“Holy hell in a handbasket!”

That’s right bitches, I’m back.

My grandma never uttered those words in her life. And nor do I ever say “that’s right bitches” to anyone in any context, so we’re either 2 for 2 or none for none, depending on how you want to count.

But anyway what I’m trying to say here, dear friends, readers, stumblers, and random search engine traffic visitors is:

It’s been a long time.

And like the punk rock DIY zines of yesteryear, each of . . . → Read More: Holy Hell in a Hand Basket]]>

Me in San Diego recently. Kick ass place.

Like my grandma used to say:

“Holy hell in a handbasket!”

That’s right bitches, I’m back.

Actually I’m lying.

My grandma never uttered those words in her life. And nor do I ever say “that’s right bitches” to anyone in any context, so we’re either 2 for 2 or none for none, depending on how you want to count.

But anyway what I’m trying to say here, dear friends, readers, stumblers, and random search engine traffic visitors is:

Lookie! It’s another post on Dreaming Life.

It’s been a long time.

And like the punk rock DIY zines of yesteryear, each of which started with a cut and pasted introduction (which back then was in reference to literally cutting and pasting with actual scissors, paper, and paste – imagine that!) proclaiming the zine editors amazement at how long it’s taken this issue to get out and blah blah, this is the blog-age digital equivalent to such confessions.

It’s been like a year and some change since the last blog post.  In that time I was (and still am) working for myself doing the whole Internet Marketing/Niche website thing. Which means I make a lot of websites on products and consumer services and then sell ads on those sites. It’s a pretty awesome formula, but one that typically stands in stark contrast to what, dare I say, real blogging is all about: writing and connecting with other people!

And damn, ya’ll, that’s what I effin’ miss.

So I got a pretty new theme here, a good attitude, and lots of words & ideas to get out. Maybe I’ll just start posting all sorts of stuff on here and see what floats my boat, see what sticks: dream reports, personal stuff, experimental prose, hell maybe even my art and music. We’ll see.

Or maybe I’ll follow this up with a post in 2011 where I say all the same things again about how long it’s been since I posted on this blog.

Nah, I think I’ll stick around for awhile and share my thoughts with the world, and see what happens. It’s more fun that way, don’t you think?

Below is a preview of the clip, featuring notable figures such as Dr. Rick Strassman, author of the brilliant book DMT: The Spirit Molecule, the infamous Terrence McKenna, and my favorite psychedelic writer and 2012 speculator, Daniel Pinchbeck.

This film is actually just the first of 3 films (!) in a series that will address different aspects shamanism. The offical description states that:

This first film, Manifesting the Mind, is a broad look at psychedelics in general. Why are psychedelics so brutally suppressed in . . . → Read More: Manifesting the Mind – film trailer]]> I just found out that Bouncing Bear Botanicals is producing a neat looking film/documentary on psychedelics called Manifesting the Mind.

Below is a preview of the clip, featuring notable figures such as Dr. Rick Strassman, author of the brilliant book DMT: The Spirit Molecule, the infamous Terrence McKenna, and my favorite psychedelic writer and 2012 speculator, Daniel Pinchbeck.

This film is actually just the first of 3 films (!) in a series that will address different aspects shamanism. The offical description states that:

This first film, Manifesting the Mind, is a broad look at psychedelics in general. Why are psychedelics so brutally suppressed in our culture? What exactly are some of the psychedelic plants and chemicals and how can they benefit us?

Very cool!

Evidently this is out in select cities already and will be available on DVD soon.

Check out the trailer below.

Japanese scientists claim they have developed a technique that visually records ones thoughts and dreams onto a computer monitor.

The technique is done by analyzing changes in blood flow in the region of the brain where vision is processed, called the visual cortex.

A spokesman for Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan, says that “by applying this technology, it may become possible to record and replay subjective images that people perceive like dreams.”

These are big words, with enormous implications!

So much  that I thought immediately, “No… this is certainly a hoax.”

But such is not the case.

However, the research is not as . . . → Read More: Japanese scientists developing software that can record images from your dreams]]> This is amazing.

Japanese scientists claim they have developed a technique that visually records ones thoughts and dreams onto a computer monitor.

The technique is done by analyzing changes in blood flow in the region of the brain where vision is processed, called the visual cortex.

A spokesman for Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan, says that “by applying this technology, it may become possible to record and replay subjective images that people perceive like dreams.”

These are big words, with enormous implications!

So much  that I thought immediately, “No… this is certainly a hoax.”

But such is not the case.

However, the research is not as far along as some of these headlines lead you to believe. While still an amazing feat, all I can deduce from the information released thus far is that researchers were able to reconstruct different letters that were seen by subjects, and this was done by only looking at brain processing data. (In this case, data from a type of MRI.)  I do not see specific mention that images from a dream were captured.

But if this technology is perfected for bigger and more complex images, then theoretically, images you see in a dream could be captured and outputted onto a monitor! Ahhhh! (And we won’t even get into the creepy mind-reading privacy invasion issues this technology would bring about.)

Here’s an idea:

When the research gets to this point, experienced lucid dreamers would make excellent lab subjects.

Studies could be done in which a dreamer becomes lucid, finds a pre-existing object or manipulates the dreamscape to produce a specific object, marks the moment using an eye signal (such as looking left then right 8 times in a row), then focuses on the object for a specific period of time, and finishes with another eye signal to mark that they have stopped looking at the object.

If an image is produced from an analysis of the brains processing data from the time range in between eye signals, the dream subject would be able to concur if this is in fact, what he or she was looking at.

Wow. (And that would be just the tiniest tip of the iceberg for this technology…)

I wonder if this is something that in 5-10 years will be possible to do in the lab? Or will this run into unforeseen hurdles that are never jumped?

It just sounds too amazing to be true, I’m in shock.

…

Here’s some quality sources reporting on the study:

New Scientist: Mindreading Software Could Record Your Dreams

Scientific American: Can Brain Scans Read Our Minds?

Pink Tentacle: Scientist Extract Images Directly from Brain

The official description reads…

Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self is the account of an extraordinarily talented lucid dreamer who goes beyond the boundaries of both psychology and religion. In the process, he stumbles upon the Inner Self.

While lucid (consciously aware) in the dream state and able to act and interact with dream figures, objects, and settings, dream expert Robert Waggoner experienced something transformative and . . . → Read More: Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self, a new book by IASD President Robert Waggoner]]> It’s rare that a book comes out these days that advances the discussion and understanding of Lucid Dreaming, but this is what Robert Waggoner has accomplished with his new book, Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self.

The official description reads…

Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self is the account of an extraordinarily talented lucid dreamer who goes beyond the boundaries of both psychology and religion. In the process, he stumbles upon the Inner Self.

While lucid (consciously aware) in the dream state and able to act and interact with dream figures, objects, and settings, dream expert Robert Waggoner experienced something transformative and unexpected. He was able to interact consciously with the dream observer-the apparent Inner Self-within the dream. At first this seemed shocking, even impossible, since psychology normally alludes to such theoretical inner aspects as the Subliminal Self, the Center, the Internal Self-Helper in vague and theoretical ways. Waggoner came to realize, however, that aware interaction with the Inner Self was not only possible, but actual and highly inspiring. He concluded that while aware in the dream state, one has both a psychological tool and a platform from which to understand dreaming and the larger picture of man’s psyche as well. Waggoner proposes 5 stages of lucid dreaming and guides readers through them, offering advice for those who have never experienced the lucid dream state and suggestions for how experienced lucid dreamers can advance to a new level.

Lucid Dreaming offers exciting insights and vivid illustrations that will intrigue not only avid dreamworkers but anyone who is interested in consciousness, identity, and the definition of reality.”

Peer Review & Reception

Dream researchers, writers, and heavyweights such as Jayne Gackenback, Robert Van De Castle, Robert Moss, and Stanley Krippner lended their endorsement to Waggoners new book on the back cover, and thus far, Amazon.com reviewers have all given it a 5 star rating, the highest rating possible, with some calling it the best book ever written on lucid dreaming. Big words!

Interview with Author — coming soon!

I will be interviewing Robert Waggoner on the subject of lucid dreaming and the themes discussed in his book.

I’m really excited for the opportunity to interview an individual who has logged over 1,000 lucid dreams, has 30 years of experience in the subject, and currently serves as the President-elect for IASD, The International Association for the Study of Dreams!

Be on the lookout for this combination book review/author interview next month here on Dreaming Life.

In the meantime, you can learn more about (or buy) his book on Amazon.com.

It wasn’t too long ago that researchers published results suggesting how capable the brains is at projecting an Out of Body experience, using similar techniques with camera goggles attached to a person’s face giving them a view originating elsewhere. (Read the old news article on this story here.)

But in this case, the subjects weren’t tricked into having the sensation that their consciousness was outside their body in a point in space, but that another body was their body. In this case, it was a mannequin.

On the . . . → Read More: OOBE’s the Scientific Way: With Goggles, Cameras and Mannequins]]> New Scientist published an interesting article today titled Swapping Your Body Becomes a Virtual Reality.

It wasn’t too long ago that researchers published results suggesting how capable the brains is at projecting an Out of Body experience, using similar techniques with camera goggles attached to a person’s face giving them a view originating elsewhere. (Read the old news article on this story here.)

But in this case, the subjects weren’t tricked into having the sensation that their consciousness was outside their body in a point in space, but that another body was their body. In this case, it was a mannequin.

On the weird-o-meter, researchers get extra points for this exercise: (emphasis is mine)

The scientists also mounted the camera onto a second person’s head in order to test whether subjects could perceive someone else’s body as their own. When the two turned to shake each other’s hand, the subject perceived the camera-wearer’s body as their own, giving the sensory impression of shaking hands with themselves.

Whoa – this is interesting.

The International Association for the Study of Dreams has put together an INTERNET CONFERENCE on dreaming. It takes place Sept 21` through Oct 5.

Here’s a snippet from the site:

Between September 21 – October 5, 2008 join some of the world’s foremost experts on the subject of Psi dreaming for two weeks of cutting-edge papers, discussions, workshops, and chats. If you’ve ever had a precognitive dream, a lucid dream, or simply an “unusual dream” that never quite made sense, this is the place for you.

You might also be curious to know the blogger behind Dream Studies, . . . → Read More: IASD’s PsiberDreaming Conference – an internet conference on the fringe topics of dream research]]>  

Whoa – this is interesting.

The International Association for the Study of Dreams has put together an INTERNET CONFERENCE on dreaming. It takes place Sept 21` through Oct 5.

Here’s a snippet from the site:

Between September 21 – October 5, 2008 join some of the world’s foremost experts on the subject of Psi dreaming for two weeks of cutting-edge papers, discussions, workshops, and chats. If you’ve ever had a precognitive dream, a lucid dream, or simply an “unusual dream” that never quite made sense, this is the place for you.

You might also be curious to know the blogger behind Dream Studies, Ryan Hurd, is presenting some of work on lucid dreaming in this conference, too!

Check it out.

PS And maybe I’ll see you there?

Alive Mind Media is releasing 3 films this summer, dubbing the release “The Trippy Trilogy – Alive Mind’s Altered Consciousness Collection”.

Flicker DVD release Date: July 15

Documentary on the 1961 invention of Brion Gysin’s “Dreammachine”, described as “a hypnotic light device with the power to induce hallucinations.” (Is this a precursor to the Sound and Light Machine?)

Hofmann’s Potion DVD release Date:  June 15

Documentary on LSD featuring Albert Hofmann, Timonthy Leary, Aldous Huxley, Ram Dass, Ralph Metzner Stanisav Grof, and more. Preview:

Hofmann’s Potion – 9 Minute Preview

Hippie Masala DVD Release Date: August 8, . . . → Read More: LSD, the Dreammachine, and Aging Hippies in India : 3 New Documentaries from Alive Media Coming Out This Summer]]> Er, I meant to post this last month – it’s pretty neat, check it out:

Alive Mind Media is releasing 3 films this summer, dubbing the release “The Trippy Trilogy – Alive Mind’s Altered Consciousness Collection”.

Flicker
DVD release Date: July 15

Documentary on the 1961 invention of Brion Gysin’s “Dreammachine”, described as “a hypnotic light device with the power to induce hallucinations.” (Is this a precursor to the Sound and Light Machine?)

Hofmann’s Potion
DVD release Date:  June 15

Documentary on LSD featuring Albert Hofmann, Timonthy Leary, Aldous Huxley, Ram Dass, Ralph Metzner Stanisav Grof, and more.
Preview:

Hofmann’s Potion – 9 Minute Preview

Hippie Masala
DVD Release Date: August 8, 2008

Official Description:

“In the 1960s and 1970s thousands of hippies journeyed East in the search for enlightenment, free drugs or a ‘pure’ life. Indian peasants assumed that a severe drought in the West was the reason for their migration. India’s holy men saw it, more accurately, as a search for spirituality. Most moved back to their home countries after a few months or years. Some stayed for good. Hippie Masala shows aging flower children who, after fleeing Western civilization, found a new home in India.”

Hippie Masala Trailer:

Check out the Alive Mind Media site for complete info, including links to buying any of these DVD’s.

I really hope Hippie Masala comes to my local indie theatre, because it looks super fascinating!

Damn, I really wish I could make it to this “Coalessence” festival in October:

In my defense (here the anti-hippie in me again), I don’t want to go so much for the music as for the speakers.

I would love to corner Daniel Pinchbeck, explain that I’m a low-grade blogger, and dammit, we are doing an interview on your book Breaking Open the Head and it starts right now, . . . → Read More: The Coalessence Festival – music & speakers, raw food & yoga, oh my!]]> In an effort to complete the transition from anti-hippie punk rock straight edge kid  to an intellectual hippie adult, I gotta say:

Damn, I really wish I could make it to this “Coalessence” festival in October:

In my defense (here the anti-hippie in me again), I don’t want to go so much for the music as for the speakers.

I would love to corner Daniel Pinchbeck, explain that I’m a low-grade blogger, and dammit, we are doing an interview on your book Breaking Open the Head and it starts right now, Daniel.

Yeah!