INCUBATING DREAMS for Inspiration and Guidance with Laurel Clark
author of Intuitive Dreaming and The Law of Attraction and Other Secrets of Visualization




Why do people have flying dreams?
Handel’s Messiah, Paul McCartney’s song “Yesterday,” the Twilight novels, Monster.com,
the Periodic Table of Elements, and the sewing machine have one thing in common:
they were all inspired by night-time dreams.
Could you be the next inventor or musician or writer whose dreams give you innovative ideas?
You can learn to incubate dreams to draw upon their inspiration and guidance. Dream incubation is the process of consciously invoking a specific dream or asking a dream for an answer to a problem or question. This ancient practice became well-known in Greece when dreams were incubated for healing.
Incubating a dream starts with asking for a specific kind of dream (such as a flying dream, or a lucid dream) or asking for a solution to a problem (solving a brain teaser or more serious questions like career choices or scientific formulas).
HEALING ROOTS
Scholars note that written records of incubating dreams can be traced back to the 3rd millennium B.C. Dream incubation became well known in the temples of the Greek god Asclepius. In ancient Greece, dreams were considered to be divine transmissions; thus, dreams were incubated to receive healing from the god Asclepius. In some cases, the dreamer received healing in the dream and awakened cured. In other cases, Asclepius diagnosed and prescribed treatments in the dream that were administered to the dreamer upon awakening.
Both ancient and modern-day incubators report specific steps that are necessary for the incubation process. Metaphysical research on visualization describes how the conscious mind communicates with the subconscious mind to incubate a dream. The conscious mind produces a “seed idea” or intention, then shines mind light upon it by writing, drawing, and preparing with sacred ritual. Relaxing the mind and body enables the dreamer to release the seed idea from the conscious mind so that it can develop, or incubate, in the subconscious mind.
HOW INCEPTION WORKS
Upon awakening, being quiet allows the dream memory to come forward. Many dreamers find it challenging to remain still upon awakening before they start to think about the upcoming day. It helps to learn exercises to develop skills in concentration, meditation, and visualization. These practices help dreamers to consciously “incept” an idea in their own subconscious mind and then to remember it upon awakening.
Preparing a quiet sleeping environment as well as preparing a dream journal help the dreamer to remember his or her dream. The final step in dream incubation is learning how to interpret the dream to discern its message. When the dreamer acts on the message, it communicates to the subconscious mind that he or she is serious about wanting that inner communication.
In this webinar, I will teach you the steps for incubating your dreams so that you can make this practice a part of your life. I encourage all dreamers to experiment with incubating dreams and learning to interpret them. There is vast knowledge available to us in the inner realms of the mind!

Laurel Clark is a past president of the School of Metaphysics, the Board Chair of the International Association for the Study of Dreams, and the owner and developer of Whole Life Resources. She has been keeping a dream journal since 1977, teaching about dreams since 1979, and has appeared on radio programs around the world educating people about dreams. Laurel teaches, offers private dream consulting and workshops through Whole Life Resources. You will find her at www.laurelclark.com.