Robert Moss (born in 1946) is a

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and creator of a

dreamwork Dreamwork is the exploration of the images and emotions that a dream presents and evokes. It differs from classical dream interpretation in that it does not attempt to establish a unique meaning for the dream. In this way the dream remains "ali ...

technique called "active dreaming".

Early life and education

Moss was born in 1945 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. As a child, Moss suffered several serious illnesses. Moss attended

Scotch College, Melbourne Scotch College is a private, Presbyterian day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The college was established in 1851 as The Melbourne Academy in a house in Spri ...

and

Canberra Grammar School Canberra Grammar School is a co-educational, independent, day and boarding school located in Red Hill, a suburb of Canberra, the capital of Australia. The school is affiliated with the Anglican Church of Australia and provides an education fro ...

and then

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

(ANU), where he received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

with 1st class honours and the University Prize in History in 1967. He then received a

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in history from ANU. Following his education, he became a lecturer in ancient history at the ANU in 1969–1970. In 1970, Moss began

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

research at

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

before discontinuing it to pursue a career in journalism.

Career

Moss joined the editorial staff of ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'', where he was an editorial writer and special correspondent from 1970 to 1980, reporting from some 35 countries. He edited ''The Economist's'' weekly Foreign Report from 1974–1980, and wrote for many other publications, including ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'' and ''

Commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

''. He was a regular commentator on international affairs on British television and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

World Service. In a paper presented to the

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...

in 1971, Moss was among the first to identify the emergence of international terrorism. He expanded his paper into his first book, ''Urban Guerrillas'', published in 1971. From 1971–1980, he was a visiting lecturer at the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest leve ...

in London. Moss drafted a speech for

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

in January 1976 which warned about the Soviet military build-up. In response to this speech Thatcher was labelled the "Iron Lady" by the Soviet Army newspaper ''Red Star''. He was awarded the Freedom Prize of the Max Schmidheiny Foundation at the

University of St. Gallen The University of St. Gallen (HSG) is a research university located in St. Gallen, Switzerland, that specialises in business administration, economics, law, international affairs, and computer science. It was established in 1898. It consistent ...

in 1979. Moss co-authored the novel ''The Spike'' with

Arnaud de Borchgrave Arnaud Charles Paul Marie Philippe de Borchgrave (26 October 1926 – 15 February 2015) was a Belgian–American journalist who specialized in international politics. Following a long career with the news magazine ''Newsweek'', covering 17 wars ...

; it became a best seller in 1980. Moss then became a full-time writer and published several

suspense Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...

novels including ''Moscow Rules'' and ''Carnival of Spies.'' In 1986, Moss left this work as an author behind and moved to a farm in

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

, where he started dreaming in a language he did not know that proved to be an archaic form of the Mohawk language. Assisted by native speakers to interpret his dreams, Moss came to believe that they had put him in touch with an ancient healer – a woman of power – and that they were calling him to a different life. Out of these encounters, he wrote a number of novels and created a technique he terms "active dreaming", which combines modern

with journeying and healing techniques. A central premise of Moss's approach is that dreaming isn't just what happens during sleep; dreaming is waking up to sources of guidance, healing and creativity beyond the reach of the everyday mind. His first speech on the topic was at the conference of the

International Association for the Study of Dreams The International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) is a multi-disciplinary (Hardcover), (Paperback) professional nonprofit organization for scientific dream research (oneirology), founded in 1983 and headquartered in the U.S. The or ...

(IASD) at the University of Leiden in 1994. Moss's description of the core techniques of ''active dreaming'' is: * Quick dream-sharing (using a "lightning dreamwork" process) and using an "if it were my dream" protocol so that the dreamer is always the final authority on his or her dream. * Making a conscious journey back inside a dream in order to clarify information, dialogue with a dream character, or move beyond nightmare terrors into healing and resolution. * Conscious dream travel on an agreed itinerary by two or more partners, often supported by

shamanic Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spiri ...

drumming. * Reading coincidence and "symbolic pop-ups" in ordinary life as "everyday oracles".

Personal life

Moss married his first wife, Katrina Fairbairn in 1968. They had two daughters, Pandora Moss (born 1971) and

Candida Moss Candida R. Moss (born 26 November 1978) is an English public intellectual, journalist, New Testament scholar and historian of Christianity, and as of 2017, the Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology in the Department of Theology and Religion at ...

(born 1978), and divorced in 1982. He is currently married to Marcia H. Moss, with whom he has a third daughter, Sophie Moss.

Publications

Politics

Articles *"International Terrorism and Western Societies". ''

International Journal The Canadian International Council (CIC; ) is a Canadian think tank on foreign relations. It is an independent, member-based council established to strengthen Canada's role in international affairs. Its goal is to advance debate on international ...

'', Vol. 28, No. 3, Revolution, Summer 1973, pp. 418–430. . . Books *''Urban Guerrilla Warfare''.

, 1971. *''Urban Guerrillas: The New Face of Political Violence''. Maurice Temple Smith, 1972. *''Spain: Between Past and Present''. Economist Brief Books, 1972.
''The War for the Cities''.
New York:

Coward, McCann & Geoghegan G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam an ...

, 1972. / .
''Chile's Marxist Experiment''

David & Charles David & Charles Ltd is an English publishing company. It is the owner of the David & Charles imprint, which specialises in craft and lifestyle publishing. David and Charles Ltd acts as distributor for all David and Charles Ltd books and cont ...

, 1973. *''The Collapse of Democracy''. Maurice Temple Smith, 1975. Reports *Urban Guerrillas in Latin America. Institute for the Study of Conflict, 1970.

Suspense Novels

* '' The Spike'' (with

) (Crown, 1980)
''Death Beam''
(Crown, 1981)
''Monimbó''
(with

) (

Simon and Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, 1983) * ''Moscow Rules'' (Villard, 1985)
''Carnival of Spies''
(Villard, 1987)
''Mexico Way''
(

, 1990)

Historical Fiction

''The Firekeeper: A Narrative of the New York Frontier.''
(New Edition, Excelsior/

SUNY Press The State University of New York Press (more commonly referred to as the SUNY Press) is a university press affiliated with the State University of New York system. The press, which was founded in 1966, is located in Albany, New York and publishe ...

, 2009.)
''Fire Along the Sky: Being the Adventures of Captain Shane Hardacre in the New World.''
(New Edition, Excelsior/

, 2010.)
''The Interpreter: A Story of Two Worlds New York.''
(New Edition, Excelsior/

, 2012.)

''Active Dreaming''

*
Conscious Dreaming
' (Three Rivers Press, 1996. * ''Dream Gates: A Journey into Active Dreaming'' (audio;

Sounds True Sounds True is an American multimedia publishing company founded in 1985 by Tami Simon. The company is based in Louisville, Colorado. The company has published over 800 spoken-word audio and music recordings, books, multimedia learning resources ...

References

External links

Website of Robert Moss

Robert Moss personal blog

Robert Moss Dream Gates blog on Beliefnet

* ttp://www.readthespirit.com/explore/2009/01/354-conversation-with-robert-moss-on-secret-history-of-dreaming.html Robert Moss interviewedon "The Secret History of Dreaming" by ReadTheSpirit.com
Robert Moss interviewed by Don Swaim, February 1, 1985

Robert Moss interviewed by Don Swaim, June 16, 1987
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Robert 1946 births Living people Academics of the Royal College of Defence Studies Australian anti-communists Journalists from Melbourne People educated at Canberra Grammar School