We are thrilled to announce the keynote and invited speakers for this year’s annual conference! Get ready to be inspired by leading experts who will share groundbreaking insights, innovative research, and thought-provoking discussions. Our distinguished keynote speakers will set the stage with a compelling address, while our invited speakers will bring diverse perspectives on key topics shaping our field. Stay tuned for the full lineup and schedule—this is an event you won’t want to miss!
Keynote:
Charlie Morley
Lucid Dreaming for Trauma Treatment
In this keynote talk, Charlie Morley will be discussing the remarkable results of two recent scientific studies that used lucid dreaming as a treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The results of the studies were quite remarkable, with the average PTSD score dropping so far below the medical threshold that dozens of participants were actually no longer classified as having PTSD by the end of the one week study.
Both the pilot study and the randomized control follow up study were facilitated by Charlie and conducted by the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
As the lead scientist on the study, molecular biologist Dr Garret Yount said “These results are highly significant. Truly remarkable results.”
Charlie has been working with military veterans, police forces and trauma survivors for almost 10 years, and in this talk he’ll discuss the wider implications and challenges of using lucid dreaming and mindful sleep practices as a mental health intervention.
He will also discuss the initial refusal to publish from many journals, the eventual publication in the peer reviewed journal Traumatology, and his controversial TED talk on the subject that was blacklisted over disputed data. So, join us at this exciting talk to explore how lucid dreaming may well be one of the most promising interventions for trauma currently available.
Keynote:
Julia Mossbridge
Should Humans Dream of Electric Sheep?
Can our AI nightmares be turned into AI-assisted sweet dreams? Can we use AI-assisted dreaming and dreamwork to grow our understanding of ourselves and others? How might AI be entangled with the dreamworld, how might this backfire, and how can we turn this engagement toward the good? Dr. Mossbridge studies human potential in the context of cognitive neuroscience, and her team has recently developed a method of scoring precognitive dreams using an AI approach that seems to understand the dreams better than humans do. In this keynote talk, she will cover the fledgling field of AI-assisted dreaming and dreamwork, with a waking eye toward love, human potential, and thriving.
Keynote:
Erin Wamsley
Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Furman University
How Sleep Shapes Our Memories—and Our Dreams
Every night while we sleep, our brains reactivate recently formed memory networks. A part of the process of “memory consolidation”, reactivating memories not only stabilizes and strengthens them, but also connects new experiences with past knowledge, helping us to better understand the world and make future decisions. In this talk, Dr. Wamsley will review evidence that memory reactivation during sleep may influence the content of our dreams, helping to explain the bizarre and imaginative scenarios that we experience each night. Dreams, she will argue, offer a window into how the sleeping brain uses memory to build knowledge and plan for what’s next.
Keynote Speakers:
Kaya and Christiane Muller
The Source Code of Dreams and Signs: How to Understand the Importance of Symbolic Language in Night and Day
When we know Symbolic Language, we can understand what people normally call incoherence — through dreams or nightmares, intrusive thought, a young child’s behavior, a person who has cognitive problems, or simply a word slip. We can understand dreams received during sleep, as well as signs, and even decode our life as if it was a dream. With applied Symbolic Language, our life becomes fascinating and profound.
Invited Speaker:
Dr. Serena Scarpelli
Dreams as Mirrors of Well-being: Exploring the Relationship Between Dream Activity and Life Changes
The talk will explore the fascinating relationship between dream activity and well-being, focusing on how dreams and nightmares evolve in response to major life changes. It will delve into the shifts in dreaming patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic, examining how different waves affected dream experiences in various populations, including COVID patients and those with Long COVID. Additionally, the talk will address changes in dream experiences during pregnancy, exploring the potential role of dreams in emotional regulation. Ultimately, the talk will highlight how both dreams and nightmares can serve as powerful indicators of individual health, emotional states, and personal transformation.
Invited Speaker:
Dr. Fanny Brewster
Dreams as Healing Messages from the Divine
We sometimes use the word “nightmare” for dreams that scare us. I think of these dreams as mares of the night: horses that come riding into ego consciousness with powerful messages for creating transformative change in our lives. Now seems like such an opportune time to focus our attention on dreams that scare us—especially since there is so much scariness happening in our wake state lives. Let’s return to the gentle holding of nightmare dreams with curiosity, seeing the potentialities for joy, not fear.