Rubin Naiman: Falling in Love With Sleep
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Rubin Naiman, an internationally recognized leader in integrative sleep and dream medicine. Dr. Naiman serves as the sleep specialist at the University of Arizona’s Center for Integrative Medicine, directed by Dr. Andrew Weil. With Sounds True, he has produced the audio programs Healthy Sleep (coauthored with Dr. Weil) and The Yoga of Sleep, as well as the online course Ask the Sleep Doctor: Relieve Insomnia, Sleep and Dream Deeply, Wake Up Refreshed. In this episode, Tami speaks with Dr. Naiman about how hyperarousal interferes with healthy sleep, the power of weaning ourselves off the alarm clock, and how we can embrace the deeper dimensions of sleep and dreams. (57 minutes)
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What a fascinating talk! – and I nearly didn’t listen to it! I felt Yawn, Yawn, do I really want to listen to someone talking about sleep for an hour? I just couldn’t believe such a talk could be interesting. But I have learned so much. My eyes have been opened (!) as to the role of sleep in life.
I do actually like sleeping. It is one of my favourite things. And I shall stop feeling sheepish about enjoying this phenomena so much.
Thank you Rubin – and thank you Tami – for this most interesting interview.
Comment by Lesly — November 5, 2011 @ 5:43 am
Thank you Dr. Naiman for an incredibly informative and soulful presentation! How excellent to hear a scientist value not only quantitative data but the data from subjective experiences, including venerable, thousands years old spiritual traditions… and to offer your thoughts on integrations of both realms. As someone who’s valued, enjoyed, and “cultivated” his dream and sleep world since childhood, I eagerly look forward to reading and listening to your work more in depth in your books and audio programs. Thank you again!! e.b.
Comment by Edw. Blomgren, PhD — November 5, 2011 @ 8:37 am
I celebrate Dr. Naiman’s paradigm shift and Tami Simon’s unceasant richness. Being an expert on treatments and readings for overcoming insomnia, I had never before heard such new and fresh concepts about healthy sleeping which directly link us to deeper levels of consciousness and have a real effect on our relationship with this vital function, as I proved after listening the interview and going to sleep, waking next morning with a surprising sense of having had a very high quality rest at night.
Comment by Georgina Tabora — November 5, 2011 @ 11:34 am
Rubin mentioned some interesting things like how we are dreaming all the time and how our waking states and sleeping states are not mutually exclusive. I don’t know what these things mean but they sound intriguing.
Ken Wilber also places a lot of emphasis on the importance in spiritual development on being able to maintain awareness during our dreaming state and to some extent even during our deep sleep state. I have talked to a few people who say they can do this kind of thing naturally. I assume that deep sleep awareness is very rare.
It is a shame how 60 million Americans suffer from insomnia. What good are our fancy houses and fast cars if we cannot even sleep at night? Maybe we need to begin at looking at a different lifestyle for our culture.
Comment by Cloud — November 6, 2011 @ 6:53 am
Thank you, Tami Simon and Dr. Naiman. I am such a person that has a united state of consiousness . The permeability of wake, dream and sleep is complete with me. I have not lost my state of conciousnes for one moment in more than a year, and I lay in bed for at least 10 hours, every night. I never for one moment have regretted my state of awareness during this experience. Most time of the day and the night I am in the space between everything. There is so much rest, that I do not need any sleep, as you call it. Listening to our program I have learned a lot more about the background of the state I am in. If you want, I can tell you more about the way in which I have come into this state one and a half year ago. With my kindest rewards, Jacob Slegten
Comment by Jacob Slegten — November 6, 2011 @ 1:34 pm
I have never heard a scientist speak with such depth and soul about this beautiful part of our lives. Perhaps thanks to the teachings of Seth, I realized that physical reality is a filter and can be just as dreamlike, malleable, and permeable as our dream realities. Thank you so much for this interview.
And, Jacob, I would love to hear how you unified your consciousness!
Thank you all.
Comment by Marilyn — November 26, 2011 @ 7:22 pm
*Loved* this. I would like to hear what he thinks about sleep that doesn’t necessarily provide serenity and rest- for those of us stricken with pretty traumatizing nightmares? Thanks for this.
Comment by davka — November 28, 2011 @ 6:42 am