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Interesting read. I dream a lot, and almost all my dreams are very happy (I'm on a nice trip with my family, hiking in a beautiful place, etc.) Some dreams are

Interesting read. I dream a lot, and almost all my dreams are very happy (I'm on a nice trip with my family, hiking in a beautiful place, etc.) Some dreams are based in the future, e.g. celebrating 50th wedding anniversary with my wife, etc. However, I'm not aware that I'm dreaming, and have never been able to control my dreams either. When I wake up, I go, "that was interesting." Question: other than the entertainment aspect, is there a benefit to being able to control one's dreams?

gmane 4y ago
I sometimes become aware I'm dreaming during nightmares/unsettling dreams and then I'm able to "switch topics" to something more pleasant. I generally forget what I dream about next. I think being able to escape nightmares is a good benefit, but if you don't have nightmares then it's probably not very useful to you.
v8xi 4y ago
I've heard that certain people will use lucid dreaming to solve problems. Basically ask themselves to come up with solutions to things they are working on. Salvador Dali (and other famous people using similar methods) apparently used to fall asleep with a spoon dangling in his hand such that when he fell asleep it would drop and wake him up immediately. The idea being that you would awake in an altered state of increased creativity - apparently it works[1]. I also dream often and vividly and some of the dreams I have had have been so realistic and fulfilling that I wake up in a state of awe, feeling as if I have just lived a wonderful experience inaccessible to waking life. For example, I once had a dream where I traveled to the moon where I woke up feeling, as silly as it might sound, as if I had just returned from the moon - hard to describe how wonderful this experience actually was. So to answer your question, I think there is benefit in altering your state of mind through dreaming to re-align your perspectives and to get a different view on life. I don't think this requires controlling the subject of one's dreams, but having some control over the quality certainly would help. [1] https://www.livescience.com/little-known-sleep-stage-may-be-creative-sweet-spot https://www.livescience.com/little-known-sleep-stage-may-be-...

gmane 4y ago

I sometimes become aware I'm dreaming during nightmares/unsettling dreams and then I'm able to "switch topics" to something more pleasant. I generally forget what I dream about next. I think being able to escape nightmares is a good benefit, but if you don't have nightmares then it's probably not very useful to you.

v8xi 4y ago

I've heard that certain people will use lucid dreaming to solve problems. Basically ask themselves to come up with solutions to things they are working on. Salvador Dali (and other famous people using similar methods) apparently used to fall asleep with a spoon dangling in his hand such that when he fell asleep it would drop and wake him up immediately. The idea being that you would awake in an altered state of increased creativity - apparently it works[1]. I also dream often and vividly and some of the dreams I have had have been so realistic and fulfilling that I wake up in a state of awe, feeling as if I have just lived a wonderful experience inaccessible to waking life. For example, I once had a dream where I traveled to the moon where I woke up feeling, as silly as it might sound, as if I had just returned from the moon - hard to describe how wonderful this experience actually was. So to answer your question, I think there is benefit in altering your state of mind through dreaming to re-align your perspectives and to get a different view on life. I don't think this requires controlling the subject of one's dreams, but having some control over the quality certainly would help. [1] https://www.livescience.com/little-known-sleep-stage-may-be-creative-sweet-spot https://www.livescience.com/little-known-sleep-stage-may-be-...