Experiences with psychedelics are often described as “dream-like.” Is it really accurate to compare psychedelics and dreams? The short answer is “yes,” but the longer answer is “It depends what kinds of psychedelics and who is taking them, what kinds of dreams and who is dreaming them, and how you understand yourself and your world.” If you come from a culture that views consciousness-altering medicines and dreams as having legitimate potential for healing and exploration, then although the content of these experiences may differ, you are likely to respond to them and learn from them in similarly respectful ways. If you come from a culture that sees “hallucinogenic substances” as criminal or morally suspect, and dreams as silly or meaningless, then you may have negative assumptions about either kind of experience that make comparisons irrelevant. If you are just curious, and basing your comparison on objective content and results, you’ll probably find that some psychedelic experiences seem very similar to some dreams. Does that answer the question? No? Well, not getting a definite answer is quite consistent with both dreams and psychedelics, because they just don’t fit neatly into the practical categories that our everyday life has to offer (in current Western cultures, anyway). Ultimately, the best responses to the big questions that make life meaningful could be an open mind and the capacity to be comfortable with uncertainty. Both dreams and psychedelics are more about creativity and possibility than about coming to conclusions. Perhaps the biggest thing they have in common is that we don’t know exactly how “real” they really are, because they encourage us to question our usual assumptions about the nature of reality.
Still, we can make some broad comparisons, so let’s give it a try. Lately, the idea that both dreams and psychedelics have value is becoming more mainstream, even in parts of the world where value is defined only as that which can be demonstrated by officially sanctioned experts and methods. Within the constraints of that definition, some aspects of even the most indescribable experiences can be measured and studied. For example, a lot of excellent research has been done on what happens in the brain during a dream or psychedelic experience, and a variety of conclusions have been drawn from these data, as well as from well-documented subjective accounts. Some of the potential healing properties of psychedelics, and the essential roles of sleep and dreams in our mental and physical health have been fairly conclusively established. The experts are finding ways to prove what personal experiments and insights have been indicating all along.
I won’t try to summarize the research here, but, will just mention a few generally accepted ideas (which will probably not surprise anyone). The evidence suggests that classic psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD stimulate the brain to produce imagery and utilize memory in fresh ways, which can contribute to creative breakthroughs; the same is true of vivid dreams. Substances like MDMA (“ecstasy”) can increase our sensitivity to others, and, similarly, dreams can help develop our social and emotional intelligence. Ketamine, ayahuasca, and the medicines already mentioned have a tendency to bring significant shifts in perspective—a sense that life is much larger and stranger than we had imagined—and dreams can bring about such experiences of mystery and awe as well. Both psychedelics and dreams can also take us to, and through, places that are painful and difficult, which can help transform trauma into life-giving learning, often more successfully and with far fewer side effects than typical allopathic medications or most psychotherapeutic approaches.
My own perspective is very personal here, because ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) has played a significant role in my own healing process from PTSD. Dreamwork and KAP have been complementary for me, working together like two helping hands reaching deep into my life. Even though dreams and psychedelic experiences are internal, they aren’t isolating; they suggest that our exclusive identification with separateness is only superficial, and they can facilitate a deeper sense of connection. Dreams can reveal insights pertinent to communities as well as individuals, and, traditionally, many kinds of psychedelic “plant medicines” have been shared in sacred ceremony for collective benefit.
The importance of “set and setting” in psychedelic use is fundamental, and psychedelics are much more likely to be helpful as a healing catalyst if accompanied by integration with a skilled guide. This can also be true of dreamwork when the dreamer is in need of support and the dream content is intense. Although we are all more familiar with dreaming than we are likely to be with any psychedelic, and we are generally able to relate to our dream experiences on our own, when we have nightmares or “Big” dreams it’s certainly helpful to have a friend, family member or dream group at hand to hear about where we’ve been and how the experience has changed us.
Although others sometimes describe the content of their ketamine experiences as dreamlike, this wasn’t the case for me. At very high doses, ketamine is an anesthetic used in many medical procedures, and at sub-anesthetic levels it’s a strong psychedelic (characterized by intense out-of-body experiences), and “psycholytic” (characterized by relaxation, sometimes euphoria)—but it is not especially known for visual imagery like in dreams or classic psychedelics. With ketamine, I had tremendous, indescribable, altered-state experiences, followed by a gradual return to “normal” awareness during which there were impressions of memories and dreams—but it wasn’t like dreaming exactly, more like hypnagogic snapshots. This “you had to be there” kind of description is pretty typical of psychedelics, and makes those trying to convey what happened sound rather foolish! That’s the way it often is with dreams, too. We can talk about these things, or around these things, but we can’t convey the experiences as we actually experienced them, and we can’t make precise comparisons between one experience and another. I don’t know for sure that my dreams even remotely resemble yours. In fact, every one of my own dreams, and each of my KAP experiences, has been unique—and to some extent incomparable.
Finally, my own view is that we don’t need to conclude our questioning with answers. Integration, for me, means living with the effects of my experiences, with dreams or psychedelics (or anything, really). I define the experience by how it changes the ways I perceive, interpret, and respond to everyday events. Determining the impact and value of profound experiences means asking questions like: Does it seem that I have more choices? Am I kinder to myself and those around me? When I feel myself sliding into old patterns, am I able to notice what’s happening and change direction? I can answer “yes” to all of these questions, always remembering that life is a work-in-progress. When we have experiences that take us outside of our everyday, waking reality, it’s important to pay attention, and less important to know exactly what’s going on and what we should do with it. Dreams and psychedelics open the mind, and we can apply that open-mindedness to the challenges we’re all bound to encounter as we live our lives.
One final note for those of us dedicated to dreams. A significant difference between psychedelics and dreaming is that psychedelics are for “special” circumstances and take us beyond our everyday lives, while dreams, even when they are truly extraordinary, tend to be closer to home. It’s good to know that psychedelics could become more accessible, because a journey into a distant wilderness can be a wondrous adventure, but it’s also good to know that we can have wondrous adventures in our own backyards, by giving our respectful attention to the dreams we are having all the time.
[This article was originally published in in the Spring, 2024 issue of DreamTime Magazine. If you enjoyed it, please consider subscribing to DreamTime by joining the International Association for the Study of Dreams ]
