Ryan Hurd
Ryan's recent dream research focuses on lucid dreaming, sacred sites, the anthropology of dreaming, and sleep paralysis. DreamStudies.org
Lucid dreaming as a spiritual practice
Lucid dreaming is the art of becoming more self-aware in our dreams. Often when we realize we’re dreaming, the dream becomes clearer, and colors more vibrant. We’re aware, alert, and we know that ours is a dreaming landscape. The sheer… Read the rest
Urine Dreams and the Creative Flow
Ever had a dream about going to the bathroom somewhere strange and wonder what it meant?
Dreams about our most primal daily functions—such as urination and defecation—are fairly common but seldom talked about. Are these dreams just a cue to wake up and take care of business? Doubtfully. Dreams, like all thoughts and acts of imagination, have multiple layers of significance beyond the obvious, and this includes dreams of finding relief. Read the rest
Dreams about our most primal daily functions—such as urination and defecation—are fairly common but seldom talked about. Are these dreams just a cue to wake up and take care of business? Doubtfully. Dreams, like all thoughts and acts of imagination, have multiple layers of significance beyond the obvious, and this includes dreams of finding relief. Read the rest
Turtle Power: honoring a dream with action
Over the holidays, I read an introductory book on dreams by Bobbie Ann Pimm, titled Notes from a dreamer on dreaming. Pimm’s book may be meant for beginners, but even seasoned dreamers will get something out of this personal and practical book. What strikes me the most of Pimm’s book is her simple three-step advice for recording and interpreting dreams. Read the rest
Archaeodreaming: Myths, Dreams and Sense of Place
Many of us struggle to deepen our relationship to where we live and where we travel. This has become increasingly difficult as commercial monopolies have attempted to make all places as standardized as the recipe for a mocha latte. As a dream researcher and a trained archaeologist, I have been working on a tool kit that can strip away this surface plastic-wrap and help discover the stories behind where we live and dream. Read the rest
Contemporary Dream Theories Starting with Freud
Unfortunately, in our Western culture, where dreaming has long been considered insignificant, advances have been slow due to a lack of funded research. No one has yet offered a holistic theory of dreaming that accounts for how dreams form in the brain, what they mean, and why human cultures around the world draw significance from them. Instead, we have many competing theories, all of which look at different aspects of the dreaming world. Read the rest
