Dreams….one of the behavioral sciences greatest questions. What are they? Why do we dream? Not all dreams are pleasant. Nightmares, sleep paralysis. Why do we experience these things?
Ryan Hurd feels while there is not an agreed upon definition of what dreams are, you can go very minimalist or you can have a very wide span in your definition. “Dreaming is any active imagination. Dreaming consciousness actually happens in waking life as well thru day dreaming, in reverie. Or course as we go to sleep at night, we have periods of intense dreaming mixed with more thoughtful cognitions styles, that are more kind of like when we are awake, but we don’t necessarily remember them. Dreaming can encompass all of that.”
Ryan knows of what he speaks. He is an author, conscious researcher and founder of dreamstudies.org. With a BA in Anthropology from the University of Georgia as well as a Masters in Consciousness studies from the John F. Kennedy University, Ryan has lectured around the country and teaches people the meaning of sleep paralysis, lucid dreaming and many other altered states of consciousness. Ryan has also published several books including Sleep Paralysis: A Guide to Hypnagogic visions and Visitors of the Night, as well as, Lucid Immersion Guidebook: A Holistic Blueprint for Lucid Dreaming. His newest book – Dream like a Boss – has readers claiming they receive better rest, able to have more vivid dreams, and how their dreams have been able to tap into their creative energy and solving problems in their real life. Ryan talked to Anthony Agate and Luci Leibfried of Paranormal Review Radio about the mysteries of dreaming and sleep.
While Ryan states that he is not a dream interpreter, he does sometimes try to interpret his own personal dreams. Most people have the tendency to look at dreams after they occur as the dream is dead. “While trying to understand dreams is important, we try to interpret them and extract information out of them.” Ryan tries to keep the dream alive. “You really get away from the spirit of the dream, when you do that kind of thing. It’s a really fun exercise, but for me, at the end of the night, the most interesting thing about dreams is to trying to keep them alive. To work with them in waking life and reinforce them and allow that magical way of thinking makes its way into my consciousness now and get me out of my rut. We need that creative, mysterious way of thinking.” Ryan feels we need to enjoy, appreciate and be in awe of our dreams.
Before one can effectively dream, one should be able to sleep. Our culture has basically embraced the idea that less sleep is better. We are constantly urged to burn the candle at both ends. As many paranormal investigators know, with all of the travel, long hours and lack of sleep, how can we sleep better when we actually do get some sleep? Is this something that is good for us and our ability to dream?
In his newest book, “Dream Like A Boss” Ryan has complied his most practical how-to articles on dream health. The book covers how to sleep better, how to dream more and how to build a dream-rich life for greater creativity, emotional health and insight into your own personal journey.
In talking to Ryan he does talk about the importance of naps and the length of time that we sleep. We tend to dream in the last stage of sleep, more commonly referred to as REM sleep. Are all these dreams pleasant? Not always. Sleep paralysis or “Old Hag Syndrome” can be very traumatic when it occurs. He also addresses visitation by others in our dreams, repetitive dreams and the all-around importance of sleep.
So when you embark on that next overnight investigation, make some time for a nap. You’ll feel the benefits just from even 10 minutes or so of shut eye. You’ll be alert and less likely to mistake what you are hearing and seeing. More than that, pay attention to your dreams. Your waking life will definitely benefit from the magic of your dreams.
You can purchase Ryan’s books on his website dreamstudies.org and learn more about the science of sleep. To hear the complete interview with Ryan Hurd and Paranormal Review Radio go to Blogtalkradio.com/paranormalreview.
