The word autogenic means self-generated—implying (a) something you do yourself, and (b) growth and improvement coming from within. Autogenics is a system of relaxation training, body-oriented self-hypnosis, meditation and therapy that you practice on yourself to support the natural healing and development of mind and body. The method was discovered by a former professor of psychiatry while researching hypnosis in Berlin during the early part of the last century. Since then it has been progressively researched and developed scientifically within psychiatry, clinical psychology and psychosomatic medicine as an approach to mind-body healing, often in combination with neurofeedback.
Autogenics is sometimes described as the Western equivalent of yoga—a body-oriented form of meditation. Just as yoga comes in many different varieties, autogenics has several different versions.
Liminal Dreaming
REM Autogenics (dream autogenics) was developed from Standard Autogenics specifically to cultivate the liminal visionary state—an altered state of consciousness in which waking dreams (visions, pseudo-hallucinations) emerge from the deep brain / unconscious. REM Autogenics shares similarities with yoga nidra, the ancient Indian dream yoga.
Most people practice REM autogenics in bed before sleep or upon waking, in a comfortable armchair during the day to enhance a restful siesta or music-listening reverie.
Enhanced Practice with Technology
The REM autogenic shift into the visionary state can be reinforced by using ganzflicker—the combination of ganzfeld and flickering light. The Strobonaut ganzflicker app for mobile phones is available as a free download from:
When used in a smartphone Virtual Reality headset for meditation and music-listening reverie it has psychedelic effects promoting mental health and creativity by giving greater access to altered states of consciousness and vivid dream-like visual imagery released from the deep brain / unconscious.
Dr Pete Carr
remautogenics@gmail.com
February 2026
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REM Autogenics 