, dreams, and learning. He explains what dreams have taught us about the neural basis of memory and the transfor­mation of memory in recall. And he makes clear that the earliest insight into dreams as oracular has been elucidated by contemporary research. Accessible, authoritative, and fascinating, The Oracle of Night gives us a wholly new way to under­stand this most basic of human experiences.

"A truly comprehensive, scientifically rigorous and utterly fascinating account of when, how, and why we dream. Put simply, When Brains Dream is the essential guide to dreaming." —Matthew Walker, author of Why We Sleep Questions on the origins and meaning of dreams are as old as humankind, and as confounding and exciting today as when nineteenth-century scientists first attempted to unravel them. Why do we dream? Do dreams hold psychological meaning or are they merely the reflection of random brain activity? What purpose do dreams serve? When Brains Dream addresses these core questions about dreams while illuminating the most up-to-date science in the field. Written by two world-renowned sleep and dream researchers, it debunks common myths that we only dream in REM sleep, for example—while acknowledging the mysteries that persist around both the science and experience of dreaming. Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgold bring together state-of-the-art neuroscientific ideas and findings to propose a new and innovative model of dream function called NEXTUP—Network Exploration to Understand Possibilities. By detailing this model’s workings, they help readers understand key features of several types of dreams, from prophetic dreams to nightmares and lucid dreams. When Brains Dream reveals recent discoveries about the sleeping brain and the many ways in which dreams are psychologically, and neurologically, meaningful experiences; explores a host of dream-related disorders; and explains how dreams can facilitate creativity and be a source of personal insight. Making an eloquent and engaging case for why the human brain needs to dream, When Brains Dream offers compelling answers to age-old questions about the mysteries of sleep.

Originally published: New York: Henry Holt, 2003.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp and artist Manuel Preitano unveil a graphic novel that explores the dark corridors of Barbara Gordon's first mystery: herself. After a gunshot leaves her paralyzed below the waist, Barbara Gordon must undergo physical and mental rehabilitation at Arkham Center for Independence. She must adapt to a new normal, but she cannot shake the feeling that something is dangerously amiss. Strange sounds escape at night while patients start to go missing. Is this suspicion simply a result of her trauma? Or does Barbara actually hear voices coming from the center's labyrinthine hallways? It's up to Barbara to put the pieces together to solve the mysteries behind the walls. In The Oracle Code, universal truths cannot be escaped, and Barbara Gordon must battle the phantoms of her past before they consume her future.

A fully illustrated guide to Deborah Harkness's #1 New York Times bestselling All Souls series—“an irresistible . . . wonderfully imaginative grown-up fantasy” (People). Look for the hit series “A Discovery of Witches,” now streaming on AMC+, Sundance Now, Shudder, and Max! A Discovery of Witches introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont. Shadow of Night and The Book of Life carried Deborah Harkness's series to its spellbinding conclusion. In The World of All Souls, Harkness shares the rich sources of inspiration behind her bewitching novels. She draws together synopses, character bios, maps, recipes, and even the science behind creatures, magic, and alchemy—all with her signature historian's touch. Bursting with fascinating facts and dazzling artwork, this essential handbook is a must-have for longtime fans and eager newcomers alike.

Come into the enchanting Garden of the Night and explore your power and passion with this dedicated oracle of 44 cards and guidebook. Each card depicts a flower in its original environment and is coupled with the animals insects and birds of the flowers habitat. Find guidance inspiration and healing while you learn the language of the Flowers of the Night. Nature author and environmental artist Cheralyn Darcey shares with you the true Language of Flowers with an oracle deck which can also be used in any modality using flowers including aromatherapy flower essences and flower reading.

Late in the summer of 1877, as the tsar’s royal cavalry descends on the defenseless Ottoman outpost of Constanta, and a flock of purple and white hoopoes suddenly appears over the town, Eleonora Cohen is brought into the world by a mysterious pair of Tartar midwives who arrive only minutes before the birth. Eleonora, whose mother dies during labour, is raised by her father, Yakob, a carpet merchant, and her stern and resentful stepmother. From the moment Eleonora learns to read, her father recognizes that she is an extraordinarily gifted child, a prodigy. When Yakob sets off by boat for Stamboul on business, his eight-year-old daughter, unable to bear the separation, stows away in one of his trunks crammed with carpets. On the shores of the Bosporus, in the house of her father’s business partner, Moncef Bey, a new life awaits Eleonora. Books, backgammon, sumptuous new dresses, markets, cafés and some mysterious events she cannot yet decipher. For in Stamboul in 1886, people are not always what they seem. Marvellously evocative and magical, Michael David Lukas’s bestselling historical novel will transport readers to another time and place—romantic, exotic, yet perhaps not so different from our own.

Helena has come far from the day she became custodian of Abernathy’s, the world’s only living oracle. Now, she faces her greatest challenge yet: the oracle’s prediction that it, and she, will end. As monstrous invaders strike city after city, leaving death and destruction behind, the Wardens scramble to defend humanity. Weakened by infighting, they turn to Abernathy’s for guidance and strength. But the oracle’s cryptic guidance may no longer be enough. With time running out, and her allies falling one after another, Helena faces the terrifying possibility that saving the world will mean her death.