Dreaming Wide Awake, Lucid Dreaming and Psychedelics

Lucid dreaming in its own right is a fantastic experience that can change one’s perception of reality, but what happens when you add psychedelics into the mix? Does this change how one perceives dreams, psychology, and the human experience?

Through my own experience in life, I found the need to explore psychedelics to answer that very question. I have always had ecstatic type dreams, and I wondered how psychedelics compared. Was there something to learn or gain from diving into plants or fungi that changed how my brain operated? I had to answer this question, and the result was my first psychedelic experience with Ayahuasca.

My passion for searching for truth through experience led me to some exciting places, but the most rewarding aspect of my journey has been meeting new people and exchanging ideas with those individuals who also share my passion. This dive into the divine led me to my talk with David Jay Brown who also wondered about the difference between lucid dreaming and the psychedelic experience. He found answers that he was kind enough to share with all of us.

In this episode, we speak with David Jay Brown about his newest book Dreaming Wide Awake: Lucid Dreaming, Shamanic Healing, and Psychedelics which discusses psychedelics, dreams, and their connection. David discusses with us his use of psychedelics and how he has also used lucid dreams to explore deeper into his psyche. David has a unique and fantastic way of connecting the psychedelic and lucid dream experience together. He also talks about some of the interviews he has conducted in the past with experts on the subject of psychedelics and dreams which brings light to the subject.

David Jay Brown holds a master’s degree in psychobiology from New York University. A former neuroscience researcher at the University of Southern California, he has written for Wired, Discover, and Scientific American while his news stories have appeared on The Huffington Post and CBS News. A frequent guest editor of the MAPS Bulletin, he is the author of several books including Mavericks of the Mind and Conversations on the Edge of the Apocalypse. He lives in Ben Lomond, California.