ABSTRACT

Religious Roundtable on the Nature and Meaning of Dreams

Presider:  Kelly Bulkeley, Ph.D.

Participants: Peter Kingsley , Ph.D. and Huston Smith Ph.D.

Kelly Bulkeley teaches religion and psychology at the Graduate Theological Union and is the author and editor of several books on dreams, including Transforming Dreams, Visions of the Night, An Introduction to the Psychology of Dreaming, The Wilderness of Dreams, and the forthcoming Dreams of Healing and The Evolution of Wonder. Tracey Kahan is Chair of the Department of Psychology at Santa Clara University. Her research focuses on different modes of consciousness and cognitive processing, and she has written several articles in the journal Dreaming and elsewhere about dreams, lucidity, metacognition, and memory.

Summary of Presentation

This panel will include representatives from several different religious faiths and spiritual traditions, gathered to engage in a free dialogue about their various perspectives on the nature and meaning of dreams.  It will complement Huston Smith’s invited address on the same key topic of the nature and meaning of dreams in the world’s religions.

Learning Objectives.

• To learn about different religious and spiritual views of dreaming

•  To learn how different cultural traditions can interact

•  To learn new ideas about the roles of dreaming in human life

Evaluation questions:

• What are the different roles dreams have played in world religions?
• Do dreams have any religious or spiritual significance in the modern world?
• How do religious and psychological approaches to dreams relate to each other?
  
  

Abstract 

This panel will include representatives from several different religious faiths and spiritual traditions, gathered to engage in a free dialogue about their various perspectives on the nature and meaning of dreams.  It will complement Huston Smith’s invited address on the same key topic of the nature and meaning of dreams in the world’s religions.  The panelists will primarily be drawn from local Bay Area communities, which will enhance regional interest in the event.  Each presenter will be invited to a) give a 7-8 minute description of his or her tradition’s view of dreams and b) pose a question for general discussion.  After the presenters have made their initial descriptions, Huston Smith will be invited to respond, and then the presider will open the discussion to all the panelists for responses to each other’s questions.  After a time, the audience will be invited to ask questions, make comments, and advance comparative interpretations.

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