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Unit 8 Daydream a Little

Eugene Raudsepp

Daydreaming has always had reputation, but now scientific research has revealed that daydreaming may actually improve your mental health and creativity. It can even help you achieve your desired goals.

\that way! Can't you find something useful to do?\those from their parents. And until recently this hostile attitude towards daydreaming was the most common one. Daydreaming was viewed as a waste of time. Or it was considered and unhealthy escape from real life and its duties. But now some people are taking a fresh look at daydreaming. Some think it may be a very healthy thing to do.

Attitudes towards daydreaming are changing in much the same way that attitudes towards night dreaming have changed. Once it was thought that nighttime dreams interfered with our needed rest. But then researchers tried interrupting the dreams of sleepers. They learned that sleepers who aren't allowed to dream lost the benefits of rest. They become tense and anxious. They become irritable. They have trouble concentrating. Their mental health is temporarily damaged. To feel well again, they must be allowed to dream.

Now researchers are finding that daydreaming may also be important to mental health. Daydreaming, they tell us, is a good means of relaxation. But its benefits go beyond this. A number of psychologists have conducted experiments and have reached some surprising conclusions.

Dr. Joan T. Freyberg has concluded that daydreaming contributes to intellectual growth. It also improves concentration, attention span, and the ability to get along with others, she says. In an experiment with school children, this same researcher found that daydreaming led the children to pay more attention to detail. They had more happy feelings. They worked together better. Another researcher reported that daydreaming seemed to produce improved self-control and creative abilities.

But that's only part of the story. The most remarkable thing about daydreaming may be its usefulness in shaping our future lives as we want them to be. Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser believed that much of his success was due to the positive use of daydreaming. He maintained that \can imagine your future.\Florence Nightingale dreamed of becoming a nurse. The young Thomas Edison pictured himself as an inventor. For these notable achievers, it appears that their daydreams came true.

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Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick believed that the way we picture ourselves is often the way we turn out. He offered this advice: \and you will be drawn toward it. Picture yourself vividly as defeated, and that will make victory impossible. Picture yourself as winning, and that will contribute immeasurably to success. Do not picture yourself as anything, and you will drift ……\

The experiences of some athletes seem to confirm this belief. For instance, John Uelses, a former pole-vaulting champion, used daydreaming techniques before each meet. He would imagine himself winning. He would vividly picture himself clearing the bar at a certain height. He would go over all the details in his mind. He would picture the stadium and the crowds. He'd even imagine the smell of the grass and the earth. He said that this exercise of the imagination left memory traces in his mind that would later help his actual performance.

Why would a mental vision of success help produce real success? Dr. Maxwel Maltz, a surgeon and author, say this: \an imagined experience and real experience. In either case it reacts automatically to information that you give it …… It reacts appropriately to what you think or imagine to be true.\

He believes that purposeful daydreaming builds new \positive memories improve a person's self-image. And self-image has an important effect on a person's action and accomplishments.

Can you use purposeful daydreaming to shape your own future? Why not try? Here is how those who believe in creative daydreaming recommend going about it. Choose a time when you can be alone and undisturbed. Close your eyes, to permit your imagination to soar more freely. Many people find that they get best results by pretending that they are sitting before a large screen. They project the desired image of themselves onto that screen.

Now picture yourself —— as vividly as possible ——the way you want to be. Remember to picture your desired goals as if you had already attained them. Go over all the details of this picture. See them clearly and sharply. Impress them strongly on your memory. The resulting memory traces will supposedly start affecting your everyday life. They will help lead you to the attainment to your goals.

Of course daydreaming is no substitute for hard work. If it's athletic achievement you want, you also have to get lots of practice in your sport. You have to work hard to develop skills. If it's school success you're after, you can't neglect studying Daydreaming alone can't turn you into your heart's desire. But in combination with the more usual methods

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of self-development, it might make a critical difference. It could be the difference between becoming merely good at something and becoming a champion.

If what researchers are saying is true, a life lived without fantasies and daydreams isn't as rich and rewarding as life can be. So they suggest setting aside a few minutes each day for daydreaming. By so doing, you may improve your physical and mental well-being. By taking a ten-or fifteen-minute \may add much to the excitement and enjoyment of your life. And who knows: You might see your own daydreams come true.

做点白日梦

“巴勃，你又在做白日梦啦？如果你那样消磨时间，你将一事无成！你就不能找点儿有用的事做做？”

许多年轻人都听父亲讲过类似的话，而且直到最近，对待白日梦的这种敌视态度还是非常常见的。做白日梦被认为是浪费时间，或者逃避现实生活及其职责的不健康行为。但是，现在有些人对白日梦有了全新的看法。有人认为做白日梦也许有益于健康。

人们对白日梦的态度正在变化，这与人们对夜间做梦的态度的变化非常相似。人们一直认为夜间做梦打扰了他们所需要的的休息。后来，研究者试图打断睡眠者的梦，但他们获悉，不让睡眠者做梦，他们就不能从休息中获益。他们变得紧张不安，烦躁易怒，精神难以集中，他们的精神健康受到了暂时的损害。要恢复健康，就得让他们做梦。

现在研究人员正发现白日梦对心理健康也很重要。他们告诉我们，白日做梦是一种很好的休息方式。但它们的好处并不仅限于此，一些心理学家进行过实验，得出一些令人吃惊的结论。

琼.T.弗雷伯格博士已得出结论，白日做梦会促进智力发展。她说：“白日做梦还可以使人的注意力更集中，延长注意力集中的时间，并能增强与别人相处的能力。对在校儿童进行的一项试验中，这位研究人员发现白日梦能使孩子们更加注意细节，他们感到更加愉快，能更好的合作。另一名研究人员报告说，白日做梦似乎能改善自制力和创造力。

但这仅仅是事情的一部分。有关白日做梦的最引人瞩目的事情也许是它们在按照我们的愿望塑造我们未来生活中的用处。工业家亨利.J.凯泽认为，他的成功大部分应归功于对白日梦的积极利用。他坚持认为“你可以想象你的未来”。佛罗伦斯.南丁格尔曾梦想成为一名护士。年轻时代的托马斯.爱迪生把自己想象成一个发明家。对这些著名的成功者来说，似乎他们的白日梦变成了现实。

哈里.埃莫森.福斯迪克博士认为，我们想象自己是什么样子，结果往往就成为什么样子的人。他个我们一个忠告，“在你心目中给自己树立一个形象…….这样你就会向这个形象靠拢。如果你比真的想想自己被打败了，单这一点你就不可能再获得成功。如果你想想自己胜利了，那将会对成功起到不可估量的作用。如果你不在以上中为自己树立一个形象，你就会

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