The Next Oneironauticum is Saturday, July 12
For the July Oneironauticum, we’ll explore an auditory experience designed to promote vivid dreams. Over the course of the night, those of us gathered in the same space will sleep to a recording of Robert Rich’s seven hour composition Somnium, a psychoactive soundscape arranged to match up with the phases of sleep. Rich scored this music to increase the intensity and recall of dreams, in part by keeping dreamers closer to the border to wakefulness during sleep. Visit Robert Rich’s website to read his commentary on Somnium.
Robert Rich started giving live, all night concerts for sleeping Bay Area audiences in the early 1980s. During these sessions, Rich would alternate playing more active sound with what he called “slow foggy textures and strange ambient sounds”, timed to accord with the regular cycles of hypnogogic and dream-rich REM sleep. The audience, in sleeping bags, would doze and coast through the varied dream states we all experience throughout the night. In the morning, Rich served the waking concert goers tea and, as with the Oneironauticum, people discussed their dreams.
As always, we encourage remote participation in the Oneironauticum. You can purchase and download an MP3 of Robert Rich’s recording Somnium online, or buy a CD directly from Robert Rich’s website. Remote participants can also try sleeping to a different music recording. Put your Brian Eno ambient CD or light piano music on repeat, or just leave your iPod running on shuffle. Whatever works. Also, as always, dreamers can participate remotely simply by setting the intention to join us before going to sleep. All dream participants, those who attend the Oneironauticum and those who join remotely, are welcome to post to this blog. Contact us if you’re interested.
Sweet dreams!