Programming, inducing, influencing or controlling your dreams can be a
method through which you deliberately set out to solve conscious
problems by making use of your subconscious. Dreaming can solve our
problems through offering us insights and advice.[1]
Using dream incubation to influence a dream can form part of a lucid
dreaming exercise or, (and easier than lucid dreaming), it can be an
exercise in problem-solving in its own right. The method outlined in
this article is concerned with setting yourself up to dream about
something, rather than controlling your dream once you're dreaming.
For the latter activity, see wikiHow's article on lucid dreaming. In
this article, you will learn how to program your dreams so that you
can channel them to solve your problem or to inspire you.
!! Steps !!
Have faith in this method. If you're not
convinced that this method can work, you'll
make things harder for yourself as your
conscious mind struggles to do all the
problem-thinking, keeping you awake into the
wee small hours of the night. If you're willing
to give dream programming a try, however, it
can be a surprising and uplifting experience to
try and use your dreams to resolve your
problems.
* The dream psychologist Deirdre Barrett believes that it is
possible that our waking mind has often already solved a problem
but that the dream is the only way to bring it fully to the
attention of our consciousness.[2] Looking at it this way might
help to quell any misgivings you have about descending into
"mumbo-jumbo"! She also sees dreaming as "extra thinking time"
during which the highly visual nature of dreaming, along with its
loose associations and slight craziness, enable us to think in
ways that aren't so obvious while we're awake.[3]
Decide on the problem or unresolved issue that is of concern to you.
Avoid creating a pile of problems - your problem in need of
resolution needs to be something clearly definable as a current and
pressing problem for you.
* If your very problem is that you can't disentangle a group of
problems, consider putting that concern forth as your initial
problem!
* Problems you might want to ask your subconscious about include
finding ideas to write about or to paint, finding ways to fix
problems in relationships, finding inspiration for an upcoming
event or for something you need to design, resolving problems with
studies or work, resolving your confused emotions, etc. For
example, if you have to write a speech for the company manager
tomorrow, and you don't have a clue what to say, ask your
subconscious mind to provide ideas that you can develop when
you're awake.
* Dream psychologist Deirdre Barrett thinks that problems in need of
being visualized might be the most ideal for asking to be resolved
by a dream (for example, inventions and paintings or designs),
along with answers that buck conventional wisdom, also known as
"outside-the-box" thinking.[4]
Prior to going to bed, ask your mind mentally to work on this
problem as you sleep.[5] Be sure to ask for a solution or new
perspective on the problem.
* If preferred, or in addition to asking your mind, you can write
down what you want to dream about in your dream journal or on
paper. If it helps, make it a visual exercise by drawing pictures
to elaborate on what you want. This step isn't necessary but it
helps some people to transfer the problem into something more
concrete.
* Decide which approach works best for you. Below there are two
methods offered for "programming" or influencing your dream. Both
are equally valid, it is just that they are different approaches
and it will depend on you as to which works best, so a little
trial and error is called for when you first start learning how to
program or control the content of your dreams. There are
proponents and detractors of either method!
!! Method 1: Putting All Thoughts Out Of Your Conscious Mind !!
Put aside all thoughts of the problem in your conscious. Andy Baggott
says that it is pointless to keep mulling over the problem in your
mind if you are going to leave it to the subconscious to resolve.[6]
One of the dangers of continuing to work through the problem in your
awake state is that you will probably continue thinking, find it
difficult to get to sleep, and will have a poor night's sleep and
wake up unrefreshed. Instead, he recommends that you put aside all
thoughts of the problem for which you're seeking a solution and trust
the subconscious to pick up on solving it as you sleep. Once you've
asked your mind to solve the problem while you sleep, try these
distractions prior to sleeping:
* Read a book you enjoy.
* Write a poem or some lines of a written work. Or write a letter to
a friend.
* Talk to someone else about anything other than the problem.
* Spend time with your pets or read a bedtime story to a child.
* Try to avoid anything over-stimulating prior to sleeping, such as
TV, movies, video games, etc., or you risk dreaming about these
instead.
* Remind yourself that if you haven't already come up with an
answer, over-thinking it won't change anything. Have faith and
trust in your subconscious.
Go to sleep. Lie down and relax. Put aside all thoughts of the
problem and seek sleep.
* Make sure that you are comfortable, including having the room warm
or cool enough, fresh bed linen, and if you like soft music to
sleep by, consider playing a little prior to sleeping. If you
share your bed with someone else, ask that they either sleep at
the same time as you, or not disturb you with light or noise if
they come to bed later than you.
* Visualize something positive and beautiful
before sleeping - a walk on a beach, a favorite camping trip,
etc.[7]
!! Method 2: Focusing On The Problem Prior To Sleeping !!
Lie down, relax, and think hard about the problem you would like
resolved, or the inspiration that you're seeking.
* Avoid anxious thoughts.
* Think straightforward thoughts such as "I'd like helpful insights
on how to improve my running times", or "I'd like helpful insights
on how to improve my chances of getting a raise at work".
Close your eyes and imagine key images for your dream. If nothing
appears, read your programming messages again (if you wrote them
down), or think back through them. Imagine sounds in the background,
what you are seeing, feeling, etc.
* Think of what you want to dream about from the first person point
of view. Imagine what it will seem like through your eyes.
* Think of dialog and sounds that you expect to hear in your dream
until you are hearing them in your mind.
* Think hard, but maintain a calm posture. Do not get tense. Just
relax.
* Go to sleep with these images and sounds in your head.
!! Decoding Your Dream !!
Awaken the next morning and turn to your dream
journal immediately. Write down your dream
memories. It doesn't matter what the dream was,
keep writing as quickly as you can because
dreams are part of our short term memory. Get
all the remembered material down and you can
analyze it shortly.
* Go over the dream. What ideas and thoughts has it presented you
with?
* What practical solutions can you draw from your dream?
* Are there particular images that stand out and have some sort of
resonance for you?
* If you do find solutions, or partial solutions, write them out
fully or draw them, and then apply them to your problem, or be
inspired by them.
* Keep practicing this activity until it becomes easier. At first,
it may be both hard to convince yourself to trust your
subconscious enough to resolve your problems and it may be a while
before your "programming" results in fruitful and obvious
solutions. The more that you keep trying this, however, the
greater a creative solution source dreaming can become for you.
!! Tips !!
* Try to sleep in a quiet area with no distractions whatsoever.
* Play music associated with your dream quietly.
* Remember fine details, as they are important.
* Read your dream journal often.
* Try having a symbol on your ceiling or near your bed that you can
easily access. Stare at it for a few minutes before you go to
sleep, and stare at it for a few minutes when you wake up. This
can help you remember your dreams better/more often.
* If this happens when you remember your dreams, you may lucid
dream.
* An easy way to realize that you are dreaming is to, before you go
to bed, draw a symbol on your hand. As you fall asleep, think
"When I look at my hands, I will realize I am dreaming." or
something similar. If you wake up and realize it didn't work, try
again. Eventually you will think in your dream, "My hand!" and
Lucid dreaming should begin.
* Lay in silence and darkness well befor you are ready to fall
asleep, in this time play out a daydream in your mind and slowly
drift off.
!! Warnings !!
* Don't try too hard, or you'll get a major headache!
* Remember! It is a dream, nothing can physically hurt you in your
dreams.
* If you try to concentrate as you fall asleep, you may stay awake.
The point of the aforementioned activities (writing it down, etc)
is that your subconscious mind is the thing you want to be
concerned with what you want to dream about. If you tend to be the
type who stays awake and worries, try the first suggested method
only.
* Not everyone is convinced that dreams solve problems. If the
methods aren't working for you, maybe you're not attuned to
solving problems this way, or maybe, it's never going to gel with
you. You might get comfort reading Domhoff's work, as he doesn't
subscribe to the dream as problem-solver theory.[8]
!! Things You\'ll Need !!
* Comfortable bedroom and bed
* A dream journal
!! Related WikiHows !!
* How to Perform Self Hypnosis
* How to Polyphasic Sleep
* How to Get a Good Night's Sleep when Your Imagination Runs Wild at
Night
* How to Interpret Your Dreams
* How to Have a Lucid Dream
!! Sources And Citations !!
!! Article Tools !!
* Read on wikiHow
*
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