Comments on: Tales from Hypnagogia

By: Lu

Lu — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 10:03:50 +0000

Me too Barb, It’s all pretty interesting, isn’t it? One of those theories I had when doing my thesis, – was what people are beginning to say now, i.e. that we create our own reality! Back then saying such a thing would’ve got you chucked in the loony bin. So I didn’t say it aloud. It still strikes me as being a whacky idea, – the idea that life is like a holograph, however that was the conclusion I came to back then, though always wondering why people don’t choose to create a paradise for themselves! I think the dream control stuff
has some important role in all this and in a way you were practising dream control. What I can tell you is that the more obsessed you get, the better you’ll get at it.
Thanks Dan for the info on The Senoi. I did reply, but it looks as though it didn’t get to you. I’ve searched for so long for that info, but could never find anything and you came up with it just like that!

By: Barb

Barb — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 08:28:07 +0000

Hi Dan
I just discovered this post and read it with fascination and thought I’d post my own little idiosyncracy. It has nothing to do with Hypnagogia but its kind of dream related.
Quite often when I dream I’m woken by something or other and remain awake for quite a while, but I can often talk myself into returning to the same dream.
Another thing I do is to tell myself what images to ‘see’ during that half wake/sleep time and sort of create my own dreams. I like to choose where people go and what they do. It doesn’t happen all the time but quite often. I’ve become more aware of it in the past few months.
Weird or what?

By: Dan Schaumann

Dan Schaumann — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 10:51:10 +0000

Hi Lu, thanks so much for your comment, and how fascinating that you wrote a thesis on the subject. I started writing the phrases down just for a bit of fun, because they sounded so random and crazy, but I must say I’ve since developed a very keen interest in sleep and dream-related matters. I’ve just looked up some details on the Malay tribe you mention, the Senoi – *wow* – their approach to the dream state and life in general is incredible. It would be fascinating to be involved in this kind of research. I’m going to try your tip on getting to sleep the next time I suffer from insomnia, I can imagine doing so would trigger a reminder within your body of what it was like to be asleep? I’d actually posted my piece on Heartbreak Science on another blog, but I’ve since added it here; it’s just a couple of paragraphs about how I excited I was to hear about the breakthroughs in the field Cheers again for your input, and all the best with your own quest for knowledge!

By: Lu

Lu — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 09:57:44 +0000

Very pleased to find your blog. It just turned up while I was looking for more info on ‘Heartbreak Science’ I haven’t found your piece about that yet, but have come across your bit on hypnogogic imagery, words etc. I did my thesis on dreams years ago, & in the process discovered hypnogogia. Since then, I have noticed many hypnagogic ‘dreams’, and strange hypnogogic sentences. I too, never write them down, (except some hypno dreamlets) mostly because I don’t want to interrupt my getting off to sleep.
With regards to lucid dreaming, I discovered this too, whilst doing the thesis. I go through phases of having many of them, other times I have none. I remember one lucid dream, where I was very thirsty, realising I was dreaming, I put a grcers in the street next to me, & went & bought myself an orange!
I did this thesis decades ago, but I was very obsessed with the topic. I could wake in the morning & remember every dream of the night.-5 or6.
One of the most interesting things I found out, was that a tribe on the Malay peninsular, were/(are?) taught to do lucid dreaming, and if they see demons (for eg) punch them in the nose. Also they’re taught to bring something back from their dreams, – an idea, an invention . I read, too, that they are remarkably happy peoples, & have always thought that their dream control must have something to do with this. I only found 1 short paragraph about these people, though I searched for more.
More recently I discovered, that there is research being done into this field, in U.S.A. Nobody seemed to know much about it then (1970′s). It led me to a less intense, but never the less lifelong search into this area. At the time I had many theories, which I have since forgotten, but I do still believe that there lies the secret to happiness!
As a chronic non sleeper, I have also discovered one way to overcome insomnia. On your way to sleep, try to remember your previous nights dreams, pretty soon you will be asleep. It works every time, but sometimes I forget to try it. Sometimes even an older dream will do the trick!
Now I must try & find your piece on Heartbreak Science – which I found remarkably exciting too. When you think about it , you feel emotions around the heart area, not in the mind. It really does make absolute sense. Like your blog & will subscribe.

By: Daniel Schaumann

Daniel Schaumann — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:13:37 +0000

That’s awesome how you had a visual hypnagogic experience! I did read about the phosphenes but I can’t quite imagine what they’d “look” like. Ooh I’ve probably had a maximum of two lucid dreams before in my life, and both times I remember waking up from a dream first, then going back to sleep, getting into the dream again, and then being able to control what happens. I love the human mind And according to Google there are eight other places on the web that make use of the word Lucidfree!

By: Mr Megoo

Mr Megoo — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:13:29 +0000

Love it! I get these too, I’m just too damn lazy to write them down. I had my first hypnagogic hallucination the other night- pretty stars [apparently they are known as 'phosphenes'] and just two nights ago I had an ‘out of person’ experience where I forgot who I was and thought I was someone else! Pretty crazy. Do you ever have lucid dreams? I used to have them more often, but lately I’ve been lucidfree. Sure, that’s a word.