I recently read Serge King’s new book, Dream Tech: How To Master The Art Of Dreaming, and of course enjoyed it a lot and found it useful. Prior to reading the book, I was speaking to Serge and asked him about some of the practical uses of dreaming from his perspective.
At the foot of this post, I share a video of Serge discussing with me just a few of the many aspects of dreaming covered in his book. Some of the points that arose are:
Serge discusses how dreaming provides a form of symbolic self-exploration and that this value of dreaming is often neglected. Dreams can open up whole new worlds of possibility and when one learns to change things in dreams, it causes changes in what we commonly refer to as ‘waking life’. I particularly like the notion that dreams can provide a testing ground for tools and approaches and provide the confidence to try out approaches in waking life that you would not normally try.
It is also useful to consider that when you are recalling a dream you are recalling a memory. This perspective provides many possibilities with which to work with dreams and Serge describes a simple and effective way of working with recalled memories of nightmares. Serge has recorded over 5000 dreams and revisited his dream journal in order to write the book. Of course, as with any memory in waking life, such as that stimulated by a photograph of a holiday, Serge found revisiting his dreams stimulated many interesting memories.
Serge discusses the notion that in dreams we often have skills and abilities that we do not have to the same extent, or at all in waking life. Where these skills come from and what it implies is open to question and Serge offers one of his own opinions.
Anyone who wants some thought-provoking ideas about the nature of dreams and examples of how to work with dreams of all kinds, whether they be sleeping dreams, waking dreams or dreams of the in-between twilight state, may be interested in reading Serge’s book. Each chapter raises interesting points to consider as well as offering various techniques to work with dreams. In the book, Serge takes time to consider dreams from a whole range of traditions and perspectives. Serge draws on his own dream journal to offer examples of particular types of dreams ranging from the dramatic to the mundane and from the highly detailed to more fragmented dreams – all of which reflect the fascinating and varied nature of our dreaming reality.
Of course, working with dreams is an integral part of Huna Kupua practice and Serge, I and others work with dreams in many ways on a regular basis. Check out future posts for more ideas on working with dreams and enjoy this video!
Dream Tech: Mastering The Art Of Dreaming is available in paperback or Kindle edition via Amazon UK here or Amazon USA here
