Lucid Dreaming podcast

I’ve been enjoying the Lucid Dreaming podcast with Lucid Sage. It’s non-commercial and amateur in the good way, at least early on, which means no Squarespace ads (yay!) and also minimal editing and long episodes. The host has a humble, passionate vibe that is really lovely. Early episodes cover basics like how to start having lucid dreams, and later episodes include interviews and updates on various devices and kickstarter campaigns.

Some episode highlights:

  • Episode 5 – Going WILD. Host Jay gives a rundown of his core practices (dream journaling, reality checks, dream signs, intentions). This is slightly more elaborate that what I do, and sounds like it works somewhat more reliably.
  • Episode 14 – Dream Yoga with Andrew Holecek. A 90+ minute interview that gives what seems like an informed and thorough introduction to Buddhist perspectives on dreams and the mind, with suggestions for meditation and lucid dreaming practices sprinkled throughout. Lots of new ideas for me– meditating inside lucid dreams, using dreams to practice seeing waking reality as an illusion, etc.

Two spells for burning buildings

A good spell makes new things possible. Years ago I saved this quote from Stone Butch Blues. It is the genderqueer protagonist’s reaction to reading Women’s Studies books.

I felt as though I was rushing into a burning building to rescue the ideas I needed in my own life.

That line made it easy to explain that a book can be worthwhile and problematic at the same time, provided you have a mission. It made it possible to see reading terrible books with a critical eye as heroic instead of embarrassing. It’s a good spell for someone like me who borrows a lot of books from the 000-200 section of the library, and at the same time has enough science background to question using quantum physics to explain serendipity and enough political analysis to see random dreamcatcher cover art as racist.

If that is too metaphorical, here is a short and direct motto from a vanished blog I used to love. I use this as a disclaimer all the time. It’s a spell that can transform a sketchy text into a resource, that can invoke a bigger context and invite all of someone’s history and knowledge into an encounter. I predict this will be a good spell for most things I post here.

Bring your own analysis.