Science says sleep good

Check out the English translation of this mainstream piece on sleep and dream research just out of Korea. This article about the benefits of sleep is more holistic than the usual reductionist perspective that comes out of New York. Which is to say, the Korean piece succeeded in mentioning dreaming at all. I bring this up to highlight the gulf between dream studies and sleep research. Due to the fracturing of our Western knowledge bases, dreams and sleep scientists never meet in the night.

I always enjoy reading science journalism because it can be so revealing about cultural assumptions and biases. After discussing how tortured mice make a good case for a good night’s rest (Allan Rechtschaffen’s sleep deprivation study), the Korean writer naturally began reviewing the history of dream interpretation in the Western scientific sphere. The discussion slipped from sleep to dream seamlessly and I temporarily forgot my cultural zietgiest that dreams would, of course, be of no importance to a discussion on the benefits of sleep.

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Dream Interpretation and its Discontents

I just uploaded a new essay titled the Trouble with Dream Studies, which is meant to contextualize my perspective about dream research and its place - or misplace - within Western science. The essay also introduces a series of further thoughts about the mysteries of dreaming which explore how our beliefs can construct - and sometimes constrict - what we believe is possible in dreams and waking life.

As always, discussion is welcome.

Dreams, art and spirituality: a blog shout-out

I just discovered Tristy Taylor’s blog about dreams, art and spirituality. Taylor is an Interfaith minister who writes eloquently about dreamwork as a soulful path.

I especially like her discussion about the role of psychological projection in everyday life as well as dreams:

When I dream about a powerful spiritual being that infuses me with love, I am that Bright Shadow as well. When someone praises me for something I have said or done, I try to receive it, but then let it go - because it is not really about me, it is about that person recognized a part of themselves and celebrating it. The same is also true when someone gets incredibly angry at me for something I”ve done - I listen and integrate the criticism in a way that is helpful to me, and then I let it go, because again, it is not just about me. My father often says, “projection doesn’t work unless there is a hook to hang it on.” It is a shared experience.

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Anthropology of Conscience

The American Anthropological Association just drafted a statement against the US military’s Human Terrain System project. The HTS hires anthropologists to consult with military ground units to better understand the foreign cultures where they are stationed. So they can dispose of them more efficiently.

While I am being slightly tongue-in-cheek, I agree with the AAA’s position that mixing professional anthropologists into combat operations is not congruent with the profession’s core values. It also endangers field anthropologists who, you know, happen to not be spies. People like me.

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Media Watch: Dreams article in Parade Magazine

I was pleasantly surprised to see a new article about the value of dreaming in the Oct 28, 2007 edition of Parade Magazine. In this piece, author Robert Moss discusses the role of dreams in creativity, problem-solving, emotional intelligence, and possibly human evolution.

Moss writes:

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