Dreams are an amazing tool, an often untapped resource for guidance in daily life. I've been fascinated by dreams since childhood when I had reoccurring fear-filled dreams about cats. In college, I learned of traditional cultures where parents asked the children about their dreams every morning at breakfast. My curiosity about dreams continued until I found the spiritual teachings of Eckankar. One of the aspects that most attracted me was the emphasis on using dreams for spiritual unfoldment … [Read more...]

Can dreams offer guidance? If so, then how can we access their wisdom in a way that enriches waking life without taking them literally or resorting to superficial interpretations? Can the creative imagination, as experienced in dreams, offer meaningful ways of coping during a crisis or major transition? These are just a few of the questions that I have been exploring in my research on dreaming and its relationship to the creative process, spirituality and healing. Years ago, while I was in … [Read more...]

The French Surrealist poet, St. Paul Boux, would hang a sign on his bedroom door before retiring which read: "Poet at work." A similar belief in nocturnal productivity was expressed by John Steinbeck: "It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it." I took the title of one of my books, The Committee of Sleep, from that quote because it sums up nature of the unconscious generally and dreams specifically so … [Read more...]

My experience about dreams growing up in a Brazilian culture was to wake up in the morning and share my dreams; it was like sharing an event from the night before. I was listened to carefully, without any interruption or intervention. After I was done, my mom would share her dreams. There was nothing unusual about that. Dream recall was a normal experience that I thought everybody had. As I got older, I noticed big events during our daily awakened time that reflected my mom's dream recall. It … [Read more...]

The International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) has announced two upcoming conferences: "The Stuff Dreams are Made Of" - The ninth annual PsiberDreaming Online Conference of the IASD, online September 26-October 10. Join host Jean Campbell and the PsiberCore Team for two weeks of cutting-edge presentations, workshops and discussions from top experts in the field. This year's conference will focus on the mystery of how dreams are created. August 1 deadline for proposals and … [Read more...]

When I was around the age of 4, I remember having a recurring dream of a steamroller smashing daisies on a freshly tarred road. The smell of tar wafted through my dream as these sweet, little white flowers with bright yellow smiley faces in the middle got crushed before my eyes. I was devastated. After the dream came more than once, I remember wondering why something so dark, heavy and smelly was smashing such beauty, and I became curious about dreams at that point in my life. Each time I … [Read more...]

To help uncover the mystery of dreams, I spoke with Dream Interpreter Cynthia Ekren. Cynthia studied Dream Interpretation at Atlantic University in Virginia Beach, VA, founded by Edgar Cayce. Atlantic University is also affiliated with the Association of Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.), a leading authority in transpersonal development, philosophy and dream work. How did you get started with dream work, Cynthia? Cynthia Ekren: I've always been interested in dreams. As a child, my mother … [Read more...]

Dreams are storehouses of creative inspiration to help you create new artistic works, solve problems at work and in your relationships, heal emotional wounds and even physical illnesses, learn new skills, and find greater spiritual fulfillment, all the while allowing you to explore and have fun during the third of life that we all spend asleep. Wouldn't you like to remember your dreams more and start really experiencing the powerful benefits your subconscious has to offer you every … [Read more...]