Dream Programming

Dream programming is not as easy as it sounds. In its most simple form, it requires an idea or problem, which you would like to address in the dream world, to be held in one's consciousness while falling asleep. Anyone can try it and I think most people have had the experience of thinking about something in particular and then seeing it in their dreams. One of the most common experiences is thinking about a task that you do for work, falling asleep and then doing that task repetitively in your dreams. Recently this happened to me after several long days of refinishing a wood floor. In my dream I just kept sanding the floor, coating it with a sealer and repeating the process. Of course this dream was unintentional and, when I woke up, I felt like I hadn't slept at all because I was still at work in my dreams.

Programming a dream works very similarly. Choose something you'd like to dream about and think deeply about it while you are falling asleep. Tell yourself that you will dream about it. Don't just tell yourself that you would like to, but that you will. As you are falling asleep you will probably notice that your mind will wander completely off subject. Just keep catching yourself and bringing your mind back to where you want it to be. This is really a form of meditation and the ability to hold one thought in your mind for a prolonged period of time will increase with practice.

With enough intention you should be able draw that idea or problem into your dream world and work on or experience it on an unconscious level. The biggest obstacle to overcome is that the mind tends to wander easily and it is often difficult to stop the internal dialogue and maintain focus. It helps to practice meditation during the day as well. One practice I do almost daily is washing the dishing and maintaining my focus on only the task at hand and the sensory experience involved. If my mind wanders I bring it back to the sound or warmth of running water, the process of cleaning something that was once dirty or systematic approach that I use to get the job done.

My current dream programming is the same almost every night. My aim is better dream recall and an increase in lucid dreaming. Since I've started my dream program I've experienced a dramatic increase in dream recall and a small increase in lucid dreaming.

I've created an imaginary room with objects that represent certain programs. As I'm falling asleep I enter the room and close the door behind me. The room is filled with natural light and I walk across the wood floor to my bed. There are two night stands, one on the left with a couple of objects and one on the right that is empty. The objects help me remember triggers for lucidity with in the dream. The empty night stand is a place to put objects after I've had a dream so that I can check to see what has accumulated in the morning and use them to remember dream details.

There is a bottle of hand lotion that reminds me to look at my hands, if they look different I might be dreaming. There is a note pad which reminds me that it is often hard to read in the dream word. This notepad says, "you will have a lucid dream tonight." There is also a light switch which turns the sun which is shining through my large windows off. Light switches are also notorious for functioning improperly in dreams. I get in bed with Amee, who is already asleep and hit the light switch. The room goes dark and I begin a hypnosis countdown while envisioning my self descending a staircase into my unconscious. Along the way I tell myself that I'm getting tired and relaxed, my body and eyes feel heavy and other hypnosis techniques. If I reach the bottom and I'm still conscious I will just relax and let myself fall asleep. Often I fall asleep before I reach the bottom.

Dream programming may be difficult at first but the more you do it on a regular basis, the easier it will get. It's just like learning any new skill, it takes practice. I do believe that, after growing up with insomnia and a hyper-active internal dialogue, dream programming is well worth the effort. I really hope that more people learn how to use their dreams as a tool and have a healthy dream life.