Lucid Dreaming
I have been trying to control my dreams–what is called Lucid Dreaming. Think I discussed this earlier. Here is an updated report and a link to an article about dreams. Here’s the article.
THE POWER AND PURPOSE OF DREAMS | Psychology Today.
Here is the updated Lucid Dreaming report. This is not high on my priority list, so I haven’t worked at it very hard . The down and dirty Lucid Dreaming instructions I have gleaned from a number of web pages:
- Do reality checks throughout the day. Just ask “Is this real or am I dreaming or day dreaming?”
- Before going to sleep imagine the dream you want to have.
- Keep a dream journal.
- If you wake up during a dream, take a few minutes to think about how you want it to end and then go back to sleep if you can; if you can’t go back to sleep, daydream your perfect ending to the dream that got interrupted.
I mainly am doing step four and even then not regularly. It does, however, seem to be helping. My dreams, as I have mentioned before, are mostly frustration dreams. I am trying to go some where or do something; other people and events keep me from my goal. Sounds like almost every care-giver’s life and one that can easily become a theme in one’s dreams. I am definitely a care-giver–some would call me co-dependent; I prefer to think I follow the Golden Rule of caring for others the way I want to be cared for. Anyway, in terms of my Lucid Dreaming efforts, I have been able to get moving in the direction I want a few times in some dreams and like the feeling.
I should probably mention that because I was in analysis for a few years, many years ago, I have had training in dream recall and that is probably helpful. Friend Glenda reported to me that as a child she learned to control her dreams and still manages to do so. Good reminder to parents that teaching your children dream control is useful; minimally don’t interfere with this natural talent.
A training in hypnosis may also be helping me. One of the major advances in my ability to stay strong was when I took a course in hypnosis and realized how useful self-hypnosis was for managing my strong negative emotions. My OMM (One Minute Meditation) is a self-hypnosis exercise.
Another note for parents: Most children are very “hypnotically talented” and in some ways that is what lucid dreaming is about. Life and parents train us out that skill, but with a little effort parents can help their kids make great use of a natural talent.