Dream Programing

What is Dream Programming? Programming means to ask for a particular type of dream, just before you fall asleep.This is also called dream-incubation, or making specific requests of the dream-state. You may have programmed dreams without even realizing it. If you have ever said, "I need to sleep on this," you were actually programming that night's dream-state for guidance. Whether you remembered one or not--when you awakened, the previous night's program to sleep on it' enabled you to intuitively make the right decision. Dreams definitely respond to the thoughts and concerns that have filled one's mind during that day. The dream-state consistently provides answers to our questions and fulfills our requests. This is usually done at an other-than-conscious level. That is--we are getting benefits from our nightly dreaming, even though we do not consciously realize it. Why is it important to program my dreams? It is important to understand that you are programming them when you go to bed with things on your mind. You will dream about your issues, problems, ideas, desires, questions, and worries because it is the nature of the dream-state to address your needs and provide guidance. Because the average person goes to sleep with so much on his or her mind, the dream-self may attempt to answer all your wants and needs within one night of dreaming. The resulting dreams can be chaotic, and seem very weird or strange indeed. An advantage of purposeful programming is that the conscious mind can get specific assistance from the dream-state for one particular need at a time. A dream given in response to a requested program is focused - therefore is so much easier to interpret and understand. Basic Dream Programming Guidelines: 1. Decide what one thing you want to ask for. 2. Create a well-formed question, or specifically stated request 3. Set the intention -- write the request down 4. Mentally repeat the request several times before falling asleep 5. Make the exact-same request at least 3 to 5 nights in a row. Examples of well-stated requests

• I ask for a healing dream for my cold. • I choose to safely release all stress in my dreams tonight. • What is everything I need to know about -- my problems with my boss? -- my daughter's attitude towards me? -- the pain in my back? The benefits of programming When you program a dream in this deliberate way, you are making a specific request for guidance, information, or a healing of some kind--and you are expecting results. Programming informs all parts of the self that you desire to focus in on an explicit concern, and are seeking direct help from Spirit. Ask and you shall receive You may not always get exactly what you think you want, yet you will receive what you most need. For example, a dream may insist on giving you the cause of the problem before offering solutions. Discovering cause is a blessing, because like digging out a dandelion root, dream information gives you a way to get at the root cause of your problem so that it doesn't return. I ask my clients to program their dreams for guidance between sessions. The ones they bring in to sessions will suggest the next step in the transformational process. They also aid in the client's healing. The book: Decipher Your Dreams, Decipher Your Life is full of such success stories. How to know which dreams answer your request In the experience of members of my dream groups, the one that answers your request is usually the one you have just before you awaken. Rarely is a specific program request ignored by the subconscious. It is designed to allow the dreams you seek. If the remembered dream does not answer the request you made, then this is called a dream program override. There can be different reasons for an override. Spirit may have something more significant to convey. Or, an internal part in the subconscious may have interfered with your program to alert you to a more imperative inner need. Do not be frustrated if this happens. All information is useful. You can always do your quested program again the next night. If you are concerned that deliberate programming would interfere with a dream's prior intention, remember that you have four to six per night. When you quest a certain dream

program, you are asking to interact with just one of them. This allows free-rein for all other dreams of that night to address entirely different matters. Deciphering all the dreams you remember that next morning will show exactly which one(s) addressed your quested program. You could have more than one dream that answers your request, Spirit and/or parts may decide to provide two or more that night, if needed, to be able to provide what you need. There have been occasions when I have remembered as many as four dreams that provided entirely different approaches to my one request. What if you don't remember programmed dreams? A beginner at programming may not remember any dreams the next morning. This does not mean the program did not work. Trust that dreams were given and that the unconscious mind now holds the requested information. Be open to intuitively receiving this guidance in some other way during your waking day. This could come through another person giving advice, or something in the paper that sparks your intuition about how it relates to your request, and so on. Trust this: Even if you do not remember your programmed dreams, the subconscious and/or Spirit will always find other ways to give you the quested guidance. I do, however, want to encourage you to ask to remember dreams, record them, and do take them through the Dream Decipher™ Interpretation process. A Deciphered dream will give the information you seek in a direct, instantaneous way. Suggestion: When you go through a period of not remembering, add this statement at the end of your dream program request: -- "and I will remember my dream." TIANNA GALGANO, Dream Master, Dream Expert Cert. NLP Master Practitioner, Cert. NLP Health Practitioner Certified, Clinical Hypnotherapist Author of DECIPHER YOUR DREAMS, DECIPHER YOUR LIFE Go to Amazon.com, click on the "Search Inside feature, and read excerpts of this book for free. Forthcoming books: DREAMWORKERS TOOLBOX--Dream Programs For Guidance & Healing WIDE-AWAKE DREAMS--Interpreting Body Symptoms, Strange Events, Meditation Images SHAMANIC DREAMING--Dreaming On Behalf of Others

DREAM DECIPHER, Tianna's intuitive-based dream interpretation process, gives an accurate meaning for any dream. For more info: http://www.DreamDecipher.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tianna_Galgano

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How To Program Dreams - HOW TO PROGRAM YOUR DREAM Article Index How To Program Dreams ALICE IN WONDERLAND HOW TO PROGRAM YOUR DREAM PRECISE WORDING FOR COMMOM PROBLEMS All Pages

Page 1 of 4 PROGRAMMED DREAMS offer a breakthrough in medical and psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. The dreams offer solutions to everyday problems – such as finding employment, problems with children, marriage, what to do about a pregnancy, and even such complicated things as the cause and what to do about medical problems. It matters not that the answers might not yet be known in medicine. You may have heard about problems being solved or discoveries being made during sleep or during the dream-state. These mostly are sporadic events, in which people just happen to awaken with a bright idea. The programmed dream is different. It gives us the ability to awaken with that bright idea or solution to a problem, any night, at will. You do not have to be a yogi and meditate for 50 years in a cave to achieve enlightenment. When you fall asleep you reach just as deep a level of consciousness – but you are unaware, and do not know how to make use of this. Dr. McKenzie shows you how to take one minute, before going to bed, to formulate a programmed dream question, and one minute to retrieve the answer upon awakening.

Page 2 of 4 One time as Dr. McKenzie was boarding an airplane, a hysterical patient called from Florida. Her husband had just died, she found out that he had spent all their money, the rent was due the next week, she didn’t know where to live, and she did not know if either car would take her any distance. With only two minutes before boarding the plane, Dr. McKenzie gave her four programmed dreams, which she wrote. 1. I will have a dream about Joe. The dream will not be upsetting and the dream itself will resolve all upset feelings. 2. I will have a dream about the rent and the interpretation of the dream will tell me exactly what to do. 3. I will have a dream about where to live and the interpretation of the dream will tell me exactly what to do. 4. I will have a dream about the two cars and the interpretation of the dream will tell me exactly what to do. Dr. McKenzie knew she would solve all four problems, and he had taught her how to program her dreams many years earlier. In the first dream she realized that her husband really loved her, and he realized she really loved him. This gave her a beautiful feeling. The next dream told her to move before the rent was due. The third dream told her to move to Philadelphia where she had relatives, and the fourth dream told her which car would make the journey with small repairs, and that she should give the other car his daughter who lived nearby. From Dr. McKenzie’s recordings you will learn of dreams that reach beyond the dreamer to solve problems. You will learn of medical problems that are solved – such as one lady who had excruciating chest and abdominal pain. The internal medicine specialist wanted to transfer her from the psychiatric hospital to a medical facility. Dr. McKenzie had her program a dream instead, and the next morning -- from her programmed dream -- he diagnosed an intestinal obstruction at the ileocecal junction, a one-inch segment out of 23 feet of intestinal tract. He immediately transferred her to a surgical hospital because this is an acute surgical emergency. They confirmed the diagnosis based on fluid levels in the gut and the electrolyte studies, and surgery was scheduled. Dr. McKenzie told her “you better have another dream about what to do – otherwise they will be cutting you open.” In the dream, a tall, dark complexioned man, wearing a turban, was massaging her abdomen. When she awakened the obstruction was gone! While this might seem like something from Alice in Wonderland, Dr. McKenzie regards it as simply data. Many other medical breakthroughs are featured in his DVD on Programmed dreams – which he prepared for a post-graduate medical audience. No problem is too complicated for the programmed dream. If you want to know who the Saviour is, simply program the dream. Don’t be surprised if you get a personal visit.

Dr. McKenzie will analyse your programmed dreams here on this web site –as long as you write the programmed question and the dream answer. You should first read carefully the instructions on how to program your dream. The wording must be precise. Page 3 of 4 From one of Dr. McKenzie’s postgraduate medical school lectures: Techniques: My primary interest is to make sure you know how to program the dreams – and the clinical vignettes mostly are to impress you with the magnitude of what you can do by using this technique. It is easy to learn how to program dreams. I will give you some of the specific techniques now, and you will be able to do this yourself, and teach your patients to do this as well. In logical sequence, let’s start with how you prepare yourself the night of the dream. There are several things you can do to enhance your ability to remember the dream. Everyone likes lists, so I will give you a list of things you can do: 1. Freud slept on hard boards so he would not sleep too soundly and this was so he would be able to remember his dreams better. You can try that – but it is a little heroic in this day and age. 2. Try the magic dream pill instead: take 100 mg of Vitamin B-6 the night before and you might even have the dreams in technicolor. Take 200 mg and you might not fall asleep – but if you really have to have an answer, you might do this and risk a night’s sleep. 3. Meditation at bedtime is helpful. This enhances our ability for dream recall. It brings our awareness to a slower brain wave frequency, which might be why we have more awareness during the dream-state – that is, because we have just been in a similar state with a degree of awareness. 4. Deciding in advance to awaken at the very end of the dream, is a critical element to programming. The dream is remembered best if you awaken at the very end of it, not in the middle of the dream or in between dreams. All you have to do is decide that is when you will awaken, and you will. Have you ever tried to awaken at a certain hour in the morning – and you find you awaken at the precise time you designated? If the mind knows when the hands of the clock are precisely at the designated time, it certainly knows when you have come to the end of a dream. 5. Deciding that you will remember the dream and that you will write it down immediately are two more critical factors. The mind will do what you direct it to do. You must of course have paper and pencil right there – or it is phony programming. You can even decide to awaken at the end of the fourth dream, remember it and write it down. We have four to five dreams every night, and if we awaken at the end of the fourth dream we do not

miss so much sleep. When I really need an answer, however, I load up on the vitamin B-6 and awaken at the end of each dream, start writing, and then wait for the next dream. Sometimes each successive dream becomes more clear and gives a more definitive answer. 6. Try to begin writing before you open your eyes. I place my left hand on the side of the page and start at the little finger and work down. When you open your eyes you are no longer at the same state of consciousness, and it might be more difficult to remember the dream. One time when I was having difficulty organizing a lecture on programmed dreams, for a presentation in Buenos Aires, I decided to catch the whole thing during sleep and just start writing immediately upon awakening – and I wrote 40 pages before I opened my eyes. This became the basis for my 1981 programmed dream tapes. In addition to these six factors for remembering the dream, there are at least six more factors that influence your ability to even have the dream: 1. The intensity of the desire or the intensity of the need to have the dream will have a bearing on result. If you are desperate for an answer you are more likely to remember the dream. 2. Negative programming will prevent you from attaining an answer. If you decide in advance that you will not be able to do it, this definitely can interfere. It is like plugging a problem into a computer but adding the stipulation that the computer cannot solve the problem. Simply decide your mind will retrieve the answer, and then observe what you receive. 3. Unconscious resistance to receiving the answer can interfere. You might be afraid you will get a certain answer you think you do not want. For example, a teenager who had a small inheritance, decided he wanted to spend the entire amount on an expensive sports car. I told him to program a dream to tell him what to do. He tried night after night until we both realized that he was not getting the answer because he was afraid he might get an answer he did not want to hear. So we made a slight adjustment and he programmed to get the answer that would bring him the greatest happiness. Now he no longer could have resistance to getting the answer, because he could not object to getting an answer that would bring him the greatest happiness. The answer came that same night, and it was to get the cheaper car – so he at least would have money to put gas in the tank. This is an important consideration. Sometimes we are afraid we will get an answer that we particularly do not want to hear and would not want to follow, and so we are unable to have the dream. The way around this is to decide you will get the answer that will work out best for you. This eliminates that particular resistance that could prevent you from getting the dream. I must digress after mentioning the dream of the teenager. The dream technique is wonderful with teenagers. Sometimes you cannot tell a teenager anything, but you can ask the teenager to try the dream technique, and you can support whatever the teenager gets -- because it is highly

unlikely there will be a wrong answer. When the teenager gets the answer during sleep, it comes from his or her own mind – and thus there is not the same level of resistance. When the teenager in the previous example received the answer to get the less expensive car, this totally satisfied him. When you get the answer during sleep, there is a knowing that it is the right thing to do, and that it will work out best. 4. When you use the dream to try to help others, it works better. This is the correct direction of flow of energy. Daniel used this technique to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. King Nebuchadnezzar was going to execute his wise men if they could not interpret his dream – but he would not tell them what his dream was. So Daniel said “don’t do that: I’ll interpret your dream for you.” And he told King Nebuchadnezzar “I first have to have a dream that will explain your dream to me.” Now you know he had to get the answer – to save the lives of the other people. This principle holds true. When you are doing something for someone else, you really do enhance your performance. There is more about this factor in the love-energy presentation that follows. You also realize from this example, of course, that Daniel used this very same programmed dream technique. He simply decided to have a dream that would explain Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him. You can do that when you don’t understand your own dreams – or when someone else is having a dream that they cannot understand. The mind reaches beyond the dreamer, and we realize this over and over again with the programmed dreams. From what you know about dream programming so far, there is nothing that could prevent Daniel from getting this dream, because there really are no boundaries or limits during sleep. So he had the dream that interpreted the king’s dream – even though the king never had told him what his dream was. This is just our programmed dream technique, and it has no limits. Some persons are more talented than others, of course, and there are very few Daniels and very few Edgar Caseys, but everyone can do this and everyone can get enlightened information – particularly if the desire is strong. 5. Write the programmed question the night before. The language must be precise, and the question must be formulated with hair-splitting precision. The wording cannot be sloppy or inaccurate: For example, one 70-year-old lady wanted to travel to the Orient, but she was afraid of heights and was apprehensive that someone would book her in the 10th floor of a hotel somewhere in China – so she was hesitant to go. For weeks I had her programming what to do about her fear of heights, and she kept having dreams about being in one story buildings. Finally, somewhat disgruntled, she complained “I don’t seem to be getting the answer.” I too puzzled, but then during sleep I myself realized that she was getting the answer every single night. What should a 70-year-old lady do about her fear of heights? She shouldn’t go into tall buildings! When I told her

this the next week she was still disgruntled, but clarified: “I don’t want to know what I should do about my fear of heights; I want to know what I should do to get over my fear of heights!” That was a different question. Her dream answer the next week was not psychoanalysis; it was every day one step higher. Thus you can see the precision needed when formulating the question. Change one word and you get a different answer. 6. While the question must be formulated with very precise wording, it also must be all-inclusive. That is, we must not place limits on the answer. We cannot ask, should I do “A” or “B” – because there might be a million alternatives. The programmed dream technique is perfect for research and for discovery. With direct access to the most creative levels of mind, and with access to information that goes beyond body/mind/brain/thought, to total enlightenment, we have access to unlimited resources. Here are some common programmed dreams with precise wording that is required for a successful result: Medical problems: Decide: I will have a dream about my medical condition and the interpretation of the dream will tell me exactly what it is and exactly what to do about it. I will awaken at the very end of the dream and write it down. Note: the programming is not “should I or shouldn’t I have surgery.” That would limit you to two choices out of perhaps millions in the universe. Employment: Decide: I will have a dream about employment and the interpretation of the dream will tell me exactly what to do. I will awaken at the very end of the dream, remember it and write it down. Abortion: I will have a dream about the pregnancy, and the interpretation of the dream will tell me exactly what to do that will work out best. I will awaken at the very end of the dream, remember it and write it down. Relationships: I will have a dream about the relationship with _________, and the interpretation of the dream will tell me exactly what to do. I will awaken at the very end of the dream, remember it and write it down. A modification of this when wanting to improve a relationship with a spouse or child or some other permanent relationship: I will have a dream about my relationship with ________, and the interpretation of the dream will tell me exactly what to do to improve it. (Don’t be surprised if the next morning that person spontaneously is very affectionate; this can change the other person.)

Trauma, such as rape: I will have a dream about the rape. The dream will not be upsetting, and the dream itself will resolve all upset feelings. I will awaken at the very end of the dream, remember it and write it down. Death of a loved one: I will have a dream about _______. The dream will not be upsetting, and the dream itself will resolve all upset feelings. I will awaken at the very end of the dream, remember it and write it down.

Programming, inducing, influencing or controllingyour 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.

EditSteps

1. 1

Have faith in this method.

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. Ads by Google

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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]

2. 2 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.

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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 towrite 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 visualization 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]

3. 3 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.

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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.

4. 4 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

1. 1 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:

o o o o o o

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.

2. 2 Go to sleep. Lie down and relax. Put aside all thoughts of the problem and seek sleep. o

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.

o Visualize something positive and beautiful before sleeping - a walk on a beach, a favorite camping trip, etc.

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

1. 1

Lie down, relax, and think hard about the problem you would like resolved, or the inspiration that you're seeking.

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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".

2. 2 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.

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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.

3. 3 Go to sleep with these images and sounds in your head.

Decoding your dream

1. 1

Awaken the next morning and turn to your dream journal immediately.

Awaken the next morning and turn to yourdream 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.

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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.

2. 2 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.

Boston, MA--October 12, 2000--A team of Harvard Medical School scientists has achieved what researchers since Freud's day have sought: a way to control--at least in part--the content of a person's dreams. They are using their dream-provoking method to explore age-old questions, such as: Where do dreams come from? What do they mean? What is their role in memory, learning, and creativity? What is their link to the unconscious? For years, scientists have been stymied in their quest to understand these associations because dreams are unique events that cannot be replicated. Until now. Robert Stickgold, HMS assistant professor of psychiatry, and his colleagues report in the Oct. 13 Science that they were able to get 17 different people to see the same dream images as they drifted off to sleep. Stickgold and his colleages elicited the carbon-copy images using the computer game Tetris, training 27 subjects--12 novices, 10 experts and 5 amnesiacs--to play the game over the course of three days--a two-hour morning and one-hour evening session the first day and an hour-long morning and evening session each of the following two days. They then monitored the subjects' dreams as they were drifting to sleep on the first two evenings. Seventeen of the subjects, over 60 percent of the total, reported dreaming at least once in the hour after they fell asleep, and all reported the exact same dream images--falling Tetris pieces. And intriguingly, the majority of dream reports occurred on the second rather than the first night of training. This lag between first training and most intensive dreaming is interesting for the light it may shed on the link between learning and dreams. It appears that the need to learn may actually prod the brain to dream. "It's as if the brain needs more time or more play before it decides, 'Okay, this is something that I really need to deal with at sleep onset," Stickgold said. Perhaps the most surprising findings of all came from the amnesiacs in the study. Co-author David Roddenberry found that when the five amnesiacs--who had no short-term memory due to hippocampal damage--were exposed to the computer game protocol, three of them experienced the same hypnagogic dreams as the normal subjects. "I was just stunned when David called me and said they're getting them," Stickgold said. Though amnesiacs were known to dream, their dreams were thought to have little to do with the day's events, since those events are not remembered. Stickgold had assumed that this would be especially true of the early, or "hypnagogic," stages of dreaming explored in their studies. Compared to later stages of dreaming, such as those occurring during deep sleep or REM sleep, hypnagogic dreams were thought to be more tightly linked to conscious, or episodic, memory. "We thought if there's one part of sleep that depends on episodic memories, which amnesiacs lack, its sleep onset," he said. The fact that some of the amnesiacs saw the falling Tetris pieces points to the powerful role played by the unconscious in dreams. In fact, Stickgold believes that the amnesiac's unconscious Tetris memories may have affected not only their dreams but their waking behavior. Unlike the normal subjects in their study--who improved in their computer games over the course of the three days--the amnesics showed marginal improvement. Most had to be taught the game all over again each day. But Roddenberry, an undergraduate at Harvard University, observed that at the start of a session, one of the amnesiacs placed her fingers on the exact three keys used in playing Tetris. "She did not quite know what she was doing and yet she did know what she was doing," said Stickgold. "In a way, this is Freud's unconscious--things activated in our brain, that are in fact memories that guide our behavior but are not conscious," he said.

The notion that dreaming is prompted by a need to learn was supported by other findings as well. The researchers found that novices who reported seeing falling Tetris pieces did not perform as well in their initial two hour Tetris training session as those who did not see the images. "It's as if the more work you have to do, the more likely you are to get the imagery," said Stickgold. Those who needed to do the least work were the experts in the study, each of whom had previously logged at least 50 and as much as 500 hours of Tetris playing, mostly on Nintendo sets. Half of them reported dreams of Tetris pieces falling before their eyes, but the last two experts reported an intriguing twist. Rather than seeing the Tetris pieces in black and white, as they were shown in the experimental protocol, they saw them as they appeared in their earlier Nintendo Tetris-playing days-in color and accompanied by music. This substitution of old images for new ones strikes at the most distinctive quality of dreams--their often astounding creativity. In dreaming, the brain does not merely replay memories but transforms them by associating them with old images and memories. "It's actually hunting around and finding other relevant information to connect to, which is the integrative process--which over time, I would argue, is a critical function of sleep," said Stickgold. "What we're really looking at here is the age-old mind-body problem: the mind-brain connection," said Stickgold. "We think of our mind as being ours. But there are real ways in which the brain has a set of rules of its own. We're getting an idea of what the brain uses as its rules for picking out cortical memory traces to reactivate and bring into our conscious mind, and, we're trying to see across wakesleep cycles how that process happens." ### Support for this research was provided by the National Institutes of Health and The Network on MindBody Interactions, a multidisciplinary research network sponsored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Begun a decade ago, the Mind-Body Network (www.mindbody.org) has been committed to discovering the biological mechanisms by which the social world and mental processes affect physical health.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/10/001013073843.htm