The Influence of Impactful Dreams on Self-PerceptualDepth and Spiritual Transformation

Don Kuiken, Ming-Ni Lee, Tracy Eng, and Terry SinghUniversity of Alberta

Two studies contrasted the short-term effects of nightmares, existentialdreams, and transcendent dreams (Busink & Kuiken, 1996; Kuiken & Sikora,1993). Results from Study 1 indicated that existential dreams were more likelythan mundane dreams, transcendent dreams, or nightmares to be followed byreported self-perceptual depth; also, transcendent dreams were more likelythan mundane dreams, existential dreams, or nightmares to be followed byreported spiritual transformation. Results from Study 2 replicated these find-ings for existential dreams, indicating also that the type of spiritual transfor-mation associated with transcendent dreams involved an ecstatic sense ofrelease from everyday entanglements. Both existential dreams and transcen-dent dreams moved the dreamer toward an unbounded sense of life in allthings, as did lucid forms of all three dream types. Such unbounded enliv-enment suggests an aesthetic substrate to the changes induced by each of thesedream types. The contrasting short-term effects of impactful dream types mayrequire integration into a comprehensive model of long-term dream function.

KEY WORDS: dream function, lucid dreams, nightmares, existential dreams,transcendent dreams, self-perceptual depth, spiritual transformation

Beyond examination of the life events that influence dreams and of the dreamevents that influence waking, models of dream function posit a correspondencebetween the effects of dreams and what enables the dreamer, in some sense, to“thrive.” Increasingly during the last decade, models of dream function have takenan evolutionary perspective (Hartmann, 2001; Revonsuo, 2000), which construesthriving as long-term “adaptation” (e.g., species survival). However, given thedifficulty of empirically grounding the adaptive effects proposed in these models,studies of short-term dream function may, at least at times, be remedial. Studies ofthe immediate effects of dreaming may help to identify (1) the processes by whichshort-term dream effects facilitate long-term adaptation; (2) the various short-termdream effects whose integration facilitates long-term adaptation; and (3) the long-term dream adaptations that have been culturally altered to provide quite different

Don Kuiken, Ming-Ni Lee, Tracy Eng, and Terry Singh, Department of Psychology, University ofAlberta, Canada.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Don Kuiken, Department ofPsychology, P-217 Biological Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G2E9. E-mail: dkuiken@ualberta.ca

258Dreaming Copyright 2006 by the American Psychological Association2006, Vol. 16, No. 4, 258–279 1053-0797/06/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/1053-0797.16.4.258

short-term functions. The present study addresses short-term dream effects in thespirit of such exploration.

Perhaps the most commonly proposed psychological function of dreams is thealleviation of emotional distress. From this perspective, dreams present distressingscenarios that metaphorically represent affectively similar life events and enablecovert rehearsal of self-protective or self-restorative responses (Breger, Hunter, &Lane, 1971; Cartwright, 1996; Hartmann, 2001; Kramer, 1993; Revonsuo, 2000). Inbroad outline, this view is consistent with evidence that dreams are organizedpresentations of life-like scenarios (Foulkes, 1985); that waking concerns are met-aphorically represented in dreams (Nikles, Brecht, Klinger, & Bursell, 1998); thatdream scenarios disproportionately involve misfortunes and negative emotions(Hall & Van de Castle, 1966); and that emotionally significant themes recur withinindividual dream series (Domhoff, 2003).

However, when models of dream function make threat, fear, and defensepivotal, they potentially obscure the affective—and perhaps adaptive—heteroge-neity of dreams. Revonsuo (2000), for example, stresses the influence of a threat-triggered psychobiological mnemonic system that regulates “fear or defensiveresponses” (p. 887). In concert with that proposal, Hartmann (2001) argues thatdreams and nightmares after trauma are “prototypic” of “the same process [that]occurs in all dreams” (p. 33). Even without denying the importance of posttrau-matic dreams and nightmares, models that one-sidedly emphasize threat, fear, anddefense overlook, perhaps deliberately (cf. Revonsuo, 2000, p. 1078), the influenceof other emotion coordinating systems on dream function. More specifically, theseaccounts ignore evidence that, beyond the psychobiological system for fear, thereare separate systems for coordinating separation distress (sadness/pain), aggression(anger/rage), and play (joy) (Panksepp, 2005). These systems show different pat-terns of neural activation during imagined affective events (Damasio et al., 2000)and may differentially influence dream formation and dream function.

The latter possibility is bolstered by systematic classificatory studies that haveidentified three types of impactful dreams (Busink & Kuiken, 1996; Kuiken &Sikora, 1993). Besides nightmares, in which fear and harm-avoidance are dominant,Kuiken and his colleagues identified existential dreams, in which sadness andseparation are salient, and transcendent dreams, in which awe and magical accom-plishment are focal. In the present research, we examined whether these contrast-ing dream types have different effects on waking thoughts and feelings.

THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT DREAM TYPES

Kuiken and Sikora (1993) reported a study, replicated by Busink and Kuiken(1996), in which participants described dreams that continued to influence theirthoughts and feelings even after awakening. Using cluster analysis, these dreamswere empirically sorted into polythetic classes according to similarities in theirprofiles of attributes (Bailey, 1988). These procedures revealed three types ofimpactful dreams, distinguishable not by any single characteristic (e.g., fear) butrather by coherent profiles of attributes involving feelings and emotions, motivesand goals, sensory phenomena, movement characteristics, and dream endings. Onetype, nightmares (called “anxiety dreams” in the original report), involved features

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such as intense fear, harm avoidance, vivid olfactory and auditory phenomena, andphysical metamorphoses. A second type, existential dreams, involved features suchas intense sadness, separation and loss, the emergence of strong and clear bodilyfeelings, and spontaneous feeling change. A third type, transcendent dreams (com-parable to archetypal dreams; cf. Kluger, 1975), involved features such as feelingsof awe, magical accomplishment, extraordinary sources of light, and shifts invisual-spatial orientation. Nightmares, existential dreams, and transcendent dreamsall included visual discontinuities (i.e., explicit “looking,” visual anomalies, andsudden shifts in location); all three types involved relatively intense affect, espe-cially during dream endings; and the imagery of all three types seemed “real” totheir dreamers even after awakening.

Despite such evidence of their shared intensity, anecdotal comments indicatedthat these dreams had very different effects on waking thoughts and feelings.Dreamers suggested that (1) nightmares were followed by lingering environmentalvigilance (e.g., apprehension about invisible dangers); (2) existential dreams werefollowed by reflection on feelings that the dreamer was previously reluctant toacknowledge (e.g., distress related to loss); and (3) transcendent dreams werefollowed by consideration of previously ignored spiritual possibilities (e.g., attun-ement to preternatural phenomena). These dreams’ apparently contrasting func-tions motivated more careful examination of their effects on waking thoughts andfeelings.

APPROACHES TO RESEARCH ON IMPACTFUL DREAMS

Research on the function of impactful dreams remains conceptually and meth-odologically challenging. One reason is the familiar explanatory ambiguity ofcorrelational research. For example, evidence that the frequency of nightmares iscorrelated with trait “anxiety” (e.g., Lang & O’Connor, 1984) is usually interpretedas evidence that dreamer anxiety triggers nightmare occurrence, even though suchfindings are also compatible with the notion that recurrent nightmares influencetrait anxiety or, more plausibly, that the causal relation is bidirectional. Analogousexplanatory alternatives are implied by evidence that the personality trait “absorp-tion” is correlated with existential dreams (Kuiken & Nielsen, 1996) and that thepersonality trait “intuitiveness” is correlated with transcendent (archetypal) dreams(Cann & Donderi, 1986). The difficulty of establishing temporal order (let alonecausation), even in quasi-longitudinal designs (e.g., Brown & Donderi, 1986; Zadra,O’Brien, & Donderi, 1997–1998), raises doubts about whether correlational studiesof dreaming patterns and personality traits will contribute further to our under-standing of how impactful dreams exert their effects. In contrast, studies thatexamine temporally linked dream events and effects allow closer examination ofthe processes by which impactful dreams influence waking thoughts and feelings.

A second challenge in this research domain is appropriately timed assessmentof impactful dream effects. These effects are of largely unknown duration; they maylast for a few moments, as in perceptual carry-over effects, or they may endure formonths after awakening, as in spiritual renewal. Thus, it is critical to gauge thepersistence of the hypothesized dream effects. Some subtle, transient, and linguis-tically inexpressible perceptual effects (e.g., altered tactile sensitivity) may require

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assessment within moments after awakening in the sleep laboratory (e.g., Bertini &Violani, 1992)—even though that approach to the study of impactful dreams ismade difficult by these dreams’ infrequent and irregular occurrence. Some power-ful, lasting, and linguistically expressible effects (e.g., changes in religious convic-tion) suggest cautious use of retrospective questionnaires or historical documents(e.g., Bulkeley, 1995), and, when these exceptional effects are themselves trans-formed over time, in-depth interviews may be useful (e.g., Knudsen & Minier,1999). Finally, some intense and transient but linguistically expressible effects (e.g.,changes in body image) allow immediate access through dream diaries completedshortly after awakening (e.g., Kuiken & Sikora, 1993) or, when the effects arisefrom dreams that retain a very compelling sense of their “reality” long afterawakening, through questionnaires that probe recent impactful dream events.

A third challenge, grounded in the assumption that different kinds of dreamshave contrasting functions, is to effectively define impactful dream types. Conven-tional definitional procedures have led to some troubling inconsistencies. Forexample, the definition of nightmares simply as disturbing dreams that awaken thedreamer (cf. Zadra & Donderi, 2000) has been problematic. To begin, it is not clearwhy awakening from a dream should define nightmares when existential dreamsand transcendent dreams also are accompanied by spontaneous awakenings(Busink & Kuiken, 1996; Kuiken & Sikora, 1993). And, even the conjunction ofspontaneous awakenings and disturbing emotions will not suffice because night-mares and existential dreams both involve disturbing emotions (intense fear andagonizing sadness, respectively). Such inconsistencies result from stipulative oper-ational definitions in which only one or very few attributes are used to define adream category (in the nightmare case, disturbing emotions plus spontaneousawakenings). Empirically derived polythetic classes of impactful dreams (e.g.,Busink & Kuiken, 1996; Kuiken & Sikora, 1993), in contrast, minimize suchinconsistencies by basing class membership on overall resemblances rather than onone or a few discrete and “essential” attributes.

A fourth challenge, again grounded in the notion that impactful dream typesvary in their effects, is to distinguish empirically how each dream type influenceswaking thoughts and feelings. Discussions of impactful dreams have focused ontheir internal form and content, often drawing upon similar and more thoroughlystudied waking phenomena to infer their effects. For example, Hartmann (2001)compared the effects of nightmares with the shifts in understanding and feeling thatoccur in psychotherapy (pp. 131–140); Kuiken (1995) compared the effects ofexistential dreams with Gendlin’s (1996, 1997) conception of how the explication offelt meanings deepens self-perception; and Hunt (1989) compared the effects oftranscendent (archetypal) dreams, especially in their lucid form, with the spiritualeffects of mindfulness meditation (p. 122). As points of departure, such conceptualcontributions have their role, but concrete empirical assessment of these differencesin dream effects has not always been forthcoming.

Empirical assessment of dream effects has been common in studies of night-mares (Belicki, 1992a, 1992b; Blagrove, Farmer, & Williams, 2004; Kothe &Pietrowsky, 2001; Krakow et al., 2000; Miro, & Martınez, 2005; Zadra & Donderi,2000; Zadra, Germain, Fleury, Raymond, & Nielsen, 2000). However, the measuresused are clinically motivated indices of nightmare distress, and low correlationsbetween nightmare distress and nightmare frequency suggest that some nightmares

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are not distressing and may even have unexamined constructive effects. Empiricalassessment of the effects of existential dreams, although less often undertaken,indicates that these dreams are more strongly associated with subsequently re-ported self-perceptual depth than are mundane dreams, nightmares, or transcen-dent dreams (Busink & Kuiken, 1996; Kuiken & Nielsen, 1996; Kuiken & Sikora,1993), although much more might be done to clarify these effects. Finally, empiricalassessment of the effects of transcendent dreams is limited to incongruous findingsbased on anecdotal accounts (Kuiken & Sikora, 1993) and isolated questions(Busink & Kuiken, 1996). The present research was intended to clarify and extendthe preceding empirically documented effects of nightmares, existential dreams,and transcendent dreams.

STUDY 1

Study 1 was an attempt to (1) replicate research indicating that existentialdreams facilitate self-perceptual depth (Kuiken, 1995); (2) examine whether night-mares have comparable effects through their novel, emotion-guided mnemonicconnections (Hartmann, 2001, p. 139); and (3) explore the spiritual effects oftranscendent (archetypal) dreams (Hunt, 1989). Consistent with the precedingdiscussion, this study was designed to explore the relations between particulardreams and their immediately ensuing effects, rather than between enduring dreampatterns and stable person characteristics. In this way, we hoped to gain moreconcrete access to the processes by which impactful dreams alter waking thoughtsand feelings. Second, we selected procedures that provide access to moderatelypersistent dream effects. We reasoned that some important dream-induced shifts inself-perceptual depth and spiritual transformation last for a day, a few days, orperhaps a week—but seldom more. Third, this study was designed to investigatethe effects of relatively—but not overwhelmingly—intense dreams, specifically,those that, compared with the dreamer’s other dreams, seem “real” even afterawakening. We thought that the most impactful dream recalled during the preced-ing month would seem sufficiently “real” and be sufficiently memorable to justifyretrospective questioning about both the dream and its effects. Finally, consistentwith the procedures used in our previous studies (Busink & Kuiken, 1996; Kuiken& Sikora, 1993), we systematically compared the effects of impactful dreams usingprocedures that identified polythetic classes of such dreams.

Methods

Participants

One-hundred forty-five introductory psychology students from the Universityof Alberta (68% women, 32% men; mean age � 21.4 years) participated for partialcourse credit. Of these, 47% completed the research materials in a session re-stricted to those who had experienced a loss or trauma within the preceding 5 years;53% completed the research materials in a session that was open to all introductorypsychology students. This sampling strategy was chosen because dreams after loss

262 Kuiken, Lee, Eng, and Singh

and trauma are more intense and impactful (cf. LoConto, 1998; Reynolds et al.,1993; Valli, Revonsuo, Palkas, & Punamaki, 2006), and we wanted to increase thefrequency of impactful dreams available for study. Of the 145 participants, 28%reported a significant loss resulting from death (e.g., grandparent, close friend)within the preceding five years, and 31% reported a significant trauma (e.g., naturaldisaster, criminal victimization) within the preceding 5 years (where significantmeans rated at least 5 on a scale from 0 � no effect on me to 9 � extremely intenseeffects on me). Eligible participants also had to recall at least one dream during thepreceding month.

Impactful Dreams Questionnaire (IDQ)

The 54-item IDQ was used to assess the emotional and narrative content of themost impactful dream that each participant had experienced during the precedingmonth, that is, the dream that “most definitely and significantly influenced [their]thoughts and feelings after [they] awakened.” If they could recall more than onesuch dream equally well, they were asked to choose the one that was most closelyrelated to an identifiable loss or trauma. If no impactful dreams could be recalled,they were asked to report their most recent dream. Participants were asked todescribe their dream as exactly and as fully as they could remember it. Then, theywere asked to rate the extent to which each of the items on the IDQ was true of thedream that they reported (0 � not at all true to 4 � extremely true).

IDQ items either were identical to the questionnaire items that differentiateddream clusters in the Busink and Kuiken (1996) study (e.g., “In my dream, Idistinctly felt the position or movement of my body,” an item that was characteristicof existential dreams) or they were designed to reflect the themes identified in thequalitative analyses from that study (e.g., “My dream involved separation, rejec-tion, or loss,” a theme that was recurrently present in existential dreams). Itemswere chosen (or designed) to represent the feelings and emotions, sensory phe-nomena, movement characteristics, motives and goals, and dream endings that hadpreviously distinguished nightmares, existential dreams, and transcendent dreams.

Although this version of the IDQ has not been used in previous research, itsitems reflect the same set of dream attributes that enabled Busink and Kuiken(1996) to replicate the clusters of impactful dreams found by Kuiken and Sikora(1993). Also, the meaningfully coherent profiles of dream attributes that distin-guished existential dreams, nightmares, and transcendent dreams in those twostudies provide a form of factorial validity. And, finally, the differential associationbetween those dream types and specific dream effects (e.g., existential dreams andself-perceptual depth; cf. Busink & Kuiken, 1996; Kuiken & Nielsen, 1996; Kuiken& Sikora, 1993) suggests the validity of distinguishing among these empiricallyderived dream categories.

Post-Dream Questionnaire (PDQ)

Five items from the PDQ were used to assess dream-induced changes inwaking thoughts and feelings. First, the average of two items was used to measure

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self-perceptual depth: (1) “After my dream, I felt sensitive to aspects of my life thatI typically ignore”; and (2) “After my dream, I felt like changing the way I live”(Cronbach’s � � .73). These items were adapted from a scale developed in a studyof the effects of intensive self-reflection (Kuiken, Carey, & Nielsen, 1987). Also,there is consistent evidence that existential dreams are associated with self-percep-tual depth in the sense that these items reflect (Busink & Kuiken, 1996; Kuiken &Nielsen, 1996; Kuiken & Sikora, 1993). And finally, versions of this scale have beensuccessfully used as a predicted outcome in studies of intensive dream reflection(Kuiken, Loverso, Dunn, & Carlisle, 2001) and as a predictor of the delayedincorporations that define the dream lag effect (Nielsen, Alain, Kuiken, & Powell,2003).

Second, the average of three items provided a measure of spiritual transfor-mation: (1) “After my dream, I was prepared to find some kind of spiritual presencein nature, that is, in people, in animals, or even in places and things”; (2) “After mydream, I felt a revitalized sense of my spiritual potential”; and (3) “When Iawakened from my dream, I felt spiritually enlightened” (Cronbach’s � � .82).Although versions of these questions have been used in two previous studies ofimpactful dreams (Busink & Kuiken, 1996; Kuiken & Sikora, 1993), further evi-dence of their validity is not available.

Results

Dream Type Identification

The 54 (IDQ item) � 145 (dream) array was cluster analyzed (Ward’s method,squared Euclidian distances), revealing six distinct dream clusters. Then, k-meansanalysis, beginning with the six cluster centers identified with Wards’ method, wasused to optimize cluster compactness, resulting in clusters with 14, 13, 16, 45, 37,and 22 members. Of these clusters, one (n � 14) most nearly matched the profileof attributes characteristic of nightmares, a second (n � 13) most nearly matchedthe profile of attributes characteristic of existential dreams, a third (n � 16) mostnearly matched the profile of attributes characteristic of transcendent dreams, anda fourth (n � 45) most nearly matched the profile of attributes characteristic ofmundane dreams.

Mundane dreams were identifiable primarily by virtue of the absence of theattributes that distinguished each of the impactful dream clusters. Moreover, anal-yses of two selected PDQ items indicated that mundane dreams hardly at allinfluenced later waking thoughts and feelings. Specifically, dreamers reportingmundane dreams were much less likely to endorse an item indicating that theirdream “influenced [their] mood later in the day” (M � 0.98) than were dreamersin the nightmare cluster (M � 2.36), the existential dreams cluster (M � 2.62), orthe transcendent dreams cluster (M � 3.25), F(3, 84) � 18.50, p � .001, eachFisher’s least significant difference (LSD) post hoc comparison significant at p �.001. Also, dreamers reporting mundane dreams were less likely to endorse an itemindicating that their dream seemed “real” even after they awakened (M � 0.80)than were dreamers in the nightmare cluster (M � 2.86), the existential dreamscluster (M � 3.15), or the transcendent dreams cluster (M � 3.25), F(3, 84) � 22.47,

264 Kuiken, Lee, Eng, and Singh

p � .001, each LSD post hoc comparison significant at p � .001. Because the featureprofiles of the three impactful dream types replicated those previously observed byKuiken and Sikora (1993) and Busink and Kuiken (1996), and because the threeimpactful dream clusters were especially likely to affect dreamers’ thoughts andfeelings afterward, these four dream clusters were compared in subsequent analysesof dream effects.

Thus, we did not include in our comparisons the dreams from a fifth cluster(n � 37) that was no more likely than mundane dreams to affect the dreamer’smood later in the day and only modestly more likely than mundane dreams to seem“real” afterward (M � 1.54), post hoc LSD comparison significant at p � .012. Wealso did not include the dreams from a sixth cluster (n � 22) that was characterizedby intense anger, forms of bizarreness, strong mood effects, and a compelling senseof “reality” afterward. Although this cluster of dreams was impactful (i.e., notsignificantly different from the three primary impactful dream clusters on thewaking mood and reality items) and resembled what Busink and Kuiken (1996)called “alienation dreams” (e.g., their anger and absence of guilt), there were alsoimportant divergences from that cluster description (e.g., the forms of bizarreness).Thus, we feel justified in our decision to compare only those dream clusters thathave been replicated across this series of studies.

Dream-Induced Changes

A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that there were differ-ences among nightmares, existential dreams, transcendent dreams, and mundanedreams in rated self-perceptual depth, F(3, 83) � 5.99, p � .001 (see Table 1). Aplanned contrast indicated that existential dreams were more likely to be associatedwith reported self-perceptual depth than were mundane dreams, t(83) � 4.10, p �.001. Also, post hoc LSD comparisons indicated that existential dreams were morelikely to be associated with self-perceptual depth than were nightmares, p � .044,and marginally more so than were transcendent dreams, p � .056.

An analogous one-way ANOVA indicated that there were differences amongthe four dream types in rated spiritual transformation, F(3, 84) � 18.22, p � .001.A planned contrast indicated that transcendent dreams were more likely to beassociated with reported spiritual transformation than were mundane dreams,t(84) � 4.84, p � .001. Also, post hoc LSD comparisons indicated that transcendentdreams were more likely to be associated with spiritual transformation than werenightmares, p � .001, or existential dreams, p � .001.

Table 1. Mean Self-Perceptual Depth and Spiritual Transformation as a Function of Dream Type

Dream-induced changeNightmares

(n � 14)

Existentialdreams

(n � 13)

Transcendentdreams

(n � 16)

Mundanedreams

(n � 45)

Self-perceptual depth 0.86 1.50a 0.84 0.39Spiritual transformation 0.12 0.41 1.75b 0.24a Different from the self-perceptual depth ratings for each of the other dream types.b Different from the spiritual transformation ratings for each of the other dream types.

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Discussion

That existential dreams were more strongly associated with reported self-perceptual depth than were all other dream types confirms the results of previousstudies (Busink & Kuiken, 1996; Kuiken & Nielsen, 1996; Kuiken & Sikora, 1993).The self-perceptual depth scale used in the present and previous studies wasoriginally developed from research on intensive self-reflection (Kuiken, Carey, &Nielsen, 1987), suggesting that existential dreams and some forms of intensiveself-reflection during waking have comparable outcomes. These convergences sug-gest that existential dreams entail an open, feeling-oriented form of expression(Gendlin, 1997) that does not emerge during other types of dreaming, includingnightmares. The contrasting effects of existential dreams and nightmares under-scores the importance of differentiating these two dream types, rather than sub-suming them within a definition of nightmares that conflates all “disturbing”emotions.

The form of reflection that emerges during existential dreams can be con-trasted with the form that emerges during transcendent dreams. Transcendentdreams were more strongly associated with reported spiritual transformation thanwere all other dream types, giving greater credibility to the anecdotal reports ofdream-induced spiritual transformation reported by Kuiken and Sikora (1993). Onthe other hand, the present findings are not readily reconciled with results obtainedby Busink and Kuiken (1996), who found that a single, global spiritual transfor-mation statement (“My dream reminded me of spiritual possibilities that I seldomrecognize or realize in my daily life”) was more frequently endorsed after existen-tial dreams than after either transcendent or mundane dreams. Clearly, the kind ofpersonal and spiritual transformation associated with both existential and transcen-dent dreams required more complete explication. Extension of the range of ques-tions addressing dream effects seemed an appropriate next step.

STUDY 2

According to Kuiken (1995, 1999), existential dreams involve an episodicstructure that progressively varies an affective theme. Through their intensificationand transformation, these themes progressively become more intricately and inti-mately expressed. For example, a dream concerning separation and loss mightmove from images of physical separation to images of social distinctiveness andthen to multilevel imagery involving both physical separation and social distinc-tiveness. The culmination of such transformations at the end of an existential dreammay be experienced as the realization of a previously unrecognized personal truth,much like the felt shifts in understanding during feeling-oriented reflection that, forGendlin (1997), define “expression” (p. 131). However, these dreams are more thanself-expressive; they are also “existential.” The self-perceptual depth realizedthrough them seems to have inclusively human aspects. In existential dreams,feeling-oriented reflection occurs against a background of concerns about mortality,frequently during bereavement (Kuiken, 1993). Within that life context, self-perceptual depth can become colored by a deep disquietude within which “ulti-

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mate” personal commitments and values are reconsidered. In Study 2, we exploredthe existential aspect of these dream effects more fully.

It also seemed important to contrast the feeling-oriented reflection in existen-tial dreams with the kind of reflection Hunt (1989) attributed to transcendent(archetypal) dreams. He argued that transcendent (archetypal) dreams, especiallyin their lucid form, can be compared with mindfulness meditation. Such dreaming,he says, seems to operate on dream consciousness much as long-term meditationaffects ordinary wakefulness. Their common attitude of receptive detachmentresults in more and more striking forms of visual-spatial imagery (Hunt, 1989, p.122).

The resulting imagery (e.g., white light experiences, flying and floating) met-aphorically reasserts motifs that are characteristic of mystical experience. Forexample, the vivid experience of a pervasive white light metaphorically presents the“sense of an absolute unity behind the diversity of appearance—whether concep-tualized as God, mind, or void” (p. 191). Hunt’s account suggests that the effects oftranscendent dreams observed in Study 1 require further articulation through abroader range of questions about spiritual transformation. Thus, in Study 2, weprobed the dreamer’s lingering sense of wonder and renewal through which every-day distinctions are replaced by mystical themes (e.g., the loss of space/timearticulation, a sense of life in all things).

Kuiken’s proposal that existential dreams provide feeling-oriented expressionand Hunt’s proposal that transcendent (archetypal) dreams involve meditativemindfulness imply that the effects of these two types of impactful dreams can beexamined more closely by considering the role of dream lucidity; that is, theawareness of dreaming while dreaming. Kuiken and his colleagues (Busink &Kuiken, 1996; Kuiken & Sikora, 1993) reported that dream lucidity was not adistinctive feature of any of the impactful dream types, although existential andtranscendent dreams did show signs of prelucid reflection (e.g., self-observationfrom an external perspective). Therefore, it should be possible to examine dreamtype and dream lucidity independently in an extension of the research paradigmused in Study 1. The rationale for doing so has a conceptual background but a verylimited empirical one. In one suggestive study, Purcell, Moffitt, and Hoffmann(1993) found that dreamers successfully trained to be lucid reported greater un-derstanding of waking issues than those who were unsuccessfully trained. But, otherempirical studies of the effects of dream lucidity have conflated dream lucidity anddream control. Tholey (1988), for example, presented dream lucidity as an oppor-tunity to confront threatening dream figures and pursue reconciliation, resulting in“self-healing.” Zadra and Pihl (1997) described dream lucidity as an opportunity toalter nightmare narratives, resulting in a decrease in their frequency and intensity.We decided to examine the effects of dream lucidity, regardless of dream control,for several reasons: (1) the investigation of dream control would transform theresearch into a question of dream use, which is not our concern here; (2) strivingtoward dream control may reflect an individualistic and culture-specific concernwith self-mastery (Tedlock, 2004); and (3) spontaneous lucidity among untraineddreamers may be an “early manifestation” (Gackenbach, 1991, p. 118) of the formsof reflection (e.g., witnessing, mindfulness) that are more fully nurtured in partic-ular cultural contexts (e.g., among long-term meditators).

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Methods

Participants

Fifty-two introductory psychology students from the University of Alberta(72% women, 28% men; mean age � 19.9 years) participated for partial coursecredit. Participants were volunteers who indicated interest in a second study ofsleep and dreams after contributing to an unrelated 1-week dream diary study.Those indicating interest were invited by e-mail to participate in Study 2. Thisstrategy for participant selection was chosen because we expected that individualswho volunteered to participate in additional dream research would be higher indream recall and more likely to report impactful dreams. In fact, among thesevolunteers, the average level of dream recall was 3.67 on a scale in which 3 � 6–10dreams during the preceding month and 4 � 11–15 dreams during the precedingmonth. Also, 85% of these volunteers reported impactful dreams (see Dream TypeIdentification) compared with only 43% in Study 1. This was so despite the fact thatthe proportion of participants who had experienced recent loss or trauma in Study 2was comparable to the proportion in Study 1. Specifically, in Study 2, 37% reporteda significant loss due to death, and 25% reported a significant trauma within thepreceding 5 years.

IDQ

A revised IDQ was used to assess the emotional and narrative content of animpactful dream. Instructions for identifying an impactful dream were comparableto those in Study 1, except that participants were asked to report the dream thataffected them most during the preceding three months, rather than one month.Also, in this study, participants were not asked to select a dream related to asignificant loss or trauma. After recording their most impactful dream as thoroughlyas possible, they completed an extended 66-item version of the IDQ. The 12 itemsadded to the IDQ were designed to facilitate identification of the three primaryimpactful dream types (e.g., “In my dream, I felt a deep peace, a contentmentwithout any anxious striving, grasping, or holding on”) and to refine the descriptionof lucid or prelucid dream mentation that might be found within those dream types(e.g., “In my dream, I thought reasonably and carefully, much as I do in my wakinglife”).

Dream Lucidity

Dream lucidity was assessed using a single item: “In my dream, I knew I wasdreaming” (This item was not included in the items used to identify the impactfuldream types). We identified lucid dreams as those in which any level of lucidity wasreported (i.e., ratings on this item were greater than 0). Using this criterion, luciddreams were evenly distributed across the three impactful dream types (nightmares:40%; existential dreams: 36%; and transcendent dreams: 40%), confirming the lack

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of association between lucidity and any particular type of impactful dream in theoriginal classificatory studies (Busink & Kuiken, 1996; Kuiken & Sikora, 1993).

PDQ

On the revised version of the PDQ used in this study, we included the sametwo-item scale used in Study 1 to measure self-perceptual depth (in this sample,Cronbach’s � � .75). Also, five new items were included to explore whetherexistential dreams generate existential disquietude. Several items from the Questscale, an instrument developed by Batson and Schoenrade (1991a, 1991b), wereadapted to reflect the dream-induced emergence and acceptance of existentialdoubt: (1) “After my dream, I began to rethink my existential convictions”; (2)“After my dream, doubt became an important part of what it means to be honestabout my existential concerns”; (3) “My dream experience led me to question myexistential convictions”; (4) “After my dream, I began to value my existentialdoubts and uncertainties”; and (5) “Because of my dream, my views on manyexistential issues were changed.” Cronbach’s � for this Existential Disquietudescale was .83.

Ten additional PDQ items were used to explore which aspects of spiritual lifemight be affected by transcendent dreams and dream lucidity. These included thethree items used to measure spiritual transformation in Study 1, three adapted fromHood’s (1975) Mysticism scale, and four others created specifically for this study.Factor analysis (principle components, Varimax rotation) revealed three factors(eigenvalues � 1) accounting for 66% of the total variance. Items with loadingsgreater than 0.45 are presented in Table 2. Factor 1, which included all three itemsused to measure spiritual transformation in Study 1, reflects global spiritual poten-tial, with emphasis on previously unrecognized possibilities. Factor 2 suggestsspiritual release, with refreshing—even ecstatic—freedom from life’s entangle-ments. And, Factor 3 suggests inclusive enlivenment, that is, a spatially and tem-porally unbounded sense of life in all things. Average ratings on each of these threesets of items were used to create subscales, and Cronbach’s � for each scale were

Table 2. Factor Loadings on the Dimensions of Spiritual Transformation (Study 2)

Items (abridged) Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3

I was prepared to find some kind of spiritual presence in nature. .854I felt a reawakened sense of my spiritual potential. .838My dream reminded me of spiritual possibilities I seldom recognize

in daily life. .793It seemed that I had moved to a higher reality. .776When I awakened from my dream, I felt spiritually enlightened. .604 .551After my dream, I felt refreshed, renewed, and revitalized. .852I felt an inner freedom, a sense of liberation from life’s tangles and

hindrances. .761Life seemed awe-inspiring in a way that could not be put into words. .710I had the sense that all things (people, animals, plants, and even

objects) were alive. .807After my dream, everything seemed timeless and spaceless. .800

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as follows: Spiritual Potential, .85; Spiritual Release, .75; and Inclusive Enliven-ment, .54.

Results

Dream Type Identification

As in Study 1, the 66 (IDQ item) � 52 (dream) array was cluster analyzed(Ward’s method, squared Euclidian distances). This analysis revealed four distinctdream clusters. Again, k-means analysis was used to optimize cluster compactness,resulting in clusters with 15, 11, 8, and 18 members. Of these clusters, one (n � 15)most nearly matched the profile of attributes characteristic of nightmares, a second(n � 11) most nearly matched the profile of attributes characteristic of existentialdreams, a third (n � 18) most nearly matched the profile of attributes characteristicof transcendent dreams, and a fourth (n � 8) most nearly matched the profile ofattributes characteristic of mundane dreams. Because the small size of the mundanedreams cluster precluded the creation of lucid and nonlucid subgroups, only thethree types of impactful dreams were retained for further analysis.

The contrast between the six-cluster solution in Study 1 and the four-clustersolution in Study 2 warrants brief comment. Across the series of classificatorystudies extending from Kuiken and Sikora (1993) to the present two studies, thediversity of the dream sample roughly predicts the number of dream types identi-fied in the cluster analyses. Diversity in a dream sample is at least influenced by (1)the criterion for dream selection (e.g., the first “very” or “extremely” impactfuldream recorded while maintaining a month-long dream diary [Kuiken & Sikora,1993] vs. the most impactful dream remembered during the preceding month [Study1]) and (2) participant selection (e.g., volunteers responding to campus-wide ad-vertisements [Kuiken & Sikora, 1993] vs. introductory psychology students whorecalled at least one dream per month and participated for course credit [Study 1]).It is noteworthy that the volunteer procedures in Study 2 were nearly as stringentas the volunteer procedures used by Kuiken and Sikora (1993), and it is perhaps notsurprising that we have replicated the original four-cluster solution in the presentcase. Moreover, it is especially important that the three primary types of impactfuldreams (nightmares, existential dreams, and transcendent dreams) replicate acrossall four studies, despite differences in both dream selection and participant selec-tion. This pattern enables comparison of the results across Studies 1 and 2.

Dream-Induced Changes

A two-way ANOVA, with dream type (nightmares, existential dreams, andtranscendent dreams) and dream lucidity (present vs. absent) as between-subjectsvariables, revealed a significant main effect of dream type on self-perceptual depth,F(2, 38) � 3.50, p � .040 (see Table 3). Planned contrasts indicated that existentialdreams were more likely to be associated with reported self-perceptual depth thanwere nightmares, p � .047, and transcendent dreams, p � .014, replicating the

270 Kuiken, Lee, Eng, and Singh

pattern found in Study 1. The dream lucidity main effect and the dream type bydream lucidity interaction were not significant.

An analogous two-way ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of dreamtype on existential disquietude, F(2, 37) � 6.42, p � .004. Planned contrastsindicated that, in parallel with the pattern for self-perceptual depth, existentialdreams were more likely to be associated with existential disquietude than werenightmares, p � .001, and transcendent dreams, p � .020. The dream lucidity maineffect and the dream type by dream lucidity interaction were again not significant.

Another two-way ANOVA revealed neither significant main effects nor asignificant interaction for the Spiritual Potential scale, although, as indicated inTable 3, the pattern of means resembled those found in Study 1. Moreover, asindicated in Table 3, the results for Spiritual Release were directly parallel to thoseobtained in the initial study. That is, the main effect for dream type was statisticallysignificant F(2, 38) � 4.58, p � .016, and post hoc LSD comparisons indicated thattranscendent dreams were more likely to be associated with spiritual release thanwere nightmares, p � .013, and existential dreams, p � .015. For this dependentvariable, the dream lucidity main effect and the dream type by dream lucidityinteraction were not significant.

The two-way ANOVA for inclusive enlivenment revealed a quite differentpattern (see Table 3). First, the main effect for dream type was statisticallysignificant, F(2, 38) � 4.56, p � .017. Post hoc LSD comparisons indicated thattranscendent dreams were more likely to be associated with inclusive enlivenmentthan were nightmares, p � .012. Similarly, existential dreams were more likely to be

Table 3. Mean Self-Perceptual Depth and Spiritual Transformation as a Function of Dream Typeand Dream Lucidity

Dream-induced changeNightmares

(n � 15)

Existentialdreams

(n � 11)

Transcendentdreams

(n � 18)

Self-perceptual depthNonlucid dreams 1.23 1.79 1.56 1.48Lucid dreams 0.86 2.50 0.92 1.26

Total 1.08 2.05a 1.30Existential disquietude

Nonlucid dreams 0.31 0.80 0.42 0.48Lucid dreams 0.00 1.50 0.60 0.64

Total 0.20 1.05a 0.49Spiritual potential

Nonlucid dreams 0.07 0.19 0.61 0.32Lucid dreams 0.28 0.58 1.05 0.67

Total 0.16 0.33 0.78Spiritual release

Nonlucid dreams 0.38 0.22 1.00 0.58Lucid dreams 0.08 0.56 1.05 0.65

Total 0.27 0.36 1.02a

Inclusive enlivenmentNonlucid dreams 0.00 0.21 0.36 0.20Lucid dreams 0.08 0.88 0.71 0.53b

Total 0.03a 0.45 0.50a Different from the mean ratings on this scale for each of the other dream types.b Different from the mean ratings on this scale for nonlucid dreams.

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associated with inclusive enlivenment than were nightmares, p � .020. Moreover, asignificant dream lucidity main effect indicated that dream lucidity was more likelyto be associated with inclusive enlivenment, F(1, 38) � 5.14, p � .029. Theinteraction between dream type and dream lucidity was not significant.

Supplementary Analyses

A 13-item version of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (Crowne& Marlowe, 1964; Reynolds, 1982) was appended to the IDQ and PDQ. A one-wayANOVA, with the four dream clusters (including the mundane dream cluster) asthe independent variable and social desirability as the dependent variable, indi-cated that no dream type was distinctively associated with socially desirable re-sponding. Also, there was no evidence that socially desirable responding wasassociated with reports of lucid dreaming. Finally, bivariate correlations betweensocially desirable responding and each of the dependent measures consistently werestatistically insignificant.

Discussion

Although not precisely replicating the findings from Study 1, results fromStudy 2 conceptually replicate and, more importantly, expand upon the patternobserved there. First, as in Study 1, existential dreams were more likely to befollowed by reports of self-perceptual depth. In addition, the existential nature ofthis shift in self-understanding was substantiated by results indicating that existen-tial disquietude was more commonly reported after existential dreams than aftereach of the other impactful dream types. Thus, beyond themes pertaining to lossand separation and beyond temporal association with bereavement (Kuiken, 1993),existential dreams seem to precipitate a form of questioning that addresses mattersof “ultimate” concern, including spiritual conviction (or its lack), religious belief (ordisbelief), life’s meaning (or emptiness), life’s value (or insignificance), and so forth.Moreover, the form of this address is colored by the intense distress, especially thedisturbing sadness, that emerges toward the end of existential dreams. A compar-ison with how Dread (Angst) motivates reflection on the ultimate possibilities ofBeing (Dasein; Heidegger, 1953/1996) does not seem inappropriate in prototypicinstances of this dream type.

Second, although the scale reflecting spiritual potential did not differentiatedream types, scales reflecting more specific aspects of spiritual transformation diddo so. Transcendent dreams were more likely to be followed by reports of spiritualrelease than were the other dream types. The sense of renewal, liberation, and awereflected in that scale might simply be a mood carry-over effect, especially giventhat scale’s thematic resonance with items used to identify transcendent dreams inthe cluster analysis (e.g., active, energetic, joyful). However, not only is it notewor-thy that such rapture does not remain encapsulated within the dream, it is alsoarguably more than just a “positive mood.” Items comprising this scale refer toineffable awe, self-renewal, and liberation from daily entanglements, all of which

272 Kuiken, Lee, Eng, and Singh

plausibly point to the dreamer’s understanding of an underlying spiritual transfor-mation.

This interpretation is bolstered by evidence that transcendent dreams werefollowed by relatively high ratings on items indicating a spatially and temporallyunbounded sense of life in all things. Items comprising the Inclusive Enlivenmentscale derive from Hood’s (1975) Mysticism Scale, which measures cross-culturallyand cross-religiously invariant aspects of mystical experience (Hood & Williamson,2000; Hood et al., 2001). Exceptional instances of transcendent dreams, then, mayhave effects that warrant comparison with the rapture of mystical self-transcen-dence (Stace, 1960).

On the other hand, existential dreams also were followed by relatively highratings on the Inclusive Enlivenment scale. By implication, existential dreams, aswell as transcendent dreams, may promote aspects of mystical self-transcendence,a possibility that is in accord with the association between existential dreams andreported spiritual potential observed by Busink and Kuiken (1996). However, theseemingly anomalous association between existential disquietude and mysticalself-transcendence may only be apparent (although see Laski, 1961). The incon-gruity seems to dissolve when these results are summarized differently—and per-haps more precisely. Existential dreams apparently are followed by a combinationof self-perceptual depth, existential disquietude, and a spatially and temporallyunbounded sense of life in all things. Transcendent dreams, in contrast, are fol-lowed by ecstatic spiritual release within a spatially and temporally unboundedsense of life in all things.

Finally, evidence that dream lucidity induces that very same unbounded senseof life in all things substantiates speculation that forms of self-reflection duringdreaming somehow contribute to these aspects of mystical experience (Hunt, 1989).However, the effect of dream lucidity on inclusive enlivenment was restricted to amain effect; there was no indication that dream lucidity interacted with the excep-tional visual-spatial imagery (e.g., white light experiences, flying and floating) oftranscendent dreams to precipitate these effects, as might have been expected fromHunt’s analysis. Thus, the sources of this dream-induced change include features ofeither lucid or nonlucid existential and transcendent dreams—even when thesesources are complemented by dream lucidity. Because, beyond more auditory andkinesthetic sensations, lucid dreams generally do not differ in content from nonlu-cid dreams (Gackenbach, 1988; LaBerge & Gackenbach, 2000), it may be importantto focus on prelucid features of existential and transcendent dreams (e.g., self-observation from an external perspective, awareness of strange or bizarre dreamelements) to articulate further the forms of reflection responsible for these effects.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

The effects observed in Studies 1 and 2 were generally subtle, as indicated bythe generally low-to-moderate ratings on the most important dependent measures(average ratings for the specific effects of impactful dreams ranged from 1.05 to 2.05on a scale from 0 to 4). Thus, there should be no illusion of dramatic pathos, terror,or ecstasy; the intensity of these dreams does not begin to compare with those rareand extraordinary dreams described by Jung (1961), portrayed by Dostoevsky

Impactful Dreams 273

(1880/1950), or documented by Bulkeley (1995). However, the relatively “little”(moderately impactful) dreams examined in the present research have many of thecharacteristics of their “big” (exceptionally impactful) counterparts. And, a com-mon research strategy in psychology is to examine phenomena in miniature, whererelatively systematic research methods can be brought to bear, and then later (orperhaps in parallel) determine whether those research findings illuminate observa-tions or facilitate investigation in contexts that do not allow comparably systematicobservation. We cautiously suggest that such extension of the present findings iswarranted, and our discussion will reflect that possibility.

To begin, we want to emphasize that the dreams reported in these studies didcontain powerful emotions and produced compelling postdream changes, suggest-ing that the types of impactful dreams identified here often had considerablepersonal significance. To demonstrate, the following is an example of an existentialdream (from Study 2). As is typical for this type of dream narrative, it involvesseparation and loss, accompanied by intense sadness.

In my dream, from my recollection, I was nowhere. I wasn’t inside or outside. I was cryingbut I didn’t know why. Then my close friends appeared and tried to take me with them. I washesitant to follow them; I remember feeling guilty. My family members showed up, all butmy Mom. Then it hit me: We were all upset because my Mom had passed away. I don’t knowhow, when, or how; I just know I was feeling a lot of pain. Next thing I knew people keptappearing and consoling me. I was then woken up because I was crying and I had a horriblefeeling in my stomach.

In this dream, guilty, unexplained sadness spontaneously becomes explicitlypainful sadness as the dream reaches its conclusion. Results from the presentstudies indicate that, after awakening, this dreamer’s pain is “realized” as a previ-ously unrecognized—or only vaguely recognized—personal truth; results from thesecond study indicate that the context for this realization is both existentiallydisquieting and broadly enlivening.

Transcendent dreams were similarly compelling. The following is an exampleof a transcendent dream (also from Study 2) with characteristically magical—evenmythical—events, as well as a clearly presented transition to dream lucidity.

I saw a few beautiful birds; they were flying around my house [and] then went down in mybackground. They were so beautiful that I want[ed] to touch them. Suddenly, one of them[was dead] because of me. I [was] very sad, so I tried to find out [whether] that was causedby me or not. Then, I came to a monk and ask[ed] him that. He told me just one sentence:“Don’t worry, maybe you are dreaming.” I woke up after he told me that.

As is typical for transcendent dreams, this one contains figures (the birds, themonk) with a mysterious, even numinous, presence. Results from the presentstudies indicate that, after awakening, reflection on these figures—and possibly themonk’s gift of dream lucidity—will be accompanied by liberating rapture within anunbounded sense that there is life in all things.

The present results, based primarily on scales developed for this particularproject, may serve as a guiding thread for further inquiry. Clearly, more is requiredto clarify these dream-induced changes. Such efforts might well include open-endedquestioning of existential, transcendent, and lucid dreamers immediately after thedream event—and perhaps periodically thereafter. These probes might invite ex-plication of the changes that provide self-perceptual depth, the challenges to

274 Kuiken, Lee, Eng, and Singh

existential commitments and values, the mystical concomitants of an unboundedsense of life in all things, and so on. Refinement in the assessment of thesedream-induced changes may depend upon the development of scales, based onresponses to such open-ended questioning, that are especially suited to the dreamsituation, although exploration with established measures (e.g., dream-specific,rather than religion-specific, adaptation of Hood’s Mysticism scale) may also beuseful.

Examination of the effects of nightmares should not be excluded from thiseffort. Hartmann’s (2001) proposal that nightmares are analogous to psychotherapyseems incompatible with the results from Study 1 indicating that nightmares had nomore impact on waking thoughts and feelings than did mundane dreams. Also, itmight have been expected that nightmares, like existential dreams, would beassociated with dream-induced self-perceptual depth, but that possibility also wasnot supported (in either Study 1 or Study 2). Nonetheless, there may be otherdream effects that are distinctively associated with nightmares. Although many ofthe documented consequences of nightmares are negative (cf. Belicki, 1992a,1992b), perhaps their peculiar postawakening vigilance also has a constructive rolein responses to distressing events that has yet to be empirically articulated (cf. Valli,Revonsuo, Palkas, & Punamaki, 2006).

THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS

It is important to locate the preceding dream effects within a theoreticalcontext that incorporates the spatially and temporally unbounded sense of life thatfollows existential, transcendent, and lucid dreams. Contrasting the effects offeeling-oriented expression in existential dreams with the meditative mindfulness oftranscendent dreams will not suffice if their underlying aesthetic commonalities arenot also understood. Feeling-oriented expression has therapeutic (pragmatic) con-notations and meditative mindfulness has religious (sacred) connotations thatpotentially obscure these dreams’ underlying esthetic commonalities. Kuiken(1995) and Hunt (1989) explicitly acknowledge the aesthetic background to theirproposals (see also Knudsen, 2001, 2003), but there have been no attempts toground those intuitions in systematic empirical studies.

The present research suggests that this grounding may begin with the spatiallyand temporally unbounded sense of life that is common to existential, transcendent,and lucid dreams. This sense of enlivenment within a self-transcending moment isplausibly characterized as the emergence of sublime feeling within the context ofaesthetic feeling. Caution here is warranted. In everyday parlance, the sublime isunderstood as an especially pleasurable sensuous moment, for example, an excep-tionally tender sexual intimacy, an exquisitely gripping musical moment. However,the conception of sublime feeling called for by the present findings contrasts withthis everyday understanding; it more nearly resembles the sublime as originallyconceived during the 18th Century emergence of aesthetics (e.g., Burke, 1757/1998;Kant, 1790/1987)—and as revisited in recent postmodern scholarship (e.g., Lyotard,1994).

Clarification of sublime feeling, in the present context, requires considerationof its relationship with aesthetic feeling. Aesthetic feeling may be understood as the

Impactful Dreams 275

felt sense of coming to understand, of moving toward reflective understanding,rather than of having attained it. And, as Kant argued, aesthetic feeling is self-maintaining and generative; its movement enlivens everything within its reflectivereach, providing a sense of the “purposiveness” of objects that carry forward thatmovement still more (Kant, 1790/1987, p. 151). Sublime feeling, on the other hand,is the sometimes painful disruption of such movement at the limits of reflectiveunderstanding; at these limits, even as aesthetic feeling is arrested, there remains aresponsive “care” (Heidegger, 1953/1996; for Kant, “respect”) for that which is“more” than can be understood. According to Kant, the interplay of aestheticfeeling and sublime feeling may be found “in a tragedy in verse, in a didactic poem,or in an oratorio; and in these combinations fine art is yet more artistic (Kant,1790/1987, p. 195).

Aesthetic feeling and its intensely sublime counterpoint also may emergethrough impactful dreams. Like art, impactful dreams gesture toward, withoutcapturing, something “more”; they move the dreamer, with enlivened feeling,toward understanding; and, when that movement is disrupted, there nonethelessremains responsive care for a timeless and spaceless “more-than-can-be-under-stood.” The prototypically sublime moment for the Romantic poet, echoed perhapsin transcendent dreams, was the daunting—but somehow enthralling—encounterwith nature. The prototypically sublime moment for the nineteenth century trage-dian, echoed perhaps in existential dreams, was the uncanny fear and pity of a tragicdenouement. In either context, within sublime enthrallment or sublime disquietude(Kuiken & Miall, 2005), there is interplay between a sense of enlivenment andresponsive care at the limits of expressibilty.

Despite the potential relevance of aesthetic and sublime feeling for dreamstudies, their role has not been examined empirically. Steps in that direction may betaken by building upon the intimations of inclusive enlivenment and responsivecare in dreamers’ acknowledgment of a spatially and temporally unbounded senseof life in all things. Although neither simply expressive nor simply religious, thesedream-induced intimations of aesthetic and sublime feeling nonetheless are com-patible with either, as indicated by the reported effects of existential or transcen-dent dreams. The interplay of aesthetic and sublime feeling, understood as theintensely aesthetic substrate of existential, transcendent, and lucid dreams, could befurther explored both conceptually and empirically.

Doing so, however, raises important questions about how to conceptualizedream function. The present research affirms that different dream effects areattributable to different types of dreams. It also affirms that these effects havecontrasting relations with some primary emotions (fear, sadness, joy). Nonetheless,these studies beg the question of whether dream-induced movement toward thelimits of understanding has long-term adaptive significance. It has recently beenargued that the universal human activities associated with art help to controlanxiety in the face of a broad array of liminal (transitional) uncertainties, givingthem evolutionary significance (Dissanayake, 1992, 2000). No comparable argu-ment has been offered for dreaming, in its multiplicity of forms, although perhapsit could be. If it were, it would be necessary to consider whether, rather thanfostering the mastery that reduces anxiety, impactful dreams facilitate the hesitantacceptance of existential liminality, as is suggested by our findings for existential

276 Kuiken, Lee, Eng, and Singh

dreams, and the recovery of wonder about liminality, as is suggested by our findingsfor transcendent dreams.

Finally, given the evidence that different dreams have different short-termfunctions, it may be appropriate to reframe—or at least extend—the overallquestion of dream function. Most commonly, dream researchers have developedlinear adaptive models that describe how certain events (e.g., trauma) influencedreaming (e.g., by causing nightmares) and then how dreaming (e.g., nightmares)causes ”adaptive“ dream effects (e.g., by facilitating defensive reactions to similarlytraumatic events). However, if different dream types have contrasting short-termfunctions, it may be useful to construe long-term dream function as the capacity ofa complex self-organizing system that depends upon the integration of severalsimpler capacities (Cummins, 1983). From this perspective, the short-term functionsof each impactful dream type, when coordinated according the system’s superor-dinate integrative principles, may subserve a long-term function that is irreducibleto the function of any particular dream type. Such a decompositional analysis mayhelp to coordinate evidence of temporal relations between the various dream types.For example, after significant loss, the peak frequencies of reported nightmares,existential dreams, and transcendent dreams occur in that order (Kuiken, 1993), asthough the function of each dream type has a psychological priority correspondingto that temporal order. Approaching dream function in a manner that entertainssuch relations among various dream types requires a more complex and integrativemodel than any currently available.

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