In this episode I am joined by Charlie Morley, lucid dreaming teacher and best-selling author, and Dr Garret Yount, a scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences.

Charlie and Garret discuss their recent pilot study entitled ‘Decreased Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Following a Lucid Dream Healing Workshop’, published in the May 2023 issue of Traumatology, and explain why their initial results may show great promise for the use of lucid dreaming techniques in the treatment of PTSD.

Charlie and Garret lay out the study’s design, the participant recruitment process, the lucid dreaming techniques taught to the subjects, and reveal what they consider to be the most effective techniques for relief of PTSD symptoms.

Garret responds to criticisms of the study design, including that limiting the participants to individuals with prior experience of lucid dreaming may have biased the findings, and that the significant psychotherapeutic aspects of the intervention prevent any conclusions being drawn about the efficacy of the lucid dreaming component for PTSD relief.

Charlie also discusses how his religious beliefs as a Buddhist influence his work, and reflects on the flowering of the altruistic motivation known as Bodhicitta in his own life and practice.

…

Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep210-science-of-lucid-dream-healing-charlie-morley-dr-garret-yount

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

…

Topics Include:

00:00 - Intro

01:29 - How the study came to be

06:12 - Securing private funding

08:22 - Charlie’s predictions for the study

10:23 - Anxiety about possible lack of lucid dreams in subjects

17:02 - Garret explains the results of the study

20:05 - The study design and participant selection

26:14 - Charlie’s workshop design

31:21 - Dream planning and Charlie reads participant reports

38:53 - Charlie praises the scientists

40:14 - Saliva sample collection

43:33 - Follow up study with a control group

48:13 - Was the participant selection biased?

54:15 - Why the psychological aspects of the workshop prevent conclusions being drawn about lucid dreaming efficacy

01:00:23 - Charlie on Keith McKenzie

01:01:33 - Hope vs false hope

01:05:35 - The importance of reframing nightmares

01:10:23 - Has the follow-up study broadened the selection criteria?

01:12:28 - Charlie’s speculations about the mechanism of effect

01:18:16 - Charlie’s altruistic motivation

01:22:05 - The flowering of Charlie’s bodhicitta

01:27:24 - Religious doubts and struggles in practice

01:30:33 - Charlie assesses his own religious practice

…

Previous episode with Charlie Morley:

- https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/guru-viking-interviews-ep2-charlie-morley-2

- https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep148-wake-up-to-sleep-charlie-morley-2

To read the paper:

- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371051446_Decreased_posttraumatic_stress_disorder_symptoms_following_a_lucid_dream_healing_workshop

To find out more about Charlie and Garret, visit:

- http://www.charliemorley.com/

- https://noetic.org/profile/garret-yount/

…

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- https://www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James