Enter Hypnagogia

Hi friends,

I was really excited to find out about hypnagogia recently as it’s something I have experienced for many years, and have drawn so much creative inspiration from the experience. Hypnagogia is the experience of being awake and asleep at the same time. I’m sure you would have experienced it before falling asleep or just before waking up, where you can experience visual, sometimes audible hallucinations that you may even feel muscle jerks. I experience this state as a kind of mind unraveling and more often than not occurs for me before I fall asleep.

Scrolling through Reels, I came across a video interview with the artist Salvador Dali sharing about hypnagogia and described that 10-15 minutes before sleep he would see vivid and irrational images, that he would then ‘catch’ these images and paint with a photographic style.

Dali formulated a way to enter a hypnagogic state calling it ‘the slumber with a key’ where:

‘He would sit with a key in one hand, poised above a metal plate placed on the floor, and let sleep take him. As soon as he began to slumber in earnest, the key would slip from his fingers and clang against the plate – waking him immediately.’

(This is something I’ve experimented with, and I continue to experiment with, but haven’t been successful yet. Will keep you updated.)

Still image from the animation 'Dreams' made in 2018 by jda. — Still image from the animation ‘Dreams’ made in 2018 by jda.

I found this all very exciting because I didn’t have a term for this even though for many years this is how a lot of my own artworks and concepts begin. I’ve found that when I’m in a state of either meditation or falling asleep, I see very vivid hallucinations where I can see a place, people, objects, characters, shapes, colours, movement. it’s often so vivid that upon waking, I’ll be able to sketch or produce an outline or description of the image or scene that came to me.

What I find interesting about this state of mind, is that you can enter into your subconscious, while it is letting loose. Dali had said that it was a mystery, but for me it isn’t just about seeing vivid visuals; it’s about feeling the weight of emotions and ideas that are intricately intertwined with each image. Every object, every scene, comes laden with the baggage of a lifetime of TV and media, day-to-day politics, personal feelings and experiences, and the emotions I’ve attached to them over time.

So, I don’t believe that I’m just hallucinating random images; I’m experiencing a kaleidoscope of thoughts and emotions, each one woven into the fabric of my subconscious. It’s like my mind is painting with my innermost thoughts, creating meanings and significance that goes beyond the image.

I love to tap into this mix of visuals and emotions to help guide my creative process, and have space and time to explore the infinite possibilities of my imagination.

Sweet dreams ,