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also training yourself to think and reason while sleeping and dreaming.
(2) Right before going to sleep, tell yourself to become conscious
during your dreams. (3) Practice producing certain simple dreams, say
taking a drink or kissing someone, by imagining these actions as you
fall asleep. Eventually, you should be able to have lucid dreams, be
aware you are dreaming, be able to control your reaction to a dream,
be able to interact with the dream figures and understand your dreams
(LaBerge & Rheingold, 1990).
One fascinating possibility under dream control is confronting the
dreams, especially nightmares (Delaney, 1992). The dreamer must be
willing to courageously take control within the dream. You can't just be
weak and terrified if you are being pursued by a masked murderer or
rapist; you have to "take control" and suddenly wheel and spray him
with mace, ripping off his mask to see who he is as he falls. Or, you
can simply stop running, look the pursuer in the eye, and ask, "Who
are you? What do you want?" You must become strong and assertive,
i.e. take charge! This sometimes "cures" nightmares.
Other dream specialists say you should engage the dream figure in
a dialogue, asking "What is your purpose?" or "Can't we just talk?" or
"Can you help me with a problem I'm having?" Defend yourself but
don't be mean to the frightening dream figure. Consider his/her
criticism. Try to resolve your conflicts with the dream figure by talking.
(Sometimes the dreamer can enter the body and mind of the dream
figure--sort of "mind read"--similar to step 9 above. This is especially
insight-producing if the dream figure represents an unconscious part of
you or an unseen aspect of another person.)
In a similar way, the Greeks slept in the temples of certain Gods or
Goddesses in an effort to have a healing or revealing dream. About
4000 years ago, Egyptians, wanting a visit during the night from a
certain God, were told to "draw the God on their left hand, wrap it in
black cloth that had been blessed, and talk to no one before sleeping."
Today, we are told by dream books (Delaney, 1979) to do about the
same: "think for several minutes about the details of the problem you
want help with but boil it down to one basic question, writing it down.
Continue thinking about this question until you go to sleep." This is
called "dream incubation." Delaney says that the resulting dream is
relevant to the question nine times out of ten, but it may not be what
we want to hear.
Many people believe that conscious healing images (the pain is
easing; the swelling is reducing; the grief is lessening) are health-
promoting. And, there is fairly clear evidence that dreams influence
our mood the next day. Therefore, self-instruction induced or self-
controlled dreams might be quite helpful to you, if you can determine
or discover what dreams you need to have.
Time involved
