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Throughout history, cultures worldwide have harnessed the power of "waking dreams"—dream-like mental episodes experienced while awake—for healing, guidance, and insight. From Jung's Active Imagination to timeless Indigenous practices, this natural human ability can help us access wisdom beyond our logical mind.
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I'm Bei Linda Tang, the developer of Guided Dreaming. This new evidence-based mental wellness protocol facilitates a safe and relaxing underwater waking dream experience featuring a shapeshifting octopus guide. While awake, you'll explore unconscious emotions and break through mental obstacles, helping you overcome persistent life challenges.
What is Guided Dreaming?
Guided Dreaming is an innovative mental wellness protocol I developed based on personal waking dreams during the pandemic, grounded in dream science, psychology, and dreamwork. It offers a safe, effective, and accessible way for individuals to reduce stress and problem-solve through symbolic confrontation, embodied cognition and archetypal transformation in an underwater waking dream featuring a shapeshifting octopus. I have worked with hundreds of people with positive results and presented Guided Dreaming workshops at three annual conferences at the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) since 2022.
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How does Guided Dreaming work?
At the beginning of each Guided Dreaming workshop, you will first choose a personal, professional, or collective problem to focus on. You will have the option of having an imagined helper to support you during the waking dream experience. With breathwork and visualization, I guide participants, while awake, into a serene underwater dreamscape featuring an octopus guide, where they will encounter personalized content. After the guided experiential, I facilitate sharing to help participants interpret their waking dream content, as well as extract insights and derive solutions.
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Empirical Research
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For my master's thesis research in 2024, I conducted a mixed-methods study of 11 adult volunteers who had participated in a Guided Dreaming workshop. I presented the results at the International Association of Analytical Psychology/Catholic University Freiburg joint Conference in October 2024, which shows:
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All participants experienced waking dreams with unique content, embodied cognition, and positive emotions, despite diverse demographics and experiences with mindfulness practice
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91% of the participants reported feeling safe, less stressed, and attaining problem-solving insights
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A 36% average improvement in self-assessed mental outlook (from 57.8±17.7 to 78.9±23; p=.00067; Cohen's d effect size = 1.03).
Safety, Privacy, and Ethics
The exploration of dreams and waking dreams offers opportunities for personal growth, but it must be approached ethically, focusing on safety, agency, privacy, and informed consent. Unexpected memories or emotions may surface. Trained facilitators are essential for maintaining a supportive environment and protecting participants' mental well-being.
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Participants remain conscious during the guided dreaming process and can end their waking dream at any time.
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Every individual is the authority on their dreams and waking dreams, and we prioritize confidentiality by starting each session with a shared agreement to protect each other's privacy. They are encouraged to share only what they feel comfortable with, using general terms to protect identities.
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It's important to respect each person's unique journey without imposing interpretations. Honouring cultural traditions and diverse perspectives can enrich the experience and promote healing.
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Guided Dreaming and dreamwork are not substitutes for professional psychotherapy outside a clinical setting. For mental health emergencies, please seek mental health and suicide prevention support. The free helpline in Canada and the United States is 988 by phone or text. For health concerns, please consult a medical professional.
Bei Linda Tang is an active member and the Western Canadian regional representative of the International Association for the Study of Dreams, and adheres to IASD's Ethical Dreamwork and Principles of Community.