Syllabus: Dreams & Altered States of Consciousness

Instructor: Loyd Auerbach

This unique eight week course will be broadcast live on Wednesday evenings, but many students choose to watch the recordings of the classes if they cannot attend them live. The first broadcast will be on Wednesday, February 7th through March 27th. Besides the weekly class broadcasts, there is an online discussion forum for students to share their ideas, answer questions about the lectures, and communicate with the instructors.

About the Course

This survey course will examine altered states of consciousness (ASC) including those induced by meditation, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, music, and substances. ASCs will be explored from the perspectives of neuroscience, psychology, consciousness research, parapsychology, and anthropology. As this is a survey course, it provides essentially an overview of a spectrum of ASCs, with a deeper exploration/focus on dreams.

Course Outline

Week 1: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

      • Overview of the Course

      • What is Consciousness?

      • What is an Altered State of Consciousness (ASC)?

      • The Importance of Perception to ASCs

      • Overview of Specific ASCs and Techniques to Induce Some of Them

Week 2: Meditation, Hypnosis, & Sensory Deprivation

      • Types of Meditation

      • Effects of Meditation on States of Consciousness

      • Effects of Meditation on the Brain

      • Hypnosis: An Overview

      • Is the Hypnotic State Really an Altered State?

      • Effects of Hypnosis on Perception, Memory and the Body/Brain

      • Sensory Deprivation Techniques

      • Effects of Sensory Deprivation on States of Consciousness

Week 3: Sleep and Dreams

      • Sleep and Dreaming in General

      • Cycles of Sleep and Dreaming

      • Types of Dreams

      • Lucid Dreaming in Brief

      • Nightmares and Night Terrors

      • Hypnogogic and Hypnopompic States

      • Normative, Repetitive, and Impactful Dreams

      • Brief Theories of Dreams and Dreaming

Week 4: Psychic Dreaming (Part I)

      • Psi Dreaming: Overview

      • Healing Dreams

      • Visitation Dreams

      • Telepathic and Mutual Dreaming

      • Past Life Dreams

      • Mid-Term Quiz Available

Week 5: Psychic Dreaming (Part II)

      • ">Real-Time Dreams

      • ">Precognitive Dreams

      • ">Deja Vu in Dreams

      • Dreams and Out of Body Experiences

      • Lucid Dreaming

Week 6: Sleep Disorders & Working with Dreams

      • Overview of Sleep Maladies

      • Sleep Paralysis & Hynagogic Visions

      • Dream Recall

      • Dream Incubation

      • Dream Symbols

      • Creativity and Dreams

      • Working with Psychic Dreams

Week 7: Consciousness Altering Substances and Technology

      • Overview of Mind-Altering Substances

      • How is the Brain Affected?

      • Food & Nutrition

      • Alcohol

      • Psychedelics & Hallucinogens

      • Stimulants & Depressants (Legal and Illegal)

      • PsychoTechnology: Biofeedback, Magnetic Fields (Natural & Man-Made) and More

Week 8: Additional ASC Inductions, Summary, & Wrap-up

      • Music/Sound as an ASC Induction Technique

      • Movement/Dance as an ASC Induction Technique

      • Disease and Illness as Inducing ASCs

      • Overview of Uses of ASC Induction: from Shamans to Modern Medicine

      • Parapsychology and ASCs

      • Summary and Wrap-Up

      • Final Quiz

Grading for this course

All students are considered to be auditing the courses, but students may choose to take this course for a letter grade. Whether being graded or not, all students are encouraged to participate fully in this class and join in the online discussions. This provides an opportunity to get the full experience of the online class and learn the most about the topics that are presented.

Students taking this course for a letter grade will be evaluated using the following information.

Grading and Assessments
Discussion Participation (40% of your grade)
 

Engagement with discussion forums throughout the course

  • 5% for each discussion question for the 8 weeks of the course (total 40%)
  • Besides answering the discussion questions, students should participate in the discussions by posting responses to the posts of other students.
Mid-Term quiz: Short answer/essay (30% of your grade)
Final quiz: Short answer/essay (30% of your grade)
 
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