lucid

biohacking and dreaming: an unlikely pair?

~ kimberly mascaro ~ Leave a comment

What are you willing to do in order to be at your very best?

How far would you go? Which risks are really worth it?

Since there are so many aspects of and so many options for bio-hacking these days, ranging from age old practices to contemporary ones, just about anyone can give it a try. From oral supplements, dietary changes, injections, IV therapies, external/wearable physiological tracking devices, implantable biotechnologies, and more, just about anyone with extra income can bio-hack their body, in one fashion or another, in an attempt to reverse aging, elevate performance, and increase vitality. I have found some of the methods to be quite extreme. But couldn’t one engage in biohacking for little-to-no-cost with little-to-no risk by utilizing their innate gifts? I would say so, and that is through attentive engagement with sleep, especially dreaming. While napping and extra long hours of nightly sleep can be viewed as a luxury, the free practices of dream incubation, as well as lucid dreaming, can open up a whole new world. Such nonordinary or altered-state-of-consciousness biohacking is low-level and safe. Double-bonus: these no-cost strategies, skills, and techniques can take as little as 10 minutes out of your day (or night, depending). First, I will share some words about the practice known as dream incubation, then I will say a little about lucid dreams and how they might relate to hacking our biology.

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Biohacking is all the rage these days, the latest DIY (do-it-yourself) craze. You can find dissertations written on the topic, as well as, articles published over the last 14-15 years in journals like Nature Biotechnology (2009), BioSocieties (2017), and Futures (2021), differentiating between biomedical citizen scientists and fringe biohackers, alongside how hobbyist, activism, art and science intersect within a DIYbio landscape. Here, they note the risks involved, and the fact that research on such “hidden populations” brings with it many challenges. Even Forbes has highlighted the topic over the last couple of years. DIYbio practitioners, or biohackers, are increasing in number and the phenomena itself is increasing in popularity with each passing year. And why shouldn’t it? Everyone wants to be at the top of their game, and to feel that sense of control when it comes to taking charge of experiencing optimal health, peak performance, with the hopes of extending living with quality over one’s lifespan. 

Dream incubation can be used for a wide array of needs. It is an ancient practice. Dream incubation involves sending out an intention before a nap or bedtime to ask for guidance and knowledge. The manner by which one sets up a dream incubation ritual can be simple or complex. The ritual aspect is important because effective rituals are done with great focus and intention – never autopilot. Dream incubation is at home in the biohacker world because it can be utilized for diagnosing or better understanding health-related conditions or concerns and in support of healing those.

DISCLAIMER: The information in this article is for educational and entertainment purposes only. The information provided here is NOT a substitute for medical care. If you have any medical issue, of any kind, please go see a physician. 

Okay, now back to dream incubation. Possible questions or statements to include as part of the dream incubation process could be any of the following – but be ready, knowing that what you ask for, you just may well receive.

 “Show me a mirror that can allow me to see into my body, revealing health or illness.”

“Which foods are best for my unique makeup?”

“Show me the supplements my body needs right now for XYZ.”

“What practices I do at this time in my life for peak performance?”

“Show me a solution to this problem (or situation or issue).”

“What area of my life needs my attention right now?” 

“How can I heal from this?”

“Please give me a direct healing in my dream.”

“Take me to the time and place where the root cause of this problem came to life.”

“Show me the circumstances surrounding this concern I have.”

You may also craft your own, of course – Just be sure it is done in the positive and affirmative. Make the question or statement short and to the point. Once you have one, write it down on a piece of paper while expressing it out loud. Proclaim it. Then, place that paper under your pillow. Once you are in bed, cozy and comfortable, focus on the statement or question you chose as you drift into dreamland.

Write down, draw or sketch out, or if you prefer, audio record anything you recall immediately upon waking up from the dream. Keep at it – use one intention for a full week or even two. This consistency increases its effectiveness. Once you have something, reflect. You may do a daily reflection, or wait until you have recollections accumulated from a few days of practice. I’ll add an important point here: anything a dream provides – all wisdom coming out of the dream world – deserves a thank you offering, even an offering as simple as a prayer is fine. You don’t necessarily have to offer up an object. What comes with including dreams into the bio-hackers world, is a relationship. This way of working is not a secular transaction. I’ll say more about this in the final paragraph of this article.

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I’ve practiced dream incubation quite a bit for many reasons. Years ago when I was searching for healing and cures in the dream state due to a medical condition I faced, I would regularly begin my evening with a dream incubation ritual. For some nights my recall seemed nonexistent while other times I awoke with a lot of quality information relevant to my situation. One time in the dream, a colleague who also happened to be an amazing lucid dreamer appeared right in front of me, holding “the cure” in her hands. It was a frame drum made from natural materials, slightly larger than the ones I was used to seeing. I awoke immediately after this very direct and clear wisdom was provided. I awoke angry, and sad, because after having spent years studying traditional healing ways as a, primarily scholarly endeavor, I knew what “a call” looked like and how they could appeared. Even worse, I knew what happens to those who do not follow through…those who “refuse the call.” So that this story remains a short one, I am sure you can guess what I did. That was to begin the multi-year long training with a noted, quality teacher and surrender as I embark on the deep, deep dive. Even though I was exhausted, overwhelmed, and frankly, just didn’t want to to do it, I did so regardless of the investments of time and cost. This path includes ceremonies that honor the gifts that emerge from the altered state practices, so many prayers are offered, naturally. So, while a free biohacker support, dream incubation can lead to something you might not want to do, or even want to know. Therefore, be clear before you proceed.

Now let’s move on to lucid dreaming. As for those of you who lucid dream skillfully and fairly regularly, you can use any of the statements or questions above in the lucid dream state. You might address the dreamscape first. I’ll share an example from one of my own experiences with lucid dreaming and healing. Upon becoming lucid, I called out, “Dreaming Mind, show me how to heal this condition!” I have also asked, “Dreaming Mind, what is the root cause of this condition?” Additionally, “Dream, take me to XYZ so I may understand XYZ.” Remain open and receptive to what is shown or revealed in that lucid state. Again, write down, sketch out, or audio record anything you recall upon waking up from the dream. But, of course, do not jump out of bed so quickly. Remain still for a few moments as you collect yourself, mentally gathering together what you recall from the experience.

While lucid dreaming is as popular as biohacking these days, remember that lucidity does not equate to superiority. Ordinary dreams are truth teller. In addition, the liminal zones, in fact, offer some of the best information out there, so do not dismiss them. By this, I mean, as you relax prior to sleep, stay alert enough to catch solutions whether they arise as sounds, voices, or images that may come forth before drifting off to sleep. This pre-sleep zone is rich in what it can offer. On that note, be aware when you are awakening as well, as it is another valuable time period for gaining insights and catching solutions. These are the liminal states of consciousness. Some time ago when I was dealing with a condition and using the dream arts as part of my healing protocol, I heard a strong and direct voice in a liminal state. It was a teacher of mine reminding me how the body knows how to heal itself (given the right conditions). While not a diagnosis nor a remedy per se, the liminal dream did inspire me. The experience also served as a reminder for me to provide the correct, necessary conditions so that I may move along toward a state of healing from within.  

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No matter which dreamy state you find yourself in, remember to remain physically still as your awareness rises in order to enhance recall, whether those dreams be ordinary, liminal or lucid. Treat them all with the same respect. May your dreams be your medicine, as I always say! Stay open and receptive. Allow yourself to be surprised.

I’ll wrap up by returning to a point I made earlier. That is, how important it is to act on any and all information your dreaming mind gifts you. “Dreams require action,” as Robert Moss has said. So, do something to honor the dream. In addition to ceremonial prayer, one of the other ways I have done so is through creating art. I have made paintings based of what I saw and sensed in my lucid dreams, as well as collaged images from ordinary dreams that threw me for a loop as a way to process and understand them in deeper and deeper ways. Poetry or song are other possibilities. And since we are talking about bio-hacking here, be sure to visit your doctor anytime a dreams shows you a possible or potential illness or medical condition brewing. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Happy 2024,

Dr. Kim

the ritual complex of lucid dreaming

~ kimberly mascaro ~ 1 Comment

For December, we have another guest writer. I hope you enjoy this piece by Ryan Hurd.

You can reach him at https://dreamstudies.com/

Despite the snake oil pitch that lucid dreaming is all about “controlling your dreams,” the real value of lucid dreaming is to interact with the deep mind. Otherwise, we would just close our eyes and have a fantasy daydream. Done! But that’s not what we really want.

Lucid dreaming at its best invites something dynamic, unknown, or potentially ecstatic. With greater consciousness, the dreamer can dance with the dream, gaze into the bright eyes of mystery, and move with new power in a mythic world.

So let’s agree to use a simple definition for lucid dreaming: a dream in which the dreamer knows this is a dream. I do not talk a lot about “dream control” as it is not a big part of my dream life. I’m more interested in choice and meeting the dream where it stands.

Controlled aspects of lucid dreaming do come in handy, though, don’t get me wrong. Especially when calling the dream forth, when setting the stage.

Indeed, when viewed from a practical perspective, lucid dreaming induction can be seen as a controlled ritual used in order to stir up the unconscious mind and its visionary effects. By ritual, I mean an act or series of acts regularly repeated in a set or precise manner according to a social custom (1). Reframing lucid dreaming as a ritual complex is the hidden structure behind our forgotten lore, and the key to getting the most out of the Lucid Talisman.

Induction = Incubation

The ritual aspects of lucid dreaming can be seen every step of the process, and I would argue they are inseparable from the culture of lucid dreaming.

To begin with, the daily practices that bring on lucid dreams—also known as lucid dreaming induction—are a modern take on the ancient skill of dream incubation. The term comes from the Latin incubare, which means to lie down upon, or as we say today: just sleep on it. Dream incubation is about calling dreams, asking for guidance or clarity.

Anthropologist Charles Laughlin has noted that, while dream incubation is largely a lost art, many people have participated in dream rituals without knowing it when attempting to have a lucid dream (2). In fact, lucid dreaming can be thought of a specific form of dream incubation in which we are not looking for a dream message, but a specific form of dream thinking: being aware of being aware.

Ritual Drivers for Lucidity

In its weakest form, dream incubation can be represented by a wish for a certain kind of dream while lying down before sleep. This is the idea behind autosuggestion, one of the first lucid dreaming techniques popularized in the 1970s by lucid pioneer Patricia Garfield (3). 

In stronger variations, common ritual drivers can include affirmations said throughout the day, meditation, prayer, fasting, seclusion, drumming, and the ingestion of a tonic, pill or smoked herbs. Sound familiar to the “new tactics” posted on lucid dreaming forums? All of these techniques have been used for millennia across the world and in many cultures to ignite altered states of consciousness.

Neurologically, lucid dreaming is associated with increased activation of the frontal and parietal lobes (bringing waking-like awareness) during dreaming, a state of consciousness that comes with intense emotionality, vivid imagery and deep access to long-term memory (4). In this way, lucid dreaming is a bridge between the imagination of the dream state and the focused and intentional thinking that comes with being awake. However, the emphasis on waking-like consciousness in sleep (applying reason, testing memory skills, signaling to scientists in a lab) is a modern preoccupation.

In contrast, Anthropologist Michael Winkelman has called lucid dreaming a shamanic state of consciousness, because it “integrates the potentials of dreaming and waking consciousness.” This integrative mode of consciousness invites the classical markers of visionary awareness seen in other altered states, including abstract geometric imagery, encounters with animal-human hybrids, emotional catharsis and ecstasy, and finally, experiences of white light and nonduality (5).

That doesn’t make every lucid dreamer a shaman—heck no—but it sets up lucid dreaming as a vital bridge into the visionary worlds that have long been explored for the aims of shamanism around the world (healing, uncanny information, and personal insight).

The bridge, this transfer of knowledge, can go both ways: it is not just about bringing waking life-levels of self-awareness into the dream, but also bringing the imaginal realm back into the waking world.

This is the true potential of lucid dreaming: not the ability to change the dream, but our allowance to be changed… perhaps transformed.

This article is adapted from Ryan’s new book Lucid talisman: Forgotten lore, a book about using amulets and other liminal objects to empower your life with more lucidity.

Notes

1 Hayden, Brian (2003). Shamans, sorcerers and saints: A prehistory of religion. Washington: Smithsonian Books, p. 359.

2 Laughlin, Charles (2011).  Communing with the Gods. Brisbane: Daily Grail Press, p. 140

3 Garfield, Patricia (1974). Creative Dreaming. New York: Simon and Schuster.

4 Dresler, M., Wehrle, R., Spoormaker, V., Koch, K., Holsboer, F., Steiger, A., Obrig, H., Sämann, P., and Czisch, M. (2012). “Neural Correlates of Dream Lucidity Obtained from Contrasting Lucid versus Non-Lucid REM Sleep: A Combined EEG/fMRI Case Study.” Sleep. 35(07), 1017-1020.

5 Winkelman, Michael (2010). Shamanism: A biopsychosocial paradigm of consciousness and healing, 2nd edition. Santa Barbara: Praeger, p. 141.

THANK YOU, RYAN, FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION to Conscious Chimera!

About the Author

Ryan Dungan Hurd (he/him) is an educator, author and dream researcher. He is interested in consciousness studies at the intersections of ecology, spirituality and material culture. Ryan has been featured on NPR, CNN, Coast to Coast, Psychology Today, and many more. With a background in both archaeology and dream research, Ryan currently teaches graduate level courses at University for Peace in Costa Rica and National University in California. Ryan is a member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams and abides by their ethical guidelines. His website DreamStudies.org has been going strong since 2007. He currently lives in Philadelphia, PA.

season of dreams

~ kimberly mascaro ~ Leave a comment

Well, my Northern Hemisphere readers, we’ve just passed the autumnal equinox entering the season of Fall officially as a powerful full moon was overhead. This time each year is always a turning point for me as reflected in mother nature. I live in a forested area of Northern California so each day I notice trees – lots of them – browning, drying up, losing leaves along their branches that seem to be sagging oh so subtly. Nature is reminding me that soon, it will be time to sleep, hibernate, slow down and stay indoors. I’m been more accepting of what this turning point means. My preference is, and has always been, the creative burst of springtime and the sun’s invitation to play outdoors under its rays. Still, I accept that all things are in perpetual change as the cycles of nature continually turn. So that I do not slip into gloom I have learned to prepare for the colder, darker months. It’s around this time that I stock up on candles, baking supplies, art supplies, fine yarns and embroidery floss, purchase a half-dozen good books, a few blank journals, and bookmark recipes that require a hot oven. I also mentally recommit to scheduling in self-care and personal development practices, such as meditation, so that my week is truly work-life balanced. Last, but not least, I consider online workshops and conferences I want to attend so I can stretch my mind. Consider me a life-long leaner!

In this blog, I will tell you about one I plan to attend and another one where I will be presenting. I was excited to learn that next month a day-long psychotherapy workshop will take place which is focused on gender-sensitive treatment. Since my clinical focus is on women’s issues and women’s unique responses to trauma and other conditions, these gender-specific workshops are most welcome. Thank you PESI.com.

My own presentation will be included in an online conference that also begins next month, and it’s quite different from what I introduced above, although what the two do have is common is WELLNESS. October 30th begins the Many Worlds of Lucid Dreaming multi-day event featuring 15 diverse presenters. See: https://www.glidewing.com/iasd/lucid_dreaming_conference.html

During this event I will present a paper titled Dreams as medicine: How conscious dreaming can support one’s journey toward wellness. Whether you or someone you love has been impacted by disease or illness, this presentation will show how dreams can alert, warn, and even guide one toward improving health. Other presenters will also focus on wellness, such as reducing stress and relieving pain with the support of dreams. I hope you consider attending!

Autumn and Winter are great times to dive into dream-based practices such as improving sleep hygiene, utilizing dream incubation techniques, or committing to keeping a dream journal. After all, there is naturally more darkness, the nights are longer. Less daylight suggests going inward. Dreamwork pairs perfectly with this period of the year. So to my fellow summer-lovers, I remind you, not all is lost!

Dream big,

Dr. Kim