Last night I was reading my typical fiction book (espionage thriller) when the distraction of my newest public library find kept calling to me. On my bedside cube is a copy of the book, The Mind at Night. The story line of my other book couldn't hold my interest as much as the desire to pick up that book calling to me, so I gave in and switched.
Reflecting back, I realize that one of the themes of The Mind at Night addresses how our brain at night works on what we chose not to focus on during the day. So no, I didn't end up dreaming about the book I wanted to read - instead, I started it!
Written by a journalist who has been following psychoanalysts of late and comparing them to those who made focus on dreams so captivating initially, Andrea Rock writes in a compelling style. While she addresses highly technical topics, she does so by telling stories about the dream forerunners and pointing out why they were so passionate about their work.
I've only started the book, yet I didn't want to turn out my light to sleep last night. It wasn't that I feared what my brain would do, or that I would motivate certain dreams to begin. It was simply because I wanted to keep learning more about the brain when conscious and the brain when unconscious.
The test will be to see if I can awaken directly after REM sleep, remember my dream, immediately compare it to what I've been reading and get better at understanding myself! Or if I can't do all that, simply enjoy the book.
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