Ep210: Science of Lucid Dream Healing - Charlie Morley & Dr Garret Yount

InterviewsDialogues
Written By Guru Viking

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

Available on Youtube, iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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.

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 

Guru Viking
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