The Value of Dreaming w/ Kelly Bulkeley, Ph.D. & Toginet Host Midge Noble on Second Chances 07-11-2013

Second Chances

Kelly Bulkeley, Ph.D., a dream researcher and Visiting Scholar at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. His website http://kellybulkeley.com/about-kelly-bulkeley/ is for anyone who is interested in dreams and wants to learn more about current research on dreams in relation to psychology, religion, evolutionary science, politics, art, and culture. Dr. Bulkeley was not particularly interested in dreams as a child, but as a teenager he experienced a series of recurrent nightmares in which he was chased and attacked by frightening antagonists, including the uber-villain Darth Vadar of the "Star Wars" movies. These nightmares literally forced their way into his waking awareness and prompted what has become a lifelong fascination. Where do such strange dreams come from? What generates their emotional intensity, hyper-realism, and boundless creativity? What do they tell us about the potentials of the human mind? These are the questions motivating Dr. Bulkeley's work. His graduate training is in the field of religious studies, specifically the psychology of religion, because that discipline a) helped him learn about dream teachings and traditions prior to rise of psychology in the 19th century, and b) offered more flexible programs for interdisciplinary research than he found available in other disciplines. He knew from early on that any hope of understanding the complexity of dreaming would require the resources of more than one field of study, and it was easier to be in a religious studies program taking psychology classes than in a psychology program taking religious studies classes. “His most recent book; co-authored with Patricia Bulkley focuses on what psychologist C.G. Jung called the “big dreams” of childhood-intensely memorable dreams that can blaze themselves into children’s memories and remain a haunting, often inspiring, presence throughout their lives."