Credit for this technique goes completely to Michael Michalko.
The sub-conscious mind is a surprisingly powerful tool, it contains a wealth of ideas, solutions, and insights that the conscious mind is unaware of. Many creative thinking experts pinpoint the sub-conscious as the best source of creative inspiration, and many say that their ability to tap into it is the key to their creative abilities. I myself have observed many discussions here at Force Academy talking referring to the infinite powers of the mind that are stifled by conventions that are drilled into us from a young age. These limitations that are placed on our conscious mind prevent us from tapping into the unrealized potential of our sub-conscious. Remember also that we use less than 10% of our brain, the conscious mind. Thus, the other 90% falls into the realms of the subconscious and unconscious mind. Just think what we can achieve only using 10%. Imagine the possibilities if we could somehow access the other 90%.
Unfortunately, because of these preconceived notions about the limitations of our mind, it is extremely difficult for us to actually tap into our sub-conscious. But techniques have been devised to give us a starting point: a gateway to our sub-conscious mind. Now I'm not saying that these techniques will in fact harness the power of the entire brain, but it is a starting point. The technique I will cover is one known as Dreamscape. It is a technique I read about in a book by Michael Michalko called Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Business Creativity for the 90's. While there are many useful techniques in the book, I feel that this one is a good starting point.
One of the best times to tap into the sub-conscious mind is when you are unconscious. Dreams can be surprisingly symbolic. You just have to find the meanings. While dreaming, your subconscious mind takes over: premonitions in dreams may in fact be warnings from the sub-conscious, from the unused potential of the brain.
To start with, you must keep a dream journal, a journal in which you write down every detail from your dreams. This is important when it comes to looking for meaning in dreams, but I will cover that a bit later in this lecture. While lying in bed before falling asleep (not right before but just before you start trying to fall asleep), get a pen and paper and write down a question, or number of carefully formulated questions, you wish for your dream to answer. By "carefully formulated" I don’t mean "How can I get rich?" More along the lines of "Should I invest my money in x organization?" Be as specific as possible.
Keep your questions specialized; and although open-ended questions are okay, closed ones tend to work better. After you have finished writing them down (no more than four), repeat the questions out loud then proceed to fall asleep.
When you wake up, quickly talk about your dream(s) to yourself out loud, and then write them down in your dream journal. By saying it out loud first, it lessens the chances of you forgetting the dream while you get a pen and your journal. Be as detailed as you can be while writing down your dreams, but don't get bogged down in details. As long as you get the key imagery down, it will be all right. After your dream is recorded, ask yourself questions related to your challenge. These can be as broad or specialized as you like.
Now take some of the images from your dreams and start free-associating from them, and you may find that solutions and insights start flowing through your mind. These ideas are those of the sub-conscious being revealed to the conscious.
Remember to always keep your diary current, even if you aren't formulating questions for your dreams. You will be surprised what you find in your dreams once you begin to analyze them. A dream journal takes very little effort (five minutes tops in the morning) and is an extremely helpful tool when it comes to realizing the power of the sub-conscious. There will be further lectures in this series describing other techniques identified as helpful in unlocking the power of the sub-conscious mind.