It Came To Me In A Dream
By Steve Gillman
Introductory comments
By Royane Real
Author of “How You Can Be Smarter - Use Your Brain to Learn Faster, Remember Better and Be More Creative”
The more I learn about how the brain works and what it can do, the more I am amazed at what it can do.
The brain can be trained to think in a very logical manner. This ability to be logical means that humans can be great at solving problems, particularly when you are dealing with problems that are mathematical or scientific nature.
However, the brain is also capable of far more. The brain can also be used to feel emotions and to be creative. The brain can also be illogical and uncreative. How you use it is up to you.
Oddly enough, being very logical isn’t always the best way to solve a problem. Sometimes the solutions to complex scientific problems have appeared in a mysterious way.
The history of science is filled with examples of complex problems that were solved by using the brain in a creative and illogical manner rather than in a logical manner like a computer.
For example, long before scientists knew much about how atoms fit together to make different kinds of matter, a German chemist named Kekule had spent years trying to figure out the structure of a molecule named benzene. One day while daydreaming, Kekule had a vision of a snake swallowing its tail. When he awoke, he realized that the molecule of benzene must be made up of atoms that formed a ring.
The problem had been solved when his conscious mind relaxed and his subconscious imagination took over.
Apparently even Einstein, the famous theoretical physicist did not use his logical mind to come up with all his theories about the nature of the universe. Instead, Einstein used his imagination to visualize what light and space really were.
In the following article, the author Steve Gillman discusses the way that he has sometimes had solutions to problems appear to him in a dream.
Why can we sometimes get an answer to problems showing up in our dreams? The reason is because sometimes our conscious mind keeps us from seeing the answer to an important question.
There are many other examples of people who received solutions to problems while they were dreaming. Why not practice using your dreams to solve some of your problems tonight?
(The introductory comments above were written by Royane Real. If you want to learn more ways to boost your brain’s creativity, download my book: “How You Can Be Smarter - Use Your Brain to Learn Faster, Remember Better and Be More Creative” at http://www.lulu.com/real )
Feature article:
It Came To Me In A Dream
By Steve Gillman
It came to me in a dream. I was explaining the "add-subtract-change" problem solving technique to somebody.
I had never heard of it before, but while awake I had been working on a book about problem solving. This new technique turned out to be a very useful technique when I tried it. It is an idea that has undoubtedly been thought of by others, but it was unknown to me until that moment.
I have had this happen before. I have had story ideas come to me in a dream, and solutions to problems. When I was younger, I even invented a way to sail my sled on the Lake Michigan ice in my dream. I tried it and it worked.
Maybe you have solved problems and had new ideas in your dreams as well. There is no doubt that it can happen, but how do we make it more likely, and more common?
Try the following.
Getting Ideas In A Dream
- Think about it a lot. If a period of intense mental work on a problem precedes sleep, the subconscious mind has been "instructed" that this is important, and will continue to work on the problem during sleep.
- Write the problem down, and what qualities the solution may have, just before going to sleep.
- Practice with simple problems. See if you can get yourself to imagine a new kind of furniture, or a new poem in a dream.
- Keep paper and pen by the side of the bed. Write down any ideas you have when you wake up. The process encourages your mind to have even more ideas. A tape recorder is even better, because you can use it without a light and quickly go back to sleep.
- If you wake up without an alarm, you are more likely to remember your dreams. If you need an alarm for work, try problem solving in dreams over the weekend.
- As soon as you wake up, quickly review any dreams you can recall. This "sets" them in your mind before you can forget them. Then you can think back on them later, to see if there is anything useful there.
- If you don't need sound sleep, try sleeping on the floor or in another slightly uncomfortable way. The repeated waking up and going back to sleep gives you more opportunities to remember dreams. I took notes on nine dreams one night in this way, and had two good ideas from them.
You can get good ideas in a dream. You can also have good ideas and solutions to problems come to you the next morning after you wake up. Review the problem mentally in the morning to encourage this latter process.
Are these scientifically "proven" techniques? No.
Try to measure the "value" of an idea scientifically. Try to say what counts as an idea, in order to see if the frequency increases when using these little tricks.
Scientific proof in this area is difficult for now, but people have had productive dreams for thousands of years, and there is nothing harmful in trying to find an answer in a dream. Why not give it a try?
Copyright Steve Gillman. For more ways to Solve Problems, and to get the Brain Power Newsletter and other free gifts, visit: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com/solveproblems.html
Article source: http://www.999articles.com
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