Story Ideas

Association for the Study of Dreams

ASD Conference Story Ideas

Tubman dreams her way to freedom – and saves 300 other slaves

Harriet Tubman dreamed of flying to freedom, over landscapes she subsequently crossed on foot.  Later she was guided by specific, precognitive or clairvoyant dreams to safe houses, river crossings and friendly helpers she had not previously encountered in waking reality.  Through the guidance of her dreams, she escorted over 300 slaves to freedom, without losing a single one.  This presentation by Robert Moss, a lifelong dream explorer, author and historian, also explores the importance of dreaming in Native American cultures.  He then suggests the possibility of creating a dreaming culture and explains how it could positively impact our future.

Ancient Tibetan texts shed light on current medical research

Medical diagnosis and healing are part of the rich heritage of Buddhist dream study.  Serinity Young, a professor at Southern Methodist University, made a careful study of Buddhist historical and pedagogical texts, finding that dreams played an important role in the development of Buddhist thought.  Today medical diagnosis in dreams is a challenging topic currently undergoing investigation.  However, for centuries Tibetan dream practices believed that illness causes dream consciousness to flow to the affected part of the body, with the suggestion that healing is also possible in dreaming.  Young’s presentation will give some of the findings published in her new book, Dreaming in the Lotus:  Buddhist Dream Narrative, Imagery and Practice.

Psi phenomena: Can we see the future – and perhaps change it?

A man in Georgia dreams that a tornado is going to destroy his house – and awakens just in time to rush his family to safety.  A piece of equipment essential to the Persian Gulf War effort breaks down.  No one can find the problem, but one engineer goes home and not only dreams the problem, but the solution as well.  Can you believe in psi phenomena?  Rita Dwyer knows that a colleague’s recurrent dream saved her life after an explosion in a chemistry lab.  Dale Graff, formerly of the Stargate program, has seen how the U.S. Department of Defense used remote viewing and dreaming.  Dwyer, Graff and several others share their experiences and research.  Further, they speculate on the potentials of these phenomena, and how to harness them.

New evidence on the connection between dreams and creativity

Literature is replete with anecdotal reports of the association of dreaming with the creative process, from Descartes’ visualization of the scientific method to Coleridge’s Kubla Khan.  Now a new study with The Sundance Institute Film Makers showed significantly increased dream use and dream recall among successful filmmakers when compared to the general population and to the working group (drivers and crew) involved in the film making process.  From their results, authors J.F. Pagel, M.D.; K.E. Broyles, M.A.; and M. Palasio, R.R.T. postulate that the trend of increased dream recall and use associated with higher creative interest will become increasingly important with increased study size.

Can helping people with their sleep quality and nightmares reduce suicides?

Suicide is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for 30,000 deaths annually.  The Surgeon General has recently called for greater research to study this problem.  Studies have demonstrated the positive correlations between suicidality and sleep quality, most notably in depressed patients.  Additionally, patients with posttraumatic stress disorder, usually characterized by nightmares, also may exhibit suicidality in addition to other symptoms.  Ali Atar, M.D., of the University of New Mexico Department of Psychiatry and Barry Krakow, M.D., Medical Director of Sleep Research at the University of New Mexico explore the correlation between sleep quality, nightmares and suicidality.  Krakow is a nationally recognized expert on nightmares and insomnia.  

Athletes use their dreams to win championship

Imagery rehearsal (visualization) is not new to the sports world.  However, combining this technique with dreamwork has even more dramatic results!  Dar Tavapous of the New Zealand School of Medicine and Deirdre Barrett, Ph.D, of Harvard Medical School will present the results of a study of several teams preparing for a championship swim meet. Two of the teams used imagery rehearsal, as they had for several years.  One of these teams additionally used dream incubation to foster swimming dreams and lucid dreaming techniques.  The team that used visualization alone placed second in the championship competition.  The team that combined visualization with dream techniques said they felt relaxed and turned in their fastest time, winning the championship.  This study has implications not only for other athletes, but people in all walks of life.

The curious relationship between what people dream and political attitudes

Kelley Bulkeley, Ph.D., has researched the correlations between what people dream and how they view the political world.  He will present data on the different dream patterns of Democrats, Republicans, members of alternative political parties, and people who are generally disaffected from politics.  Who have more aggression in their dreams – liberals or conservatives?  Do supporters of Bill Clinton have more sexuality in their dreams?  Do alternative party members have more bizarre elements in their dreams?  Bulkeley will address these questions and also discuss the possible symbolism of dreams in which political candidates appear.

Dreams provide a unique approach to social activism

A growing number of people are exploring ways of applying the insights of dreamwork to their cultural and political life.  Stephen Aizenstadt, Ph.D., will talk about how we can become active – socially, environmentally and politically – in ways that are informed by the depths of the psyche and dreams.  Dr. Aizenstadt is founding president of Pacifica Graduate Institute.  He brought his insights of depth psychology and dreamwork to the Earth Charter International Workshop, a United Nations project with which he is still actively involved.

Dreamwork as part of a spiritual path to wholeness and enlightenment

Dreams are one of our best sources of intuition, and they can help us make decisions, prevent us from making mistakes, and help us through life changes and transitions.  Rosemary Ellen Guiley is the author of numerous books including Dreamwork for the Soul:  A Spiritual Guide to Dream Interpretation.  She uses a seven-step program to help people improve their dream recall, interpret their dreams, and learn what their dreams have to tell them about their soul's path, healing, creativity, the future, otherworldly realms and spiritual awakening.  Guiley integrates wisdom from dream healing temples of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks with modern scientific laboratory information about psychic dreaming and out-of-body travel.

Any these are just some of the many story possibilities.  Also consider:

Ø      How can parents deal with children’s nightmares?

Ø      What do the dreams of pregnant women mean?

Ø      What do dreams have to teach us about the aging process?

Ø      How do artists use dreams to enhance their creativity?

Ø      What impact does war have on the dreams of a country’s people?

Ø      And much, much more!