Our Dreams Are One of Our Most Creative Times, Should We Hold on to Them?

Summary

The article discusses the untapped potential of our dreams for creative problem-solving and artistic inspiration, suggesting that we should prioritize capturing these ideas upon waking.

Abstract

The article "Our Dreams Are One of Our Most Creative Times, Should We Hold on to Them?" explores the concept of utilizing our sleep time as a productive period for creative thinking. The author, a writer and mother of four, emphasizes that while we are asleep, our subconscious mind actively processes the day's events and works on solving problems. Highlighting historical examples such as Mary Shelley's creation of Frankenstein and Paul McCartney's song "Yesterday," the article suggests that our dreams can lead to significant artistic and practical innovations. The author reflects on personal experiences of recalling dreams after interrupted sleep and proposes that our culture's obsession with immediate digital communication may be hindering our ability to harness the creative potential of our dreams. The article encourages readers to consider reaching for a pen to capture dream-inspired ideas upon waking, rather than immediately engaging with digital devices.

Opinions

The author believes that our dreams are a rich source of creativity and problem-solving, often overlooked in our waking lives.
There is an opinion that our subconscious mind is a "high-speed puzzle genius" that processes information and emotions while we sleep.
The article posits that our modern lifestyle, characterized by constant busyness and digital distraction, may be detrimental to accessing the creative insights from our dreams.
The author suggests that we should give higher priority to capturing our dreams by writing them down immediately upon waking, rather than getting sidetracked by digital notifications.
The author implies that the traditional method of using a pen and paper is more conducive to preserving and reflecting on our dreams than using digital technology.

How to double your daily creative time by changing only 1 thing.

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I am a writer, it’s who I am and what I’d like to spend a lot more time doing. I am also a mother of four home-educated children which is why I don’t do so much writing, but apparently, I, like you, and everyone else is failing to make the most of one of our most productive creative times while we’re asleep!

We’ve all heard many times that while we sleep our subconscious brain takes the helm and navigates through the day gone by, along with all the dilemmas and plans for the future. While our bodies drift into their parasympathetic state and begin the process of rest, recharge, and repair, our minds are far from still. A high-speed puzzle genius is at work, processing and trying to find answers to our logistical, emotional, and relational problems and concerns. And that’s not all, be they nightmares or dreams, our sleep visions are laden with potential.

The disturbed sleep of Mary Shelley gave us Frankenstein, while the blissful slumber of Paul McCartney created the song Yesterday. And the potential doesn’t just apply to artistic creativity. What of Elias Howe who created the sewing machine thanks to a terrifying nightmare, or Dmitri Mendeleev, the Russian chemist who envisioned the periodic table in a dream?

So, what are you dreaming about late at night which you’ve forgotten the next day, and how can we access this untapped font of creative thinking?

The dreams I remember most on waking are those I have after I’ve either hit the snooze button or I’ve managed to fall back to sleep after being rudely awakened by a child who has yet to learn that darkness means sleep and staying in bed!

I think of it as an internal triage system… with the highest priority to repair physical damage and try to undo the tension and consequences of stress on the body, next process all the mental activity, and attempt to get the system into order for the next day. At the bottom of the list are things like repairing memory cells, skin health to prevent aging, and hair follicle nurturing to stop me from waking up and wondering who the old lady in the mirror is. Below this even still is the exciting work of problem-solving and creative thinking.

It strikes me that our culture of overwhelm and busyness has negatively affected an area of our potential we hadn’t thought of protecting. Most of us writers have a notebook and pen permanently bedside to quiet the nagging urgency of the characters or ideas that wake us at unseemly hours, but what of our mornings? What is the first tool to your hand, a pen or a phone? Are you immediately checking to see if the editor of the publication you submitted to at 10 pm last night has responded to you? Or are you checking your likes and comments on social media? Perhaps that dear friend, the pen, shouldn’t be overlooked so quickly and instead made our dream transcriber.

So, while I wait patiently for my mind to write me a masterpiece in my sleep, I wonder what you’ll be creating in yours?!

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