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The summer blockbuster movie, "Inception," deals with stealing and planting thoughts inside someone's mind while they dream. ʺInceptionʺ is a cerebral adventure in nocturnal espionage.
But, is it real or science fiction? Can your dreams be invaded by others? And what if others are able to trick you into granting them complete access to your mind?
Experts versed in the science of dreaming say the notion is closer to reality than sci-fi.
ʺIf you tell yourself, 'Tonight when I dream, I want to realize that I'm dreaming,' or, 'Tonight, I want to dream about my deceased wife,' or, 'Tonight I want to dream my next great masterpiece' -- whether it's to solve a particular problem or if it's to see a person you want to see or a place you want to see, that's the single most powerful technique," said Deirdre Leigh Barrett, professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and a leader in the field of dream research.
Controlling one's dreams has been possible for centuries. Tibetan Buddhists practiced it 1,000 years ago; as did yogis.
"You'll find it in mystical works going back thousands of years," said Dr. Matthew Edlund, author of "The Power of Rest." "You'll find in some cultures that priests are thought to be able to enter into people's dreams, like a Shaman can enter into a sick person's dream and help them with their illness."
It's not unheard of to dream the same dream as someone else.
The people most likely to report sharing dreams are identical twins, long-married couples and people who have experienced a crisis together; situations of closeness; and shared experiences that prime the mind for a shared dream.
"In dreams normally, you're remaking the brain," Edlund said. "You're taking old memories and putting them together with what happened in the last 24 hours. And as we rebuild our brains at night, we create new ideas, we create creativity."
According to Jayne Gackenbach, a dream researcher at Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton, Canada, a person considering a job choice might seek guidance from their deep subconscious. To do so, Gackenbach said, the first step is to clear the mind of excess dream material by writing down anything emotional that occurred in the last few days. This relieves the mind of needing to process that information while asleep.
"Then, as you go to sleep, you ask the question that you want answered in your dream," she said. "And, of course, it is important to write the dream down to see if there is some information. Sometimes it will be very direct, sometimes it will be obfuscated."
According to researchers at Harvard Medical School, take a power nap before the final exam and dream about the class material. The approach could lead to significantly higher test scores than the results achieved by non-napping and non-dreaming classmates.
In a study, the researchers taught students to navigate a three-dimensional maze and then let some of the students take a two-hour nap before a test on the maze. Though not everyone who took a nap dreamed of the maze, those who did performed better on the test than the non-maze dreamers and the students who stayed awake and kept rehearsing the maze.
"We think that the dreams are a marker that the brain is working on the same problem at many levels," study author Robert Stickgold said. "The dreams might reflect the brain's attempt to find associations for the memories that could make them more useful in the future."
And finally, psychologists have developed a night-time ritual to encourage problem-solving dreams. This ritual targets interpersonal and emotional problems but it is also relevant to objective creative tasks.
1) Write down the problem as a brief phrase of a sentence and place this by the bed.
2) Review the problem for a few minutes just before going to bed.
3) Once in bed, visualize the problem as concrete image if it lends itself to this.
4) Tell yourself you want to dream about the problem just as you are drifting off to sleep.
5) Keep a pen and paper -- perhaps also a flashlight or pen with a lit tip -- on the night table.
6) Upon awakening, lie quietly before getting out of bed. Note whether there is any trace of a recalled dream and invite more of the dream to return if possible. Write it down.
7) At bedtime, visualize yourself dreaming about the problem, awakening, and writing on the bedside note pad.
8) Arrange objects connected to the problem on the night table or on the wall across from bed if they lend themselves to a poster.
Sources:
NBC, ABC, CNN
MC Ortega is the former publicist for the late Walter Payton, Coca-Cola and Dunkin’ Donuts. Ortega is a senior communications and messaging executive specializing in media relations, social media, program development and crisis communications. Also, Ortega is an avid traveler and international shopper. Ortega resides with her partner, Craig, dog, Fionne and extensive shoe collection. Ortega also enjoys jewelry design/production and flamenco dancing.
Add a Comment1 Comments
i think dream can manipulated. even, i heard you can create your own world at your dream.
September 2, 2010 - 3:11pmThis Comment