Photo: Eddi 07
Dreaming while on the road may end up being easier – and more hallucinatory – than back at home.
When we’re traveling, our dreams go into overdrive, trying to keep up with all the new experiences. Maybe it’s the fact that we don’t know the language, or that sleeping under a rock shelter in the desert isn’t all we thought it would be. In many cases, culture shock is behind this powerful dream generator.
These dreams come to us thanks to the heightened social anxiety and poor sleeping conditions that are part of the adventure of seeing the world. I have also found in my travels that culture shock activates lucid dreaming.
What is lucid dreaming? It’s those fleeting moments in a dream when you know you’re in the middle of an imaginary world. It’s the realization that the cosmos as you know it is an illusion, and that anything is possible.
Although lucid dreaming has been popularized as dream control, it’s actually a state of mind cultivated for thousands of years by Eastern mystics such as Tibetan Buddhists, Indian Yogis, and Islamic Sufis. In a lucid dream, you can make choices, investigate what you wish, and be more open than in waking life to new experiences.
Lucid Dreaming Triggers
Photo: mark sebastian
Lucid dreaming happens spontaneously when the conditions are right. Conditions are often “right” in loud hostels and on sandy beaches.
Disturbed sleep, jet lag, language barriers, and social nervousness activate the parts of the brain that are involved in becoming self-aware in our dreams.
If you reinforce these with a strong intention to become aware in your dream – such as by journaling before bed – you may find yourself awake and aware in your sleep that night.
Also, taking a nap after a sleepless night or an evening of drinking margaritas increases the odds of a lucid dream. The brain is starved for dreaming sleep, and will often slip straight into a dream immediately after you lie down. One minute, you’re closing your eyes, and the next, you’re flying over the Amazon river.
Spirit Visitations and Sleep Paralysis
Culture shock-induced lucid dreaming can get spooky too. Another side effect of jet lag, sleep deprivation, mixed with heightened social anxiety, promotes sleep paralysis, a kind of lucid dream where you the body feels paralyzed as you begin to fall asleep.
Sometimes, this is accompanied by hallucinations that we project onto our sleeping space. The most common vision is of an intruder in the room, and in some cases, a scary cloaked creature or “demon” who sits on our chest. This is the incubus, a malady recognized as early as Aristotle’s time, and interpreted in the Middle Ages as witchcraft.
Photo: Torley
Many cultures have folklore and ghost stories about sleep paralysis hallucinations, especially the indigenous cultures in the Pacific Rim, including Indonesia, Alaska, the Pacific Northwest of the US, as well as Central and South America.
In some of these cultures, the intruder can be an ancestral spirit; in others, it is interpreted as the work of black magic or a rival shaman.
If you are traveling in these regions that have folklore, such as Malay, Cambodia, or Peru, sleep paralysis encounters may take the form of the culture you are visiting. For example, in Hawaii, sleep paralysis is believed to be caused by supernatural “night marchers.”
Despite what Western science tells us, these experiences can make us question the role of dreams in connecting us to reality. The movie Avatar explores this theme as well, in between the 3D explosions and smurf love. Director James Cameron based the “tree of life” ceremony loosely on Indonesian shamanism, an area well known for its powerful dreamers and healers.
Awareness of the possibilities in lucid dreaming while traveling can enhance any trip.
Awareness of the possibilities in lucid dreaming while traveling can enhance any trip. You may want to explore ancient ruins in your mind, combat homesickness by reconnecting with your family during a nap, or practice your language skills within the safety of the dream.
There’s also the possibility of tapping into those local visions that represent the underworld of the landscape you are visiting.
Respecting the Culture of Dreams
Just like in waking life, you want to be respectful of the dream entities that approach you, give rather than take, and have sincere gratitude for their hospitality. Lucid dreaming is a gift of culture shock, and it can help with integrating your experiences.
If nothing else, sharing your weird dreams will give you something to talk about at the hostel in the mornings, and help break traveler’s isolation.
Have you experienced lucid dreaming while traveling? Share your experiences below.
Community Connection
Wondering how to craft a dream journal? Then check out Joshua Johnson’s guide to Keeping a Dream Journal. Don’t forget to tune into those “awake” dreams, especially What Was Your Childhood Travel Dream?
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10 Comments... join the discussion!
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Really interesting article Ryan. Must be a great thing to focus your work on.
I have a question for you on this topic – My old flatmate swore by eating blue cheese before bed to have a really trippy night’s dreaming. I have tried it and I have to say that it really did make my dreams much more intensive. Is there any scientific knowledge to back this up or is it pure placebo?
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An interesting exploration. But I’ve never experienced dreams to be more lucid or hallucinatory simply because of traveling. Several years ago, I experienced chronic and prolonged bouts of extremely disturbing sleep paralysis which bordered on panic attacks and felt like seizures. They were exceedingly long and detailed, and they changed the color of my mind. However, I have always experienced lucid dreams and enjoy dreaming almost more than I enjoy waking life. I would be very interested to learn more about your research!
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Read Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “A dream within a dream”.
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although the poem is less about dreaming as we’ve spoken of it and more about waking reality dissolving as quickly as a dream.
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Hi.Mr. Ryan.Very intresting article. But I never had any dreams.Very honest.May be am wrong. Trust me, I am yet to exprience a dream.
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I don’t usually recall my dreams, whether traveling or otherwise. But when I do I try to write down the details. They often deal with fitting in at home, or what I’m looking for while traveling. I think both dreams and travel are a great way to stop seeing “the forest for the trees”, and catch what shakes out when you change perspective.
BTW – not sure about bleu cheese, but eating chips ‘n’ salsa before bed led to a dream where I went to Hell. It was a blast! I may have even woken up laughing…
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thanks for the comments, ya’ll! This article is really the tip of the iceberg about the relationship between dreams, culture, and spirituality.
Rob – good to meet another travel dreamer. Like Dharbecke suggests, travel dreaming seems to shake us out of our routines so we can see clearly again.
Dfinepa – I don’t know about any scholarly studies about the “Lucid Cheese” effect, but cheese in general has been found by dream researchers to increase dream bizarreness and possibly nightmares. And increased dream bizareness can lead to more opportunities to go lucid with the thought , “this is too weird – it must be a dream!”
Britt – you are not alone about having terrible sleep paralysis experiences. SP does link to anxiety and times of life crisis (which some call “spiritual emergencies.” ). Do a search on my website for more info about how to lessen SP. My ebook on the topic will be available in a few weeks too.
Shaik – I believe you that you don’t remember your dreams; that’s actually pretty common. However, sleep researchers say that everyone dreams at night. The issue is one of dream recall, not of sleeping physiology. If you would like to learn how to remember more dreams, check out my free ebook on the topic at dreamstudies.org.
DHarbecke – great comment, yeah, it’s crucial to write down dreams as soon as you can because they are so slippery. I haven’t travelled recently, beyond the state of California that is, but I am happy to have my dreams to shake me up until I hit the trail again.
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Great article! Interesting take on dreaming. I have a huge interest in dream analysis. From an islamic prespective they say dreaming can connect not only with your deep spiritual self but also the other side. The saying “dead men tell no tales” is very much the meaning when a deceased comes into your dreams in the islamic context.
Dreams that come to me are usually when my life is balanced and i feel at peace. Alot of the times i think dreams are just our subconscious trying to get through to our conscious mind.↵ -
Dreams you have every night =] You just might not remember them. If you want to test it just start giving the subject more importance and see what happens ;]
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