The DreamScape Collection

By Stefan Chmelik

 

 

‘To sleep, perchance to dream’

Hamlet Act 3 Scene 1, William Shakespeare (written sometime between 1599 and 1601)

 

 

In one of the most famous quotes of all time, Shakespeare tells us that ‘tonight, perhaps we will dream’. In fact, it is generally thought that we dream every night, but that we seldom remember enough of them to be useful. But many people have learnt the skill of remembering their dreams and asking questions this way. In this article you will find out more about how people have used dreams and how the two new Soundscapes can help you with this, as well as some interesting background to the world of dreaming and some very practical tips for what you can do…

 

A Sleep History

Deep sleep is vital, you know this already, but you may be less clear that dreaming is more than simply being asleep. In your dreams, you can access the half of your experience that is usually subconscious…

People have always used sleep to access their dream-world, often to seek an answer to a question that is on their mind. You can even write the question on a piece of paper and put it under your pillow to see if an answer arises. In the world of the traditional indigenous shaman, dreaming has long held a special place. As far as I am aware, every indigenous native culture has a tradition of specialist teachers who were regarded as having a direct connection with the dream and spirit realms. The term Shaman (itself from Siberian Tungusian tribes transmitted westwards by Russian Cossacks) (Ref) is often used as a generalisation to describe all such practitioners from the different cultures, including the Druids in the Celtic world, in the Americas, Australia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia and SE Asia.

We don’t have to accept an ancient spiritual path to be able to recognise the value of being able to access our subconscious mind. The great psychoanalyst CJ Jung was fascinated by dreams (Ref) and how we can use them as teachers, and this tradition played an important role in the ancient world including the Greeks Eleusinian Mystery plays, and the Greeks built special ‘dream incubation’ or ‘dream pilgrimage’ temples (there are the architectural remains of a Roman ‘sleep temple’ in Britain). Even earlier references to the idea of dream incubation are highlighted by Dr Irving Finkel of the British Museum, from translation of ancient Babylonian and Akkadian cuniform clay tablets. He notes references to performing a ritual before sleep for a dream oracle to answer an important question.

 

In dreams, we are not subject to the same daily distractions of the waking world, and can learn to use all this additional mind power to examine some of the most important questions in our lives, and allow our subconscious to access the vast treasure of accumulated knowledge and experience that may not be available when we are distracted in the day world.

The DreamScape Collection:

Dreams Like Ether and Morpheus Dreaming are our November releases. These two new Somnus Soundscapes (the category specifically designed for all aspects of the sleep experience) are especially for people that want to work more deeply with their dream world.

Dreams Like Ether (Somnus, 10 minutes) because dreaming is more than sleeping...Dreams Like Ether is a journey into a liminal 'thin place'. Dream-like sounds that emanate from everywhere and nowhere - ‘I am floating and weightless in my dream-state’. Airy and ethereal, flute, featuring plucked lute and male voice singing in tongues. Ether has many meanings. Ether is sometimes used for the name of one the elements; the clear sky; the air beyond the clouds. Things can disperse ‘into the ether.’ The Dreams Like Ether Soundscape is specially composed to help your worries and anxieties vaporise like ether so that you can experience deep, dreamy sleep. Once thought to permeate all space, including the spaces between particles of matter, and to be the substance whose vibrations make up light and space, not unlike the way the hypothetical substance dark matter is now thought of. Ether was used as the first anaesthetic to ‘put us to sleep’. In chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group —an oxygen atom bonded to two organyl groups

Morpheus Dreaming (Somnus, 10 minutes) because dreaming is more than sleeping...Son of Somnus, a partner to Ether Soundscape to ease rapid transition to dreamfulness. Languid and unhurried, a numinous peace comes dropping slow. This must be what it is like to hear and feel sound before being born into the dream realm. Morpheus is the personification of dreams! ('Fashioner', derived from the Ancient Greek: μορφή meaning 'form, shape') and a god associated with sleep and dreams. In Ovid's Metamorphoses (8th century CE) he is the son of Somnus (Hypnos in the Greek) and appears in dreams in human form. Morpheus was the leader of the spirits (the Oneiroi) who carried visions, both true and false, to humans as they slept. In Homer’s Odyssey, The Oneiroi lived in Erebos, the land of eternal darkness that lay beyond the rising sun. Each night they flew out to spread dreams around the world (a clear influence on the works of J.K.Rowling and Roald Dahl). Morpheus and the Oneiroi can bring messages of prophetic dreams that always proved true or falsehoods that could steer people in the wrong direction. The Morpheus Dreaming Soundscape, with our unique combination of heard and felt sound,  is specially composed to put your mind-body in a place where you can ask for the type of message you want to receive.

Deep sleep is vital and dreaming is more than sleeping... People have always used sleep to access their dream-world, often to seek an answer to a question that is on their mind. You can even write the question on a piece of paper and put it under your pillow to see if an answer arises… Try keeping a dream journal by your bed, where you write down any snippets of your dream on waking. Do this straight away on waking, as dreams vanish like ether as we move from sleep to wakefulness…

 

 

Sleep, dreams, circadian rhythms and light

Until quite recently all light was red light, from the sun, lamps, candles and traditional incandescent bulbs. Most lights are now LED and device screens emit mostly blue light, which is not generally found in nature and it is generally accepted that blue light can affect your sleep physiology and cause sleeplessness (Dr Andrew Huberman at Stanford University discusses this in detail if you are interested to know more).

Moreover, aspects of our brains and eyes are millions of years old and expect light to come from above during the day, therefore when we use overhead lighting at night we are sending a signal to our brains that it is still day and that we should keep on producing melatonin. This confuses the circadian rhythm and brain wave patterns that tell us it is time to rest.   

 

These ten tips can help:

1. Limit exposure to artificial (predominantly blue) light in the hours before bed. The last 1-2 hours before bed should be a time of winding down and preparing for sleep (see Sleep Ritual below);
2. Don’t turn on more lights than you need in the evening and even consider using candles (natural non-toxic beeswax or soy of course) or lamps for some of your light;
3. In the evening, don’t use overhead lights as your brain will confuse this for the daytime sun;
4. Make the last 60 minutes of your bedtime ritual electronics free—and keep electronic gadgets and devices out of the bedroom, or have your phone on airplane mode if you are running pre-sleep Sensate session;
5. Get light exposure during the day. Exposure to light—both sunlight and artificial light (but ‘sun before screen’)—can help strengthen circadian rhythms and boost daytime alertness, leaving you better prepared to sleep when the time comes;
6. Use blackout blinds or a sleep mask and earplugs as well if you need to
7. Keep your feet warm. Wear socks, but turn the heating down;
8. Have a routine and stick to it. If possible for you, go to bed and get up at the same time every day;
9. Have a hot bath in the evening and a shower in the morning;
10. Avoid napping during the day; it can disturb the normal pattern of sleep and wakefulness 

If you need light in the middle of the night, use small nightlights. Rather than switching on hallway or bathroom lights—and flooding your system with melatonin-suppressing light—use low-illumination night lights or even a torch to guide you when you need to get up in the dark.

It’s been noted that people who track their sleep actually sleep less well, overall, than people that don’t; so consider whether this is the right thing for you to do.

Food

Eat a quality high protein snack an hour or so before bed. Have this with a small piece of fruit to activate the blood-brain barrier but avoid sugar or carbs before bed. Avoid caffeine, chocolate and black tea. Avoid alcohol. Eat your evening meal no later than 7pm, better is 6pm. Don't drink any fluids two hours before bed. Many people find magnesium before bed helpful -  this chart illustrates magnesium’s impact on behaviour:

 

Fig: Magnesium and social behavior. Ref

 

 

Sleep Preparation Ritual

Develop a sleep preparation ritual that makes sense to you and which you can repeat most nights. The last hour or so before bed should be a time of winding down and preparing for sleep so that your mind and body knows what is coming and can look forward to it.

Use only as much light as you really need and this can be natural light such as candles or lamps. Go device free and keep devices out of the bedroom or on airplane mode. Don't try and pressure yourself to go to sleep, as this will only make you more alert. 

Have a warm bath or foot bath before bed with warm water and essential oil of Rosemary, Bay or Basil to stimulate circulation to the feet, as this actually reduces brain stimulation.

When you are ready for bed, run a Sensate session to prepare the nervous system for winding down. The Somnus theme is particularly designed for this – Twylite is the perfect 10 minute Soundscape and there are several 20 or 30 minute sessions if you want something longer, and if we have made you more interested in your dreamworld, try the two new Soundscapes!

Sleep waking

Some people get to sleep well enough but then wake during the night. If you wake with a start or with anxiety then magnesium helps many people. If you lie in bed awake for more than 20-30 minutes, get up, go to a different room and do something relaxing like reading calming books or breathing relaxation or a Sensate Somnus session, nothing too stimulating, then return to bed when you feel sleepy. Do this as many times during the night as needed.

 

Sensately Yours, 

Stefan

Stefan Chmelik is co-founder of and inventor of the Sensate stress reduction system, which is based on his over three decades of clinical experience working with anxiety, stress and trauma.

Articles page HERE

 

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Related articles:

NSDR – Non Sleep Deep Rest (we will be gifting a specific NSDR Soundscape later in December!)

Wake up to Sleep Deeply

The Power of Rest

How to Sleep and How NOT to Sleep

Winter - Time to Settle in and Get Cozy

 

 

Image Credits: Colin Watts, Daniele Colucci, Cody Chan