Cracking the Sleep Code

Do You Want to Control Your Dreams? Now You Can

Have you ever been in a dream and know your're dreaming?  Most will say yes but it's rare.  Well there is a name for this type of dreaming...it's called Lucid dreaming.  Lucid dreams are when you are aware that you're dreaming and you can control whats happening.  Some people fly to the moon or dive to the bottom of the ocean...it can be exhilarating.  They can also be used for problem solving or creative ideas and thinking which was one reason there is the existence of a Lucid Dream Institute. Recently Stephen Laberge, PhD, has been working on controlling the sleeping mind through lucid dreaming.  This  type of dreaming doesn't just happen all the time ---it takes training and the right mood.  Now there is a fascinating  new technology that can assist you in controlling your dreams...here is a clip from Readers Digest by Michael Weiss February 2006 about this new device.

The Lucidity Institute operates instructional workshops and retreats to spread the gospel. LaBerge has even developed a $500 device -- called the NovaDreamer -- which helps individuals become participants in their dreams. Once the sleep-mask-like device recognizes the wearer is experiencing REM sleep characteristic of dreaming, it emits a flashing red light that is designed to seep into the person's dream. "It's like being at the opera and realizing the flashing lights at intermission mean the opera is about to start again," says LaBerge. "The cue says that you're dreaming so you can open yourself up to any kind of experience you want. After all, it's your dream."   (From Article What Dreams Can Do For You.)

I thought the NovaDreamer sounded intriguing...just not $500 intriguing.  If I knew for sure that I would come out with the next greatest invention in one of my Lucid dreams--- then I'd fork over the money. 

Why Do We Dream? New Findings On Interpreting Your Dreams

Dreaming.  It is a word used in so many expressions.  "Dream big", "only the stuff that dreams are made of", "you're dreaming if you think that's going to happen."

Dreaming is something that is essential for our brains to stay sane.  Picture a rubber band being wound tighter and tighter.  When we dream it let's the rubber band lose to unwind.  This is only one reason sleep disorders can be so detrimental to our health.  You don't reach the rapid eye movement or the dream stage when your sleep is disturbed.

For centuries people have sought to find the meaning of their dreams.  I would throw away your dream dictionary because the interpretation is different for every individual.  If you have a dream with a spoon in it, sorry...it can be just a dream with a spoon in it.  It doesn't need to be about an eating disorder or about deep wounds from your mom hitting you with a spoon.

On the more exciting side, dreams can actually help you heal from a difficult time in your life.  Dramatic dreams about a difficult situation will help you cope better.  Dreams also serve as a dress rehearsal---by seeing yourself doing or saying something it makes easier when 'show time' comes. 

There has been some recent groundbreaking news about colors and our dreams.  Robert Hoss, an anthropologist from Arizona did an 11 year study on dreams.  I wanted to share with you these exciting findings written in the article "Dare To Dream"  by Micheal J. Weiss in Readers Digest Feb. 2006...

"Using color is your brain's way of painting your dreams with your emotion," says Hoss, who just published his results in Dream Language (Innersource, 2005).

To collect data, he analyzed nearly 24,000 dreams, catalogued in two databases at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts. His study suggested that specific colors represent particular emotions (for example, red means action, excitement and desire; blue equals calmness, tranquility and harmony; black connotes fear, anxiety and intimidation).