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Sleep quality and PTSD: A bidirectional link

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If you want to effectively treat PTSD, it’s critical to address sleep issues, including nightmares. Currently, there is too little integration of sleep and trauma-focused therapies for the treatment of PTSD according to the authors of a comprehensive review of sleep disorders and PTSD. Weber and Wetter’s (2021) survey of the literature shows that intervening in sleep disturbances also helps daytime PTSD symptoms and may even offer a preventative effect.

 

Sleep problems, a core feature of PTSD, include nightmares, insomnia and nocturnal anxiety. The authors found little evidence for the long-term effectiveness of medication for insomnia and nightmares and called for a more complex and integrated approach to psychological treatment. They stress the importance of addressing sleep issues, noting that sleep problems and PTSD have a bidirectional link. Sleep issues can predispose a person to PTSD and perpetuate it.

 

“Interventions that enable people to sleep better are likely to be of particular therapeutic importance, as they may have immediate remedial effect on PTSD symptoms,” according to the authors. More than 90 percent of those with PTSD also have sleep problems that include post-traumatic nightmares, and difficulty falling and staying asleep. They can also ruminate at night, talk in their sleep, wake up disoriented and suffer from parasomnias.

 

PTSD associated with alterations in the nervous system and sleep architecture

There is much evidence to show that those with PTSD have low parasympathetic tone while awake and resting, and increased sympathetic activation during sleep, especially during REM when most dreaming occurs. It is now considered established that altered heart-rate variability (HRV), a measure often used to assess the state of the nervous system, increases the likelihood of developing PTSD after trauma.

 

The sleep patterns of those with PTSD differs in many measurable ways from normal, healthy sleep, indicating they sleep less deeply, and spend less time in restorative, regulating slow-wave sleep. Sleep spindles, bursts of brain activity that can be seen on EEG readouts during stage 2 non-REM sleep, are associated with memory consolidation and neuroplasticity. These are altered in those with PTSD sufferers. Similar disruptions in sleep spindle patterns were also found recently in those with nightmares associated with early childhood adversity – a finding that suggests trauma nightmares and so-called idiopathic nightmares (of unknown origin) may not be so easily differentiated (Nielsen et al. , 2019). REM sleep patterns are also altered in PTSD in ways that fragment this dream-rich phase of sleep that has been shown to help regulate emotion and attenuate fear and distress.

 

Sleep disturbances are linked to increased suicidality and self-harming behaviours. PTSD is also a risk factor for suicide. Weber and Wetter (2021) note that reciprocal influences of sleep, PTSD and suicide are well documented but not well understood. They do, however, cite a study that suggests “targeted treatment of sleep disorders and nightmares could contrubute to reducing the risk of suicidality in PTSD patients (Bishop et al., 2020).

 

Treatment of PSTD and Sleep Disorder Must Be Integrated

While PTSD treatment helps with insomnia and nightmares, and treatment of sleep problems helps with daytime PTSD symptoms, the two approaches are rarely integrated. The authors note several effective psychotherapeutic approaches to treating nightmares, including IRT, ERRT and EMDR. They also review pharmacological interventions, and the evidence is less favorable. They also studied the impact of sleep inteventions post-trauma as a way to prevent PTSD, and again the evidence was not conclusive.

 

In their conclusions, Webe and Wetter say there is “robust evidence” for psychotherapeutic inteventions and less evidence for medication as a treatment for PTSD. “Integrative concepts and optimized algorithms for sleep and daytime symptoms are needed.” These may also help reduce the risk of suicide, and in future, even prevent the development of PTSD following trauma.

 

References

Bishop T. M., Walsh P. G., Ashrafioun L., Lavigne J.E., Pigeon W. R. (2020). Sleep, suicide behaviors, and the protective role of sleep medicine. Sleep Medicine, 66, 264–70.

Nielsen T., Carr M., Picard-Deland C., Marquis L. P., Saint-Onge K., Blanchette-Carriere C., et al. (2019). Early childhood adversity associations with nightmare severity and sleep spindles. Sleep Medicine, 56, 57–65.

Weber, F. C. & Wetter, T. C. (2021). The many faces of sleep disorders in post-traumatic stress disorder: An update on clinical features and treatment. Neuropsychobiology, published online Seot. 2. DOI: 10.1159/000517329

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Nightmare Relief from a Single Phone Session

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A recent study showed that even one session of nightmare treatment can be enough to significantly reduce the frequency and distress of nightmares. Katharin Luth and two other German researchers studied this low-threshold intevention, stressing the need for easy access to treatment because so often, nightmares are both underdiagnosed and untreated.

In the study, 28 people were given a half-hour phone session that provided information on what causes nightmares, and then offered a short version of Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT), which asks the dreamer to write down their nightmare, imagine a new ending or revised version and visualize this new version for 5-10 minutes a day.

After 8 weeks of self-practice, the participants were asked about the impact on their nightmares. Participants were either students or patients from a sleep laboratory, and there was no control group.  Follow-up calls determined that 64% of participants’ nightmare frequency was reduced, 29 percent were unchanged and 7 percent experienced an increase in nightmare frequency.

Results were very similar for nightmare distress, which was reduced significantly for 63% of participants and most (78%) reported little or no distress post treatment. Of the 28 participants, 17 decreased distress, 9 remained the same and 1 experienced an increase.

The researchers also asked participants about their subjective experience with the treatment, and found that 2 of the 28 thought the treatment itself was scary because the process began with imagining their nightmares. There were far more positive reports (19) and 3 found immediate relief, saying, “The dreams completely disappeared as if they were switched off.”

All but one person in the study found the process helpful or very helpful. Effect sizes (d=1.92) were very large, possibly because for every person in the study, this was the first time their nightmares were addressed by a professional. For some, the simple idea that nightmares could be treated was a revelation, and then, to have a tool that they could use on their own brought them a greater sense of safety.

The authors concluded, “Because of the simplicity and the effectiveness of this method, we stress the idea put forward by many dream researchers that such easily accessibly offers for nightmare treatment should be implemented in our health care system.”

Some further resources:

Help for nightmare sufferers (free PDF) CLICK HERE

If you are interested in learning more about nightmares and their treatment, sign up for my short, focused online course. Because I feel this material is important to disseminate, the course is always open, is self-paced, and currently discounted during the virus crisis. Please ask your clients if they have nightmares, and let them know they are treatable.Check out our Short Focused Course on Nightmare Treatment using THIS LINK.

Lüth, K., Schmitt, J. & Schredl, M. Conquering nightmares on the phone: one-session counseling using imagery rehearsal therapy. Somnologie (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11818-021-00320-w

Are you a parent concerned about the frequency and intensity of your child’s bad dreams? Should you be concerned?
Learn more about Nightmare Relief for Everyone designed by nightmare expert Dr. Leslie Ellis, this self-paced user-friendly and accessible online course covers the very latest in science and research about what nightmares are, and what they’re not. Leslie offers some simple steps you can take to get some relief from nightmares and other nocturnal disturbances – both for yourself and for others, including your children.

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Veterans and dreams: Special considerations for treating moral injury and lucid nightmares

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Veterans and dreams: Special considerations for treating moral injury and lucid nightmares

By Dr. Leslie Ellis

Sometimes, traumatic injury is not just an overwhelming event, but one that constitutes a deep moral injury. This kind of trauma, more common among veterans, requires a uniquely sensitive approach. At the most recent conference for the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD, June 2021), keynote speaker Eduardo Duran, addressed the complexities of treating the moral injury many veterans suffer – where trauma is not just about what you have witnessed and experienced, but also about things you have done or failed to do in the context of battle, where the usual societal rules do not apply. Taking the life of another or failing to save someone’s life, for example, may lead to devastating moral injury.

 

An indigenous perspective on treating moral injury

Duran brings an indigenous perspective to the question of moral injury, and speaks of the importance of redressing balance. A moral injury refers to an act that weighs heavily on one’s conscience, characterized by profound guilt and shame. In his book, Healing the Soul Wound (2019), Duran writes of the indigenous teachings which say there is an agreement or contract made when one warrior takes the life of another. “Taking anything requires that a balancing act occur in order to harmonize the action. Everything in the universe seeks balance, and actions taken in any situation will either balance themselves unconsciously through the manifestation of symptoms, or will enhance human consciousness if understood from a psycho-spiritual perspective.”

At the IASD conference, Duran spoke of how in some indigenous tribes, taking the life of another indebted the warrior to the deceased soldier’s family for his lifetime. Often those who have taken a life dream of the deceased, both those whose lives they may have directly or indirectly taken, and they also dream of compatriots who lost their lives in battle. These dreams are a constant reminder that keeps their suffering alive, sometimes for decades, unless some kind of healing takes place. There is an understanding that while different rules apply during wartime, there is a need for balance and restitution upon returning to peace, and that these acts of atonement are as important for the agressor as they are for the victims of violence.

Practically speaking, this means that a soldier who has taken a life must make amends in some way to the person or the family and community whose life they have taken. This can be done through offerings, direct service, ceremony, therapy and ultimately, self-forgiveness. Duran said the pull toward suicide in such cases is may also be seen as an attempt to restore balance (a life for a life) but one that merely doubles down on losses. He calls suicide a desire for transformation, an important call, though not one to be taken literally.

In many indigenous traditions, suicide is a spirit that calls for transformation, which can lead to a spiritual rebirth, and a new life. Duran believes Western paradigms misinterpret this as suicidal ideation, as an impulse to take one’s own life in the physical realm. He said it’s crucial to not only treat PTSD symptoms, but also the deep moral injury that can lead to a desire for death. “A larger issue of soul separation is what is calling for a transforming event, such as we encounter in death. Therapeutic ceremony that allows for soul restoration is a must.”

 

Moral injury leads to higher suicide risk

A recent study (Battles et al., 2021) confirmed that suicide risk is higher among those veterans who have suffered a moral injury, which has symptoms in common with PTSD, but also a unique and complex presentation. The researchers found that those with strong guilt and shame, as well as comorbid psychiatric conditions, carried the highest suicide risk. The symptom picture differs from the flashbacks, nightmares and hypervigilance associated with PTSD. Moral injury and the shame associated with it bring depression, anxiety, loss of trust, and social alienation. The researchers concluded that while there is overlap between moral injury and PTSD, there are distinctive differences that need to be considered in treatment and prevention of suicide.

Another recent article addressing the impact of war on veterans found that the way they dream has unique characteristics. Miller, Ross and Harb (2021) studied the dreams of 54 veterans with PTSD and found that more than half of them were experiencing lucid nightmares of the most challenging variety. Participants were aware they were dreaming, but this did not lend them greater control over these distressing dreams. Instead, they reported feeling stuck, anxious and unable to wake themselves up from their distressing dreams.

Normally, lucid dreaming is associated with feelings of greater well-being, autonomy, assertiveness and confidence, but not in these cases. Although lucid dreaming has been studied as a treatment for traumatic nightmares, in these cases, the notion of taking control and achieving mastery over the dream content is not viewed as a promising pathway. The authors suggest that helping veterans who suffer from lucid nightmares to learn to distinguish these dreams from reality might be a useful focus of treatment.

In this and other recent studies, it is apparent that the treatment of veterans suffering from past-traumatic and/or moral injury is a complex business, and one that deserves further attention and study, especially because it may help reduce the high prevalence of suicide in this clinical population. It’s important for clinicians to understand that moral injury, and lucid nightmares are among the complex challenges in working with veterans, but they are treatable. There is hope.

If you are interested in learning more about nightmares and their treatment, sign up for my short, focused online course. Because I feel this material is important to disseminate, the course is always open, is self-paced, and currently discounted during the virus crisis. Please ask your clients if they have nightmares, and let them know they are treatable. Check out our Short Focused Course on Nightmare Treatment using THIS LINK.

 

References

Battles, A. R., Jinkerson, J., Kelley, M. L., & Mason, R. A. (2021). Structural examination of moral injury and PTSD and their associations with suicidal behavior among combat veterans. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 13(4).

Duran, E. (2019). Healing the soul wound: Trauma-informed counseling for indigenous communities. New York, NY: Teachers College Press, Columbia University.

Miller, K. E., Ross, R. J., & Harb, G. C. (2021). Lucid Dreams in Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Include Nightmares. Dreaming, 31(2), 117-127.

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Nightmare-Suicide Link Extends to Adolescents

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Read on to find out how you can help!

If you know or work with a deeply troubled teen, you might consider asking them about their dreams. If they report frequent disturbing dreams or nightmares, they are at a greater risk for suicide. The link between adult suicide and nightmare frequency has been well established, and a new study extends this correlation to young adolescents. The good news is that nightmares are treatable, and some very simple steps can make a meaningful difference.

In a recent study based in Montreal, Canada, Aline Gauchat and colleagues studied both the dreams and suicidal ideation of 170 children when they were 12 and again at age 13. Disturbed dreaming tends to lessen with age and did so in this sample. At the same time, the rate of suicidal ideation increased, and analysis of the data showed that the adolsecents who had suicidal ideation had significantly more disturbing and recurring dreams.

This is another piece of mounting evidence that when working with those with a potential risk of suicide (for example those with depression, borderline personality or a history of complex trauma) you should ask about nightmares as part of the screening process.

 

Why we should ask about nightmares

Dr. Michael Nadorff, who has conducted several studies linking nightmares and suicide, noted with dismay that in the past 50 years, we have not become any better at predicting suicide. Paying attention to dreams, in particular the frequency of disturbing dreams and nightmares, is one way to help determine who is most at risk.

The other important thing to note with respect to the nightmare-suicide link is that effective nightmare treatments are available. In his talk on nightmares at the recent (June, 2021) conference for the International Association for the Study of Dreams, Nadorff noted that of those with dangerously troubling dreams, only one person in ten might report this to a mental health professional. There are a couple of reasons for this: those with frequent nightmares don’t always realize that such dreaming is not typical. And very few people are aware that nightmares can be treated. People also hesitate to talk about their nightmares for fear of being judged for the dark images that haunt their sleep.

However, talking about nightmares, and getting treatment can have positive effects that extend beyond the simple reduction in the frequency and distress caused by disturbing dreams. In general, symptoms of depression and trauma dissipate, and although this has not been specifically studied, it is fair to suggest the risk of suicide drops significantly as well.

Instilling Hope

When asked what he thought made nightmare sufferers more likely to consider taking their own life, Nadorff said he thinks a lack of hope is a major contributing factor. For frequent nightmare sufferers, even sleep is not a refuge from their tortured thoughts. Those contemplating suicide report deep loneliness and a sense that they are a burden to those closest to them. He suggests intensive support for those whose risk of suicude is high, stressing that the periods of high risk are time-limited.

Treating the nightmares of those contemplating suicide is also something Nadorff recommends, though this idea has not taken hold very widely, at least not yet. But Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT), lucid dreaming, and several other nightmare treatment protocols demonstrate that it can be fairly quick and easy to reduce nightmares and their related distress. In my survey of the nightmare literature, I have found that virtually all methods researchers tried seemed to help, and adverse effects seemed absent.

The common denominators in nightmare treatment include instilling hope by teaching those with nightmares that they are treatable and it is entirely possible to change their dream life for the better. The other key elements of treatment are to write, rescript or re-imagine a new ending to their nightmare, ideally one that gives them a sense of mastery over the challenge presented in their dreams. They can, for example, develop a superpower that enables them to escape or overpower their attacker. In my experience, the more richly imagined this new dream ending is, the more power it has to change subsequent dreams. If it sounds too simple, don’t be fooled… it can really be that easy to make a meaningful difference, possibly even save a life.

 

Some further resources:

Help for nightmare sufferers (free PDF) CLICK HERE

A short focused course on nightmare treatment for clinicians CLICK HERE

Are you a parent concerned about the frequency and intensity of your child’s bad dreams? Should you be concerned?
Learn more about Nightmare Relief for Everyone designed by nightmare expert Dr. Leslie Ellis, this self-paced user-friendly and accessible online course covers the very latest in science and research about what nightmares are, and what they’re not. Leslie offers some simple steps you can take to get some relief from nightmares and other nocturnal disturbances – both for yourself and for others, including your children.

 

References

Gauchat, A., Zadra, A., El Hourani, M., Parent, S., Renaud, J., Tremblay, R. E., and Seguin, J. R. (2021). Association Between Recurrent Dreams, Disturbing Dreams, and Suicidal Ideation in Adolescents. Dreaming 31(1), 32-43.

Nadorff, M. (2021). Invited talk for the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) Online Conference, June 13-17, 2021.

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Can Your Apple Watch Stop Your Nightmares?

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For more than 30 years, retired combat Marine veteran Tim Bahr would have his sleep interrupted by a dozen or so nightmares every night. He clearly recalls the morning of August 5, 2017 because that was the first time in decades that he woke up from a full night of sleep and could not recall a single nightmare. Bahr was testing an early version of NightWare and has become a strong advocate for this new nightmare treatment.

Nightware, is a ‘breakthrough’ system that uses an Apple watch and iPhone to help reduce nightmares and their related distress. As you begin to have a nightmare, a gentle vibration from the watch wakes the wearer just enough to change the dream state, allowing the person to sleep on more peacefully. Bahr said the sleep data shows he is still having nightmares but the device ‘breaks’ them before they get to the most intense places, so he is blissfully unaware of them. He also says this does not replace therapy but it does enable him to work through his PTSD with a well-rested body and a clear mind. “I now wake up without that fog.”

Granted FDA approval in November 2020, Nightware is now available on a limited basis by prescription to those who suffer from nightmare disorder or nightmares related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is new order of nightmare treatment was granted ‘breakthrough device’ designation that allowed it to fast-track through the FDA approval process.

Recurrent, realistic nightmares that replicate traumatic events are a cardinal feature of PTSD. They cause considerable distress and impair sleep, and for many, these distressing dreams do not simply go away with time. There have been several effective nightmare treatments developed that involve some variant of nightmare rescripting – in which the dreamer invents and rehearses a new ending to their nightmare. Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT) has the most supportive evidence, and many other, similar psychotherapy-based interventions have been developed over the past 20 years. Medications are often prescribed as well, most often Prasozin, but it was recently downgraded because in a recent study, it did not perform better than placebo. However, NightWare is a new and different kind of treatment that can augment other ways of helping reduce nightmare suffering.

The beauty of Nightware is that this wearable device poses minimal risk and has no side effects. When we have a nightmare, our body reacts as though the terrifying event is really happening – so our heart rate increases, our breath becomes rapid, and we can tend to thrash around a lot more. The Apple watch can detect heart rate and movement. Over the first week or so of wearing the device, the patented Nightware software creates a personalized sleep profile to enable it to detect when a person is likely to be having a nightmare. It will then send a signal to create a gentle vibration in the watch, enough to cause a shift in the dream state, but not enough to wake the wearer up… or if the signal is too strong and does wake the wearer, the watch will adjust the signal and make it softer.

NightWare was tested in 30-day clinical trial with 70 patients who were randomly assigned with the working app, or a placebo app that did not create vibrations. Both groups reported improved sleep quality, but those with the Nightware app reported greater benefit. A larger controlled clinical trial is under way in several Department of Veterans Affairs hospital sites. According to NightWare CEO Grady Hannah, the company was founded specifically to support the physical, mental and emotional health of veterans and active duty service members.

There are some caveats. The FDA suggests that Nightware should be used in conjunction with other treatments and under the supervision of a professional. And it’s not recommended for those who tend to sleepwalk, or become violent or act out their dreams because the device may increase this undesirable activity (called REM Behaviour Disorder). It also recommended only for those 22 years of age or older. Nightware is available by prescription only, and is currently limited to veteran and military individuals. To find out more about it, you can do go the company web site at nightware.com.

 

Dr. Leslie Ellis is an author, researcher and therapist who specializes in PTSD nightmare treatment. If you are interested in learning more about nightmares and their treatment, check out my Short Focused Course on Nightmare Treatment. Or go HERE for a free PDF for clients on ‘What You Can Do About Your Nightmares.’

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Sleep deprived? You may be getting more sleep than you think!

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We’ve all experienced nights like this: where we toss and turn and worry and plan, and when morning comes, it feels as if we have barely slept at all. The truth is you may actually be getting a lot more sleep than you realize. New research suggests there can be a big difference between your real and perceived duration and quality of sleep. A group of Swiss researchers recently found that when we are in our deepest sleep, we tend to perceive the opposite.

In the recent experiment at the Center for Investigation and Research on Sleep and University Hospital in Switzerland, researchers recruited 20 good sleepers and 10 with severe sleep misperception (also called paradoxical insomnia). In the sleep lab, they woke the participants up a collective total 787 times, at different sleep stages, to inquire about their perception of the quality of their sleep. Sleep stages were measured by high-density EEG. Our brain waves clearly show when we are in the deepest non-rapid eye movement (MREM) or ‘slow-wave’ sleep, and when we enter lighter, dream-rich REM sleep, or any of the stages in between.

One of the biggest surprises in this research by Stephan, Castaldi and Sicari (2021) is that we tend to perceive the opposite of what is true. They said, “Surprisingly, in good sleepers, sleep was subjectively lightest in the first two hours of NREM sleep, generally considered the ‘deepest’ sleep, and deepest in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Both the good sleepers and the sleep misperceptors felt they were sleeping deeply when they reported “dream-like features of conscious experiences… These findings challenge the widely held notion that ‘deep’ (slow wave) sleep best accounts for feeling soundly asleep.”

Anecdotally, this observation is supported by sleep medicine practitioners. At a sleep conference, I recall listening to a sleep doctor talk about a particular patient who checked into the clinic because he suffered from terrible insomnia. They set him up in the sleep lab, connected him to the EEG equipment to record his sleep duration and quality. In the morning, the lab staff were able to report to him that he had a full 8 hours of normal, restful sleep. The speaker said he happened to overhear a phone conversation the man had with his wife that morning. The man said, come get me, the doctors here don’t know what they’re talking about. In his perception, he had once again barely slept at all.

In the Swiss study, researchers wanted to know if this kind of sleep misperception was similar in nature (though clearly not in degree) to that of good sleepers. They found that both groups perceived they were awake more often during the first two hours of sleep, when we drop into our deepest sleep of the night, and again in the last hour before waking. Predictably, the misperceptors felt awake more often than good sleepers. The researchers also found that the ‘wake-like’ neurophysiological processes that typify NREM infiltrated REM more often for paradoxical insomniacs, possibly accounting for their misperceptions.

In terms of sleep perception, the only difference between the two groups was that misperceptors reported more thought-like experiences than good sleepers. Overall, the more dream-like experiences perceived, the greater the sense of having experienced a good sleep. This gives a clue about how you might treat paradoxical insomnia, and insomnia in general – stop thinking so much about whether or not you are sleeping, or worrying about how well you are sleeping. Instead, allow your mind to wander and to dream. Get a sleep meditation app like Insight Timer and find your favorite voice to fall asleep to. I notice when I listen to the same yoga nidra recording over and over, I lose big chunks of it to sleep, something I would not even realize if I didn’t know the sequence so well.

It may also really help to change your expectations about what sleep should be like, especially as you age. A continuous sleep, in which you lay your head down at night and are conscious of nothing until you wake up in the morning, can indeed be a rare event for many people – for example women experiencing menopause, and the elderly. Those who adapt best to this learn to accept periods of wakefulness as part of the norm. It may help to know that in these periods we perceive as wakeful, we may in fact be getting a lot more sleep than we think.

 

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Embodied Experiential Dreamwork Certification Program

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Experiential Dreamwork Certification Program

Join us for an amazing journey that will bring about insight and growth, both personally and professionally.

Now taking applications for FALL cohort 2022. Reserve your spot now!

This program is a deep dive into the world of dreams, and a clear path to learning how to engage yourself and guide others in embodied experiential dreamwork practices. Upon completion of this program, you will be able to confidently engage with your own dreams and the dreams of others, both one-on-one and in groups. And you will be able to help those who suffer from trauma-related nightmares to not only reduce nightmare frequency and distress, but also PTSD symptoms. This course is a companion to Dr. Leslie Ellis’ recent book, A Clinician’s Guide to Dream Therapy but goes beyond the material in the book to include personal and group dreamwork, and co-creative dreamwork.

TIMING OF ONLINE LIVE CLASSES:

There will be 10 2.5-hour live group Q/A and dreamwork practice/demo sessions.
Time: 9:30 AM to NOON PACIFIC on the third Wednesday of each month, starting in September. Sessions will be recorded and available to view at any time, but in-class attendance is strongly encouraged.

Instructor: Dr. Leslie Ellis

Dr. Ellis is a world expert in the clinical use of dreams, with a specialty in working with PTSD nightmares. She has a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and a Masters in Counselling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She is vice president of The International Focusing Institute and has more than 20 years’ experience in clinical practice. She has taught a focusing certification program to therapists for more than 10 years, and is now offering online instruction in dreamwork to therapists and anyone interested in cultivating inner life through dreamwork, focusing and active imagination. She is the author of A Clinician’s Guide to Dream Therapy (Routledge, 2019), as well as numerous papers and book chapters on focusing and embodied, experiential dreamwork. She has also taught and delivered talks worldwide, including a recent keynote for the International Association for the Study of Dreams.

Who should attend?

This course is aimed at mental health professionals and students working toward psychotherapy, counselling, social work or coaching certification, as well as those with a strong interest in dreams and dreamwork. It is also of interest to spiritual directors and those intending to lead dream groups. This program is intended as an adjunct to the practice you already have, and it is up to each student to practice dreamwork within the scope of your own skills and training base. It is also not a substitute for therapy, although working with dreams is often therapeutic. If you have any questions about whether this program is for you, feel free to ask.

CEUs. A total of 50 CE credits are offered for this program from the Canadian Counselling Association.

 

Online Instruction includes the following courses:

Working with your OWN dreams

Dreamwork Demystified, the clinical use of dreams, parts 1 and 2

Working with Nightmares

 

Interactive instruction and practice

Monthly dream group meeting

Live demos and Q/A sessions

Practice partnership to exchange dream sessions

Online discussions, and bonus articles, videos and demos on topics of interest to the group

 

Assignments

Dream journal (for yourself)

Records of dream practice session, and questions and insights that arise

Option to present a case study, video, paper, artwork on an aspect of working with dreams

 

Reading

Ellis, Leslie. (2019) A Clinician’s Guide to Dream Therapy: Implementing Simple and Effective Dreamwork. New York & London: Routledge.

Gendlin, E. T. (1986). Let Your Body Interpret Your Dreams. Wilmette, IL: Chiron Publications.

Gendlin, E. T. (1978/1981). Focusing. New York, NY: Bantam Books

 

Suggested Reading

Bosnak, R. (1998). A little course in dreams. Boston & London: Shambala.

Malinowski, J. (2021). The psychology of dreaming, London & New York: Routledge.

Bulkeley, K. (2017). An Introduction to the Psychology of Dreaming. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.

Specific additional reading will be assigned or suggested as the course progresses.

 

PRICING

To purchase the individual components of this program would cost more than $2500 USD. We are offering the complete program for $1750 USD or $2100 Cdn. There is an option to pay monthly, in instalments of $175 USD or $210 CAD (includes GST). A deposit of $175USD or $210 CDN is required to secure your spot – this is not included in the total or monthly fee and is non-refundable. Please send deposit and registration info (see below) to leslie@drleslieellis.com via paypal or e-transfer.

Contact information: Dr. Leslie Ellis, email leslie@drleslieellis.com.  Web: www.drleslieellis.com

 

What current students of the course are saying:

  • “Personally and professionally helpful” 
  • Leslie is incredibly knowledgeable and always has lots to offer. I have found this course to be greatly helpful to me, both personally and professionally. This course is equipping me with the tools to work with a wide variety of clients on a much deeper level. Moreover, I have found it to be personally helpful as it has provided me with a platform to further engage with myself.
  • “Captivated my curiosity” It is with immense pleasure that I share with you my experience of this Experiential Dreamwork Certification Program that has captivated my curiosity and attention each and every day. I have been working with my dreams for over 30 years and have recorded 30 dream journals; however, this course has moved me so much farther in understanding my dream life that is so precious to me.
  • “Multi-layered and integrative” This program is multi-layered and I am learning so many new skills. I have been in this course approximately 3 months and have already learned so much, including: how to work with nightmares; how to work with my dreams on my own; how to participate in dream groups;  how to find the life force found in my dreams;  how to work with lucid dreams; and how to discover my blind spots when sharing my dreams. Most of all, I have gained skill in integrating Focusing while processing my dreams so that I can experience my dream more fully, embody useful elements of the dream and move the dream and myself forward.
  • “Skilled and knowledgeable facilitation” Dr. Ellis is a very skilled facilitator and psychotherapist and is exceptionally knowledgeable about the vastness of dream work.  She has written a cutting-edge dream book, A Clinician’s Guide to Dream Therapy: Implementing Simple and Effective Dreamwork that complements her online course, virtual classroom and group dream work.  I feel very fortunate to be studying with her.
  • “Fresh and fascinating” For me, this course is a fresh approach to the dream world. Beyond attempts for analysis and interpretation, it offers the opportunity to re-live our dreams and to receive all the gifts they bring.  For me, it was surprising to learn that nightmares can also carry helpful elements and how there are ways to find them and listen to them. Throughout this journey, Leslie is a very warm and supportive teacher and the educational process of the course enables us to quickly bond as a team. I believe it is a fascinating experience for every dreamer.
  • “From having nightmares to loving dreams again” 
    As a mental health professional, I’ve found the techniques I learned in this course to be incredibly effective in reducing my client’s nightmare frequency and severity. But it’s not only for clinicians. Anyone can take it and help themselves have a better dream life, and better connection with their dreams. I’ve come to see how much dreams can bring help and resolution to a bunch of different aspects of one’s life. So that’s something I’ve really taken away. I just like loving dreams again.The course came at a time where I was having really, really frequent nightmares that were just terrifying. And they were happening maybe every 10 days. After our one-on-one session, it just went away and never had it again. That was that was really, really helpful. I couldn’t find a solution before that.
  • “An Amazing Journey.” It’s been an amazing journey. I’ve always been passionate about dreams and with this approach I definitely feel a shift in how I work with dreams. There is such power for healing when we really attune to bodily sensations, when enter dreams in an experiential way. I find it very, very powerful. The finding of the helpful life force in the dream is a new technique for me and it’s really amazing. I find it that dreaming a dream forward gives that quality of more. My clients are really happy with the process as well. I can see it helping them move forward in their lives.
  • “Excellent.” 
    This dream course was excellent and if I could, I would do it all over again. I learned far more than I could ever articulate, and I now have a focusing-oriented template for supporting my clients with their dreams.

‘Embodied Experiential Dreamwork Program ‘made me a better clinician’

I recently had a conversation with one of the recent graduates my year-long dreamwork program – looking for feedback and ways to talk about the program to prospective students. If you are considering the program, Shauna’s experience may help you decide if this is a fit for you.

Read full conversation HERE.

 

To reserve your spot: A completed registration form and deposit of $175 USD  or $210 CAD (includes GST) is required (PayPal or e-transfer to leslie@drleslieellis.com). Deposit is nonrefundable. Once the program has started, refunds will be prorated and will not include the current month.

Registration form: Please email the following information to leslie@drleslieellis.com

1. Name, email address, mailing address.

2. Education and training

3. A very brief statement about your experience with dreamwork (none required) and your reasons for taking this course.

4. Your preferred payment method: $175USD deposit, and monthly instalments ($175USD x 11 months), or save $175 with payment in full ($1750 USD plus deposit).

Other currencies. Canadians are welcome to pay in Cdn funds: $210 deposit, and monthly x 11, or in full at $2100, plus deposit. For those in countries with large currency differentials, further discounts are available.

FAQs

What if I don’t recall any dreams — can I still benefit from the program and learn to work with dreams?

The short answer is yes, you can do dreamwork even if you don’t recall dreams. But you will likely find that you recall more dreams as you pay more attention to them. I have written a blog post with some ideas about how to recall dreams. And I also teach some ways to cultivate waking dreams, and these can be used for practice in the course in the same way you would work with night dreams. This also works for clients who don’t recall dreams.

Is the class time-intensive? How much time outside of class is required?

At minimum, you need to attend the monthly 2-hour class, or watch the recording if you are not able to attend in person — though it is highly encouraged to attend in person as often as possible. Outside of class time, you will have a dreamwork partner and are encouraged to work with each other’s dreams at least once a month. There are a couple of short books that are required reading. And there are several online courses you can consume at your leisure.

I have a suggested time-line of reading and coursework, but because my students are all adult learners and busy professionals, I want everyone to consume the material at their own pace, and to enjoy the process. Of course, the more time you put in, the more you will get from the course material, but I leave that up to each individual.

Are there scholarships available?

I do offer a discount in specific cases — mainly for those who reside in countries where the currency differential would render the tuition out of reach. There are a limited number of discounted spaces, and candidates will be considered in a case by case basis.

Is the course eligible for CEUs?

The course has been approved for 50 CE credits by the Canadian Counselling Association. These may not apply in your jurisdiction however.

Can I take this course if I am not a mental health professional who works with clients?

While this course is aimed at those who want to use dreamwork in clinical practice, it is open to all with a strong interest in working with dreams — their own, or the dreams of others. It may appeal to spiritual directors, coaches and anyone with a deep interest in exploring the fascination world of dreams.

Besides the group meeting each month will we (the students) have an ongoing dream group that meets more regularly?

The monthly meeting will be a 2.5 hour session that will typically begin with a brief Q/A. Then we will talk about a specific dream practice, topic or theory, I will demonstrate the dreamwork method with a class member or two, and then break you into smaller groups to try it out. Then we debrief the experience. There may be sessions where we stay together as a large group to learn and experience dream group process.

In addition, I will create a dreamwork exercise based on each month’s learnings for you to try with your small group — you will be assigned to a dyad or triad to meet over the year between classes to practice what we are learning together. There will also be an option for the small groups, or the whole group to continue meeting after the year is over.

Will there be assignments to support the certification?

There is one assignment to present on any aspect of dreamwork that intrigues you, and the format for this is very open. Most students have offered a short presentation (10-15 minutes) or led a class exercise/discussion. You can also write, film or record what you want to share. But these are not formally assessed. if you attend classes, engage in the dreamwork practices assigned, do the reading and courses that are part of the program, you will qualify for certification. If you would like to record a dreamwork session for feedback and a more formal assessment, that is an option.

Would this course be recognised by the IASD in its guidelines for ethical dreamwork certification?

Yes, this course will be recognized by the IASD as it follows the ethical dreamwork certification guidelines closely.

Is this course a stand alone course or are there other levels of qualification?

This course is a stand-alone course. There is a related course offering on how to understand and treat nightmares that I would recommend for all of those doing clinical dreamwork. And graduates can continue is a quarterly dream circle for those who have completed the program. If there is enough interest, ad advanced dreamwork certificate may be offered in the future.

If you have any questions that are not answered here, let me know.  THANK YOU!

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REM Rebound: Managing intensification of dreaming when sleep deprivation or substance use stops

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When you end a period of sleep deprivation or substance use, your dreams return, sometimes with a vengeance. Dr. Leslie Ellis explains how to understand and manage REM rebound.

While the global pandemic has been identified as a big factor in the recent increase and intensification of dreaming, a phenomenon called REM rebound may be the mechanism at work in some cases. REM sleep is so important that following a period of REM deprivation, our bodies will automatically make up for what it has missed. REM rebound is characterised by intense dreaming and a structural shift in the normal sleep cycle.

Sleep rhythm will return to normal once we have made up our REM sleep debt. This can take days or weeks depending on why, how long and how severely the sleep cycle has been disrupted. There is much in the literature about how to manage sleep problems associated with REM rebound, but very little in the way of help with what to do about all those troublesome dreams. Read on for some simple suggestions from a clinical dream and nightmare expert.

 

What is REM rebound?

First, we need a basic understanding of rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. This is the sleep stage most associated with dreaming. In a typical night, we have 4-5 REM sleep periods that gradually increase in length over the course of the night. In total, we spend about 90 minutes or more in REM sleep during a typical 8-hour night of sleep, with most of our REM concentrated toward morning. If we become deprived of REM, our bodies will drop into REM immediately upon falling asleep instead of moving through the progressively-deepening cycles of non-REM sleep that typically start our night. This is REM rebound, a natural increase in REM to make up for what was missed, often due to sleep deprivation or the kind of stress that leads to restless, broken sleep.

There is considerable research to support the notion that REM sleep and dreaming help to regulate emotional reactivity and to reframe negative experiences. REM sleep affects hormonal balance and sleep homeostasis. To return to the normal, restorative sleep patterns so important to all aspects of our health, we may need to go through a period of intense dreaming to allow our sleep rhythm to reset itself. My suggestion is to befriend this process. A first step is to understand that even our most frightening nightmares are trying to help us by balancing our emotional state and taking the charge out of challenging past and current life situations. We can work with them, not against them. More on this later.

 

Substance Use and REM Rebound

The most common cause of REM rebound is sleep deprivation, especially very early awakening that cuts off the second half of our sleep. REM rebound also happens when a person stops taking a substance that suppresses REM sleep. These include many commonly-used substances like antidepressants, alcohol, cannabis and benzodiazepines. Paradoxically, many of these substances are used to promote sleep – and while they can help you fall asleep, they disrupt normal sleep architecture, ultimately making the situation worse. (Newer sleep aids like zolpidem do not cause this problem.)

Sleep is critical to our emotional and physical health. Insufficient or poor-quality sleep is associated with poor emotional regulation, diminished ability to consolidate memory, a higher risk of psychiatric illnesses (depression, anxiety, PTSD), obesity, heart disease and stroke as well as increased risk of workplace and vehicle accidents. Clearly, getting a good night’s sleep is critical to all aspects of our health. Getting sufficient REM is intrinsic to this process.

The best way to overcome REM rebound is simple, yet it can also be a challenge for those with chronic difficulty sleeping well. You simply need to get enough good-quality sleep to make up the REM that your body requires. There are plenty of resources available on good sleep hygiene: things like a calming bedtime routine, limiting screen time, caffeine and alcohol before bed, and getting enough exercise are well documented and can help.

However, for some people, the intensely disturbing flood of dream imagery following the cessation of substance use can make it tempting to go back to taking the antidepressant medication or addictive substance they want to stop using. For those in this category, part of the answer is to befriend your dreams, especially those that have returned with great intensity following a period of silence. If you have intense, frequent and disturbing nightmares during the REM rebound period, making friends with these dreams may seem like an impossible task, but it’s not. Few people realize that nightmares are both treatable, and in many ways, also helpful in the emotional recovery process.

 

Changing Your Relationship With Your Dreams

Dreams and nightmares have been shown to temper emotional intensity. Studies suggest that when we dream about a disturbing scenario, we generally feel better about it than we did before. The big problem with nightmares is that they can be so intense, they wake the dreamer up, so they disrupt sleep rather than helping. A simple solution is to imagine the dream forward; just let it continue from where it left off until you get to a place that feels like more of a resolution. It doesn’t even have to be a triumphant solution, just one that carries the dream forward.

In my experience, this simple process can effectively stop or change a nightmare immediately. It can also take a few tries, and in some cases might require professional help. If you have PTSD or a history of trauma, a professional trained in working with nightmares can make the difference. There are many studies on a version of this method called Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT) that show it often helps, and when it doesn’t, it causes no adverse effects. In other words, it’s worth a try.

In general, getting to know more about your dream world and what it’s trying to tell you will set you up for a more positive relationship with your dreams. I have written extensively about this, and will post a list of resources in the references below. My main message, having worked for decades with the dreams of those recovering from trauma and addiction, is that your dreams are trying to help you, not hurt you. Dream lovers welcome the flood of nocturnal images that characterize a REM rebound. If you are someone who has stopped the use of a REM-suppressant substance, for whatever reason, be prepared for the dreams that will come to you, and find a way to welcome them. Also know that the condition is temporary and if you can stay the course, your normal sleep rhythm will return.

 

Dr. Leslie Ellis is the author of A Clinician’s Guide to Dream Therapy, and an expert in dreamwork and nightmare treatment. Her web site (www.drleslieellis.com) contains many resources about how to work with dreams and nightmares.

 

Resources:

There Are No Bad Dreams – a Ted-like talk about nightmares.

Nightmare relief, free PDF: What you can do about nightmares

For clinicians: A Short Focused Course on Nightmare Treatment

Live Oct. 13 (and recorded) Live workshop on Nightmares and the Nervous System

Blog post: Whether and how to work with traumatic nightmares

Blog post: Whether and how to work with traumatic nightmares

 

Selected references for this article:

Ellis, L. (2019). A clinician’s guide to dream therapy: Implementing simple and effective dreamwork. New York: Routledge.

Feriante J, Singh S. (2020). REM Rebound Effect. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560713/

Krakow, B. and Zadra, A. (2006). Clinical management of chronic nightmares: Imagery Rehearsal Therapy. Behavioural Sleep Medicine, 4(1), 45-70.

 

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How to Become an Exquisite Listener

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Listening is perhaps the greatest gift we can give to each other, especially in this time of social distancing, yet few people really understand how to listen. Here are four essential tips from someone who makes her living listening.

In this time of physical distancing, it is more important than ever to listen well to each other. Feeling heard is a way of feeling connected. In a brief video, Stephen Porges explains how our ability to listen has been eroded by technology, in particular by the fact that much of our communication is no longer in real time. He says our nervous system is designed for synchronous communication: for getting an immediate response to what we say. We have “the expectancy of a reciprocal relationship” in interactions, and when that doesn’t happen, we suddenly feel less safe in our bodies.

Porges suggests that to counteract the detrimental effects on our nervous system of both technology and social distancing, we need to relearn how to be excellent listeners. We need to make it very clear that we are paying attention and that we care. If we do this, our online interactions can provide the kind of support we usually get in closer contact with each other. The following are my suggestions about how to take Porges’ advice and to listen exquisitely.

Seek to understand fully

Too often we jump into another person’s narrative with advice, observations, or worse: examples of our own similar experiences. Most of us tend to do this before we truly understand and absorb what the person is trying to communicate. To become an exquisite listener, tune your ear to the nuances of their message. Take what they are saying down into your body very patiently. Seek to listen only, rather than taking up part of your mental energy formulating a response. If you do this, they will feel you are really with them, and it will infuse what they are saying with more energy and enthusiasm. It will be easy to just listen.

Never interrupt… with one exception

It may seem like common courtesy to allow the person speaking to have the floor until they are clearly finished what they want to say, but in fact, we are prone to interrupting each other. Studies have found that men are significantly more likely to intrusively interrupt women speaking in mixed-gender settings. But the research also found that we all do it, either by chiming in before the other is finished, a sort of ‘joining-in’ interruption, or by intrusively challenging the speaker or taking over the floor. Either way, if you want to be an exquisite listener don’t do it!

There is only one exception to the rule of no interruptions: when you don’t hear or understand what the speaker is saying and you need to seek clarification. Even here, make sure you hear them out first because they may be getting to the part you need to know to understand, and your well-intentioned query can interrupt their flow. Wait for a pause or natural stopping place and then say something like: ‘Can we go back to this point, because I’m not quite sure I understood you fully…”

Give advice or commentary only when asked

As with interruption, abstaining from offering solutions often splits along gender lines. Men tend to listen with an ear to problem-solving and so are more likely want to offer solutions. But we all do this at times. As therapists, we are often expected to offer advice and solutions to our clients. But excellent listeners offer advice only when specifically asked, and then do so only sparingly.

As a client-centered therapist, I believe my client is the expert in their own life situation and my job is to listen well enough to help them arrive at their own answers. I think this is generally true — when we offer unsolicited advice we are implying that we know more about their situation than they do, and this can leave them feeling unheard, possibly even as though you have insulted their own intelligence and capacity to work things out for themselves.

Communicate understanding and empathy

So what can you say if you want to be an exquisite listener?

The first most helpful thing is to communicate your understanding of them. When you have invested the time and full attention to hear them out, saying back what you understand helps them to feel truly heard. This is not a mere parroting of their words, which can feel mechanical, but rather a digested response. It may be only a few words you offer, but choose those that show you truly get what they have said.

It takes discipline to be an excellent listener. You have to resist the urge to add your own ideas, experiences and solutions. If you do feel compelled to add something, add compassion. Search inside yourself for something genuinely empathic to offer, something that communicates the message: I can really see how, given all of that, you would feel this way. Say this even if you happen to disagree with their position and think they should try another tack.

Interestingly, when someone feels fully heard and validated, they are then in more of a position to consider alternatives. If you challenge them, they may well become more entrenched in their position. But full acceptance is a powerful catalyst to further steps forward. However, as philosopher Eugene Gendlin once said, these steps will come from inside the person or not at all. If we offer something of our own before the time is ripe, the person will not only feel unheard, but will resist the idea.

Passive as it may seem to you at first, exquisite listening is not always easy; it’s a skill that takes discipline. And it is a gift to all, especially in times like these. Being fully heard allows the speaker to rest in their own experience and find the right next step from inside of themselves.

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Too Much Mindfulness? Try Dreaming While Awake Instead

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In a way, we are always dreaming… and this is a good thing.

Proponents of mindfulness meditation call it our monkey mind: the crazy, undisciplined way our thoughts jump around when we allow our mind to wander freely. It used to be thought that when we were not focusing our minds on something specific, our brains simply idled there, switched off. Similarly, it used to be thought that, with the exception of the occasional dream, our minds were largely silent while we slept. In fact, we are always dreaming.

Under the surface of waking thought, and throughout the entire night (not just in REM sleep), our brains are dreaming… and this is a good thing. There is a common misconception that dreaming is a nonsensical activity that serves no useful purpose. But as we discover more about the nature of our brains, we find that dreaming is implicated in the crucial tasks of sorting through the massive onslaught of information we take in each day, making meaning of it, recording what’s important in such a way that we can access it when needed, and at the same time, softening the emotional charge associated with life’s most impactful events. And if that’s not enough, dreams do all this with creativity and economy.

What might be even more surprising is that these dream-like activities happen during the day as well as at night. Neuroimaging now enables us to watch the brain in action, and in doing so, brain researchers discovered a surprising thing. For their experiments, brain researchers generally ask their participants to perform a task or think about something specific, and then see which areas of the brain light up. What researchers began to notice is that in between specific tasks, the brain does not go dark and silent – a grouping of other areas of the brain light up in a fairly predictable pattern. This has become known as the default mode network (DMN).

For proponents of mindfulness, the DMN is to be avoided in favor of present moment attention. The DMN can be associated with rumination and depression so we best not let our mind wander unchecked. In modern times, many of us curtail the neural wanderlust by keeping our minds very busy. Much of the time we might historically have spent mind-wandering is now taken up with screen time. Even while walking in the forest or going on a long drive, many of us will plug into a podcast rather than allow our minds to roam as freely as our bodies. In this quest for constant productivity and focus, however, much is lost.

In their recent book, When Brains Dream, Tony Zadra and Robert Stickgold suggest the activities of the DMN are important for priming the brain for dreaming. When our brains get a break, our thoughts wander along loosely associative paths scanning thoughts, experiences and memories; they seem to be queuing up what we will dream about later. When awake and busy, we are taking information in at such a rate that we don’t have the mind space to sort and make meaning of it all. We need to do this when we have down time, so our dreams can then do their job of integrating important new information into our associative memory networks. If we don’t allow our mind enough time to wander, it will do so as soon as we lay down to sleep at night. Zadra and Stickgold suggest that this might explain those times when our minds can’t shut down for the night, and instead zigzag their away through a wide array of loosely connected thoughts before finally allowing us to drift off to sleep.

We can catch hold of these pre-dreaming processes during the day. In many ways they are indistinguishable from nocturnal dreams. In one experiment, people were shown texts from dreams and from daydreams, and if the latter were emotionally-toned, they were indistinguishable from regular dreams. The Jungian analyst Arnold Mindell espoused the idea that we are always dreaming, and that we can catch hold of the dreaming through indirect little clues he charmingly called flirts.  He developed process work as a way to become aware of the flow of dreaming while awake. We receive subtle cues all the time, often through our bodies, in the form of sensations, hunches, flickers of visions and intuition. Mindell does not view the dreams in sleep and waking as distinct from each other, except with respect to the ego, which is much more in charge during waking hours. During dreaming, all figures seem to have equal importance, leading Mindell to call our dreammaker “deeply democratic.”

In a recent (December 2020) edition of the online journal Aeon, Rubin Naiman wrote a beautiful essay lamenting the loss in our modern world of REM/dreamtime. He also believes that we are always dreaming, and offers a perfect celestial metaphor for this: “Although we believe dreams are like stars that emerge only at night, we know that stars are always present, even when occluded by daylight. Likewise, dreams are always present as an undercurrent in consciousness, even when obscured by ordinary waking. Jung referred to this undercurrent as the waking dream. In contrast to daydreams, which are about escaping current experiences, the waking dream calls us more deeply into those experiences and undercurrents.”

Naiman suggests we can access the waking dream world through many avenues, including art, spiritual practices, by lingering at the border of waking and sleep, and via active imagination in Jungian therapy. Naiman concludes his essay with the beautiful notion that dreaming can infuse the way we live our lives and lead us to our authentic selves. “Dreaming, if you’re so minded, can become a way of life, or at least a regular practice. The waking dream is about using our dream eyes, the ones we see with in REM/dreams, in broad daylight. It can loosen the grip of wake centrism, and offer glimpses of the world behind the world. In this way, it reveals a deeper sense of who we are, tapping into the mythic backstory of our lives.”

So next time you settle onto your cushion to become mindful, try cultivating a little mindlessness instead. Allow the mind’s default mode to take over, and let it gambol and play as it naturally will. Sink down below the shiny surface of things and dive into the undercurrent that enriches and underlies your life. Be sure to slip below the regular level of thought where, let loose, the inner critic will want to take over and berate you for being lazy and unproductive. Rest assured that doing ‘nothing’ may be the most important thing for your mind and body in that moment.