Why most dream incubation 'how to articles' are flawed

[lily moonsong]

Quote from: Experience-dependent phase-reversal of hippocampal neuron firing during REM sleep.
Poe GR, Nitz DA, McNaughton BL, Barnes CA.
VCAPP Department, Washington State University, Wegner 205, Pullman, WA 99164-6520, USA

"this experience-dependent phase shift, which developed progressively over multiple sessions in the environment, is consistent with the hypothesis that circuits may be restructured during REM sleep by selectively strengthening recently acquired memories and weakening older ones."

This is why whenever I obsess about a topic that I want to dream about, I never dream about it and once I give up and just think about homework all day, I end up dreaming about it.  This is the opposite of what most dream incubation guides instruct you to do.

Any thoughts?

[radman32]

the free-flowing state-of-mind is what connects us to where we 'desire' or 'attract' to. It's what develops the imagination to grow, the whole-hearted response of our nature is what we connect with.
That's my interpretation of where I am in conceptualizing that process. The talking mind is desensitized.

[Lezi]

This is the way I see it. Many people say that the purpose of dreams is to bring whats going on in your subconscious to the conscious right? Well if you obsess over something then it is already in your conscious, hence there is no reason to dream about it.