It's My Life . Emotions . Dreams . Controlling Dreams


	What's the most memorable dream you ever had? What do you think it meant?


Have you ever been in the middle of a weird, scary or awesome dream and then suddenly said to yourself, "Okay, this is unbelievable. I've got to be dreaming." This sudden realization that you're in a dream, rather than your waking life, is pretty common. Certain people can even take this one step further: once they know they're dreaming, they can decide what to do next in the dream.		Topics on Dreams: The Big Questions Why Do We Dream? What Do Dreams Mean? Cool Dreams Nightmares Controlling Dreams Dreams and Creativity Common Dreams Dream Symbols Dreams and The Future From the Mentors

This ability to control a dream is called lucid dreaming (lucid means aware). People who experience lucid dreaming might wake up right after realizing that they're in a dream. In many cases, suddenly knowing that they're dreaming seems to be what wakes them up...especially during nightmares. Some dream doctors think that it would be a bad idea to always take control of your dreams, even if you could. If our dreams really are a way to let our minds think differently and deal with information about life, then trying to control them would stop our brains from doing important work. Even if dreams are just play time for our minds, taking control might be like hogging the ball in a basketball game, never letting our minds get a chance to relax and work out all the stress of everyday living! Can dreams help us be more creative? Find out in our next section, Dreams and Creativity. Previous

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	Print out the "Dreams" Crossword Puzzle.


	If you were able to control your dreams would you: Do it every time you dream. Never do it, and let your dreams flow naturally. Do it once in a while for fun.