Image by Hamed SaberListening to Carrie Fisher's encapsulated biography, "Wishful Drinking" on audiobook recently, I thought about how the Baby Boomers, and their Greatest Generation parents, had no choices when it came to depression, mental illness, … [Read more...] about Health, Spirituality and the Cult of the Perfect Body
Waking Life: A Lucid Dreamer’s Review
Waking Life is an animated feature film released in 2002, directed by Richard Linklater, the guy who brought us Dazed and Confused and Slacker. This movie is a must-see for anyone interested in dreams, consciousness and how our visionary states play … [Read more...] about Waking Life: A Lucid Dreamer’s Review
Dream Interpretation in Sufism Past and Present
The reliance that Sufis place on dreams in their paths of spiritual progress is illustrated in a dream reported from the life of Imaam Abu Hamid al-Ghazzaalii (1058-1111). In Duncan B. Macdonald’s 19th century biography, it is said that Al-Ghazzaalii … [Read more...] about Dream Interpretation in Sufism Past and Present
Lucid Dreaming and Christianity: Entering the Light
The loudest voices of the lucid dreaming movement cite pleasure, power, and fulfilling fantasies as among the benefits of becoming more aware in our dreams. Unfortunately this popular expression has added fuel to the smoldering and historic distrust … [Read more...] about Lucid Dreaming and Christianity: Entering the Light
The Snooze Method for Remembering More Dreams
If you want to get on the fast track to remember more dreams, it’s important to start keeping a dream diary. Still, it can take a while before the dreams make it from slumberland to the waking world. The reason for this lag between … [Read more...] about The Snooze Method for Remembering More Dreams
Lucid Dreaming: a Hybrid of REM and Waking Cognition
A study accepted in the journal Sleep last month (but not yet published) claims that lucid dreaming should be not be considered a REM dreaming phenomenon but rather a unique state of consciousness (Voss, et al., 2009). Poetically, the assertion that … [Read more...] about Lucid Dreaming: a Hybrid of REM and Waking Cognition
The Link Between Depression and Dreams
Sleep plays a major role in mood regulation; that’s a truism that is behind every mother’s call for “time to go to bed!” But while the links between dreams and depression are well documented, the role of dreams in maintaining mental health is … [Read more...] about The Link Between Depression and Dreams
PsiberDreaming Conference Coming up!
There's less than 2 weeks until the premiere Dreaming event on the web. I'm talking about the 2009 PsiberDreaming conference: a two week online conference that features over two dozen presentations from leaders in the fields of dream research and … [Read more...] about PsiberDreaming Conference Coming up!
What is Lucid Dreaming?
This is my final post on ways of working with dreams without a dang dream dictionary. Becoming a lucid dreamer is an advanced dream practice that is actually easy to learn. I've been leading up to this post because to start lucid dreaming you have … [Read more...] about What is Lucid Dreaming?
How to Incubate a Dream
In this post series about how to work with your dreams, so far I have focused on dreams you already have had. Now let's take it to the next level, and learn how to ask for the dream you want to have. Know as dream incubation, this ancient method … [Read more...] about How to Incubate a Dream