The power of dreaming

The nature of dreaming is something that has eluded the scientific community for years, this is mainly due to the misconception that the nature of dreams is chaotic. However this is not the case, our dreams do serve a specific function in regards to processing our memories.

When we go to sleep at night we enter different stages of sleep noticeably in this case specifically REM sleep or otherwise known as Rapid Eye Movement. This stage is inherently important due to the role it plays in processing memories and also resetting a person's nervous system. There is a large amount of evidence to show that if a person has a diagnosis of depression, or has had a trauma, then their ability to process their dreams is hindered. I cannot go into great depth due to word limitations and the very nature of the subject but I can give a brief description of what it is and its therapeutic effects. Also, it is something that can be discussed with your hypnotherapist.

Lucid dreaming is the ability to control the content or interact with the content of one's dreams. It has been said that dreams are the language of the unconscious mind. The actual technique itself in regards to benefits are massive. The applications can be applied to trauma, working with underlying stresses, phobias to the more positive such as goal setting, idea formulation and also developing a more positive mindset, and this is only scraping the surface of what can be achieved. The areas I have applied lucid dreaming to in my clinical practice has been varied, from the areas of trauma, phobias and even weight loss.

Having hypnotherapy or/and developing the ability of self-hypnosis is one of the ways that can be used to develop the ability of lucid dreaming, however, this can also be combined with other interventions such as meditation and also real life activities such as keeping a dream journal. This will not necessarily develop the ability of lucid dreaming but will allow you to start on the initial steps.

So if you are struggling with some current issues and you are finding that other forms of therapy are not helping you or looking to approach your problems from a different angle this may be something for you to discuss with a hypnotherapist or someone that is trained to teach lucid dreaming skills. As a therapist that actively encourages and teaches lucid dreaming to clients one of the books I highly recommend is 'Lucid Dreaming: A Beginner's guide to becoming Conscious in Your Dreams' by Charlie Morely, I have found it to be a fantastic book in regards to learning about the subject matter and it's a great place to start to get a grasp of the subject but I do advocate if you are looking to apply this to your life please seek out someone that is knowledgeable in this area.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author. All articles published on Hypnotherapy Directory are reviewed by our editorial team.

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