CONSCIOUS DREAMING
Can we have a say in what we dream? This has been the quest of many who are involved in dream research.
Obviously, we can't have any say in a God-given dream, precisely because they are God-given. But it does seem that we can “prime the pump” so to speak, and condition some of our other dreams.
This is referred to as Lucid or Conscious dreaming. It's been practised when dealing with childhood nightmares. The method involves teaching children that preparing the mind before going to sleep can control nightmares. This is done by saying to the child before dozing off, "You're going to dream tonight, but it's only a dream, and you can wake up whenever you want". This same technique can also be used for adults. The next step is to get the child or adult suffer to say "I'm going to dream tonight, but I can change the outcome of the dream if it gets too threatening".
Apparently, this works quite successfully, but again it can only do so when the dreams are not divinely inspired. Let me share with you a personal example of a lucid dreaming.
Recently, after reading of this possibility I had a dream that was quite threatening. I was walking along the top of a high wall, carrying some items that included a pack of cards. As I came to the end of the wall I realized that the wall had a gap of about one metre in it before another wall began. It looked easy enough to step across from one wall onto the top of the next, but then I realized how high off the ground I was. Fear rose up within me.
I couldn't balance myself very well because I was carrying many items in both arms. I had to rely solely on my ability to take a small leap from one wall to the other, using my body to balance myself without the aid of my arms.
I thought I could do this, but as I neared the edge of the gap I began to suffer vertigo. I had a mild panic attack and began to swoon a little. Then I regained my composure and began to step out to cross the gap. Again, as I attempted to do this my nerves failed me. I began to perspire and fear started to really take ove