It was only a dream, but properly understood, it gave the normally shy student enough self-confidence to stand up to her boyfriend. In Creative Dreaming, a brisk seller now in its third printing, clinical psychologist Patricia Garfield, 40, outlines a plan for controlling, understanding and using the dreams that take up an estimated one-fifth of our sleeping hours. An instructor at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Garfield, whose husband, Zal, is also a psychologist and part-time political advisor to Pennsylvania Gov. Milton Shapp, divides her time between homes in California and Harrisburg, Pa. She recently discussed her controversial theories for manipulating dreams with Christopher P. Andersen of PEOPLE.
Does everyone dream?
Yes, with the exception of people who are taking heavy doses of dream-suppressant drugs. Those who say they don't dream simply don't remember them. We dream an average of 90 minutes per eight hours of sleep and in episodes. The first part may last 10 minutes. An hour later, the second episode lasts 15 minutes, the third 20 minutes, etc. There is little variation except among infants. Before a child is 2 years old, he or she may spend up to 80 percent of its sleeping hours dreaming. About four years out of our lifetime is spent in a dream state, and we can shape our dreams to enrich and improve our waking lives.
Can anyone learn to "control" his dreams?
Many people experience a kind of dream control without realizing it. If you have ever stopped in the middle of a nightmare and reassured yourself that "this is only a dream," then you have had a few seconds of dream control, and that consciousness can be expanded.
Once control is learned, can we pick the subject of our dreams?
The dreamer can choose to make love with the partner of his choice, travel to distant lands, converse with any figure he wishes and even find solutions to his waking life problems. Studies have shown, for example, that pregnant women who dream about childbirth have a markedly easier delivery. It sounds bizarre, but the idea of taming dreams is nothing new.
Who first tried to control dreams?
Formulas for inducing dreams that might reveal some visionary truth date back to 3000 B.C. Hippocrates believed dreams could be used for diagnostic purposes, and even to cure illness. The ancient Assyrians had special prayers for invoking good dreams, as did the people of Islam. The Egyptians, the Indians and the Chinese all left written records of their views on inducing and interpreting dreams.
How does one go about inducing dreams?
Find a peaceful place where you can concentrate on inducing a specific dream. Then put your intention into a concise positive phrase. Rather than saying, "I think I'll fly in my dream tonight," say, "Tonight I fly in my dream." Repeat the dream phrase to yourself several times. At the same time visualize the desired dream as though it were happening. Throughout the day think about your desired dream. Before sleeping leaf through a book on the subject you want to conjure up. Inducing a dream may not happen immediately. It is a learned skill and at first may take several weeks. An expert can get the desired result in a day or two.
Once you master the technique of inducing dreams, how do you begin controlling them?
Keep a pad and pencil on the night table, and as soon as you awake from a dream write down what happened. Make sure and write it down in the present tense, as if it were still happening. Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, among others, kept extensive "dream diaries." These notes will give you insights into dream patterns that would otherwise be forgotten. Consult them frequently. Talk to the characters that appear in your dreams. Question them. Ask who they are, what they mean. Once you become skilled, you may find yourself engaged in some interesting dream conversations.
Has this happened to you?
Yes. For example, a high-school girlfriend who repeatedly appeared in my dreams asked me in one of my dreams if I knew that she always represented sex to me. "No," I said. To which she responded, "Haven't you noticed that I always wear shorts in your dreams?" On awaking it occurred to me that she was probably right.
Who are some famous creative dreamers?
Many writers—Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Louis Stevenson, Voltaire, Edgar Allan Poe—actually dreamed their works. The German chemist Friedrich A. Kekulé dreamed the molecular structure of benzene. And physiologist Otto Loewi credited a dream with producing his Nobel prize-winning theory of the chemical transmission of nervous impulses.
Are all dreams that inspirational?
No. Dorothy Parker dreamed that she had the answer to all the world's problems—and wrote it down on a pad. In the morning she found she had written, "Hoggimous, higgimous, men are polygamous/ higgimous, hoggimous, women monogamous."
How important are dreams for primitive peoples?
For the Senoi, a tribe of about 12,000 in Malaysia, dreaming is perhaps the most important part of life. Every morning at breakfast, each family member relates his dreams. Then they analyze each dream, criticizing or praising the person for his behavior in the dream, discussing possible interpretations, and so on. Most of their lives are determined by what happened in their dreams. Friendships are formed. Tribe members organize dream-depicted projects. Adults help the children to make artistic or mechanical things they see in their dreams.
How has this obsession with dreams affected them?
The Senoi are remarkably well-adjusted and mature. Neuroses and psychoses are virtually nonexistent.
Why has dreaming made them better balanced?
For one thing, they have eliminated nightmares. They are taught early to confront and conquer danger in a dream. If a tiger is chasing you in the jungle, don't run. Stand and confront him. If a rapist is attacking you, stay and fight. If you are falling from a high building, go ahead and hit the ground. It won't hurt. Overcoming threats and fears in our dreams has a tremendous impact on our waking lives, making us bolder, more self-assured. Another Senoi rule: always advance toward pleasure.
Is orgasm commonly experienced in dreams?
Female orgasm in dreams is rare compared to males, just as it is in waking life. Kinsey reported that only 37 percent of females experience orgasm in dreams by age 45—compared to 83 percent of males. There is some evidence that noncreative women have inhibited sex lives in their dreams, while creative women dream frequently of active sexual intercourse in unconventional settings.
How has your work affected your own sex dreams?
Prior to my exposure to Senoi concepts, orgasm was rare in my dreams. After efforts to advance toward sexual pleasure in dreams, not only did the orgasms increase, but also passionate dream feelings at all levels of sexuality increased.
How can dreaming improve sex life?
Increased sexuality in dreams may help develop self-esteem and confidence. By freeing up our sexuality in dreams, we may be freeing creative thinking at all levels of consciousness. Don't be afraid of what may seem to be incestuous or improper love in dreams; these are parts of you that need to be integrated. You can never have too many dream lovers.
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