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i.e. rehearse dreaming that you are a more capable, more secure,
more self-accepting, and just a happier, better adjusted person.
With positive, hopeful dreams you should be in a better mood the
next day, more future oriented, more positive about life, and feel good
about being more in control. You might even try out some new
approaches to your problems in your dreams.
This procedure for changing our dreams is well worth trying,
although there is very limited research to support its effectiveness. On
the other hand, Cartwright cites many, many cases showing improved
adjustment after the dreams change (and/or better dreams after the
adjustment improves).
Other dream specialists believe we can self-help by learning to
have certain kinds of dreams. Garfield (1975) says a dreamer can
control his/her dream content to some extent by repeating believable
self-instructions before going to sleep. Examples: one man discovered
that he felt much better the next day if he had dreamed of his mother
or an older woman. He did this by repeating several times before
falling asleep, "dream of mother" or "dream of a nurturing, caring
person." One person going through a stressful time of life might
instruct him/herself to dream of calm, peaceful ocean scenes, while
another person may need to dream of scary events and people (as a
way of releasing some of the pent up anxiety). One has to find his/her
own prescription.
A number of people routinely use another, but similar, form of
dream control, namely, going back to sleep with the intention and
vague self-instructions to change a dream that they don't like or
makes them uncomfortable. After the dream is changed, they "feel
better." Rather than just "avoiding" the scary aspects of the dream in
this way, though, it may be wise to also explore the dream. Such
analysis may reveal a serious problem which needs to be worked on
during the day as well.
There is also an unique kind of dreaming, called "lucid dreams" in
which the dreamer knows he/she is dreaming, very vividly, and can
control the specific events of the dream and can also think clearly. One
set of self-instructions for lucid dreaming given right after awaking
are: "I will remember the details of my last dream and when I go back
to sleep I will realize I'm dreaming. I will visualize my last dream until
I fall asleep and this time I will know I'm dreaming and will be able to
influence what happens." Repeat the instructions and visualizations
until you fall asleep...and go back into your dream.
There are other instructions for producing lucid dreaming
(Gackenbach & Bosveld, 1989). These include (1) asking yourself 10 to
15 times a day "Am I dreaming?" especially in confusing or emotional
or dream-like situations. Also, try to imagine yourself dreaming, then
ask the same question. The idea is to train yourself to consciously and
habitually question the reality of your experiences; you are supposedly
