We Naturally Incubate Dreams

Dearest Dreamers,

You’ve read here before about incubating dreams, a process by which a dreamer works with his or her dreams to solve problems or gain insight into puzzling circumstances.

Gayle Delaney’s pragmatic handbook, Living Your Dreams details the process.  Here is a streamlined version:

·         No alcohol or drugs on incubation night.

·         Make notes about your day, including thoughts and feelings.

·         Write details of the problem.

·         Write a concise question about the problem.

·         Concentrate on the problem and question as you fall asleep.

·         Then record your dream(s) when you wake.  This comprises the stuff of your solution, even if you don’t recognize it at first. 

What’s wonderful is that this is how our dreams routinely work!

Case in point:

Recently I went to bed worried about our funny little kitten, Uma, who left the house two days before and didn’t return.  She followed her nose like a puppy, not paying attention to her surroundings.  Far away and disoriented, she couldn’t find her way back.

I didn’t think of incubation that night, but there’s no question I hashed through the events of the day including the fears I felt when our efforts to find Uma failed.

The problem was clear and simple – I feared for my little cat who was lost in the big world. 

The question wrote itself:  Where is Uma?  I didn’t have to tell myself to concentrate on this!  It was all that was on my mind! 

I slept soundly until 3am, when I woke with the following dream:

I could see myself from the back peering through the slats of a redwood fence.  I stood on tiptoes trying to see over the top, and went to the corners hoping to see into the yard it enclosed.

This dream was in my mind as I walked our neighborhood the next morning looking for Uma and that fence.  I saw many redwood fences, but none with the clean new look of the one in my dream.  I pressed on, farther afield than my previous searches.

Then I saw it.  At the top of a steep driveway, a fresh-looking redwood fence formed the gate to the back of the home above.  I went to the gate and peered through it from every angle.  No one was home.  I called Uma’s name.  No sign of her.

I left feeling sad, and returned twice more, repeating the actions I saw in the dream.  No Uma.

At last, I had to accept we might never find Uma.  Dejected, I went home to find a message on my voicemail.  When I called, the woman said she’d found a little cat in her yard with a tag reading “Uma,” along with our phone number.  Would I come and get her?

Perhaps by now you’ve guessed it ~ she lived at the crest of that hill, just across from the house with the redwood fence.

Though he didn’t remember the details, my husband also dreamed of finding Uma that night.  

Interesting, yes?  If you've had a similar experience with a dream, I'd love to hear about it! 

Sweet Dreams to You, Dear Dreamer!