Dream Experiences as a Method of Influencing Behavior Change

<p>A dream can impact a person so profoundly that it may permanently alter his or</p><p>her life beliefs or behaviour. Most of the time these gifts of insight happen to only a</p><p>rare few and usually occur without intention. These life-altering dreams are spontaneous</p><p>and unpredictable. While most studies focus on the content or meaning of dreams after</p><p>they occur this study explores the possibility of using dreams to influence behavioural</p><p>changes in the waking world. This study examined three of the dream elements</p><p>associated with profound dreams that could potentially be used to develop a systematic</p><p>method of using dreams to create behavioural changes. The three elements are (a)</p><p>Emotion: the ability to generate high-emotion states within a dream; (b) Narrative: the</p><p>formation of narratives within a dream; and (c) Reality: the ability of the dreamer to</p><p>perceive and accept the dream as reality.</p>