Ryan Hurd is a writer and dream researcher, and lives in Northern California. His blog is DreamStudies.org.
How old were you when you had your first experience with dreams?
I had a night terror at the age of eight where I recognized that I was in a different realm. I experienced metacognition in this dream, and became aware of my thoughts and myself. Later, I experienced sleep paralysis, which is a classic experiment of waking up and feeling a crushing weight on your chest. I felt an evil presence in the room and was consumed by fear. Then I had flash of my mother saying, “Love conquers all.” So I focused on love and it went away. My first lucid dream occurred when I was in the eighth grade where a monster came seething out of a television set. I said to myself, “No, you’re not real. This is a dream,” and woke myself up.
Have you made any recent discoveries?
After twenty years of lucid dreaming I’ve reached a stage where I let the dream come to me. I don’t incubate often, but the best ones still come, the archetypal dreams that can involve abstract geometric imagery, mythological creatures, feelings of awe and spaciousness.
You received a Master’s in Consciousness Studies at JFK. What did your graduate research entail?
For my thesis I wanted to explore the idea of spontaneous dreams. The method involved getting lucid, going through the threshold and dispersing the dream imagery. For example, sometimes I would melt into the floor, look into the mirror or reach abstract geometric imagery. Meditation followed along with watching expectation and keeping track of what happened without directing the flow. What would happen in 15-30 seconds of dreamtime is that I would enter a vortex and the dream scene would emerge. I asked myself, “What’s going on here? What am I?” I did this about 30 times during the incubation.
What were the results?
The results were that in a third of the dreams I reemerged in an early childhood setting, or in a house out of the 70’s. I would interact with family members, dead and alive, and have intense confrontations with them. Some of the other dreams experienced during incubation were of an ecstatic nature where I see the ocean or travel through the Earth’s soil, and also some false awakenings.
Why did you make of the results in your study?
I think the spontaneous emergence of these childhood settings boils down to having the courage to participate in the dream as you must. For me, it stresses the importance of forgiveness, gratitude and surrender.
Were there any striking dreams in these early childhood settings?
I had this dream about this giant arm. It took up most of my visual field. Then I realize I’m sitting in someone’s lap and I’m in a baby’s body. I toddled up into the living room and saw my grandmother and two aunts. They were about thirty years younger and looked at me with expressions of sheer joy. I could feel the love and connection they felt for me.
What kind of insight can lucid nightmares provide?
The insight comes from the initiation into the experience. It’s from being able to understand the value of courage without domination. It’s about the Self and Other, and how they modulate. It’s knowing and trusting what’s safe and what isn’t.
Can you talk about the lucid dream terrain? Is this territory we should explore, or is there such a thing as going too far to face dark truths?
Well, I succeeded in scaring myself. I would go as far as throwing myself off cliffs to experience the death of the dream body. Then I spent about three to four years away from lucid dreaming, which shaped my life and my studies. After traumatizing myself I went into archeology in order to get closer to the material world, to find something real to lean into. Four years later the dreams came back. I knew I had to find a way to manage my dream experience. That’s when I went to California.
Do you believe it’s important to approach dream studies in scientific fashion?
No, I would say interdisciplinary. Science informs the art, and vice versa. Meaning comes after the experience.
Is it possible to achieve a lucid dream by simply taking one of many supplements like the lucid dreaming pill?
Yes, but besides the physical side effects there are also psychological effects you would need to consider. I think it would be more appropriate for someone who needs the first bump, or a first taste of self awareness in the dream. After that you’ve got to do the work.
Are there any films you feel best illustrate the ideas behind lucid dreaming?
Linklater’s Waking Life is great. The Good Night just scrapes the surface around the important idea of noticing your strong emotions. But the Wizard of Oz is a classic example of the initiatory voyage toward personal growth. Metaphorically, it’s the best one out there.
Do you have any advice for new dreamers who want to know more about lucid dreaming?
Read all you can about the subject, especially the Lucidity Letter journal from the 1980’s when lucid dreaming research was in its heyday. Take up a mental discipline if you don’t have one already, because you have to learn to be more conscious in your daily life too. Also it’s important to be grounded with a body practice, like yoga, swimming, or tai chi, whatever works. Lastly, find people who can discuss these experiences, online or in your community. Be patient, you have your whole life to lucid dream!
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