With few examples in our midst of powerful & skilled dreamers, some people spend a lifetime thinking that they just don’t dream, or that ‘remembering’ is a ability that doesn’t come naturally to them. In my experience, it takes very little to get your dreams flowing again.The starting point must be that your dreams are of value. From there, it is just a few simple steps and, in a week or two of practice, you will have nurtured a lifelong relationship with your vast inner knowing and creativity:
1. Before going to bed, set the intention to remember your dreams. You may want to re-read some of your previous dreams to strengthen the waking/dreaming bridge, or meditate on a question you’d like answered.
2. How you wake up is fundamental. Avoid using an alarm clock. Train your body to wake you up instead – you’ll be amazed by how accurate the body clock can be.
3. Keep your eyes closed and remain in your waking position. The dream can easily be dislodged, (especially by your to-do list), so stay present with the dream, as if carrying a fragile creature across a rickety bridge.
4. If you remember just a fragment, try not to judge or interpret it. Just hold that fragment, (be it a scene, image, character or feeling), and “rehearse” it in your mind several times until it feels solid.
5. Keep a blank journal by your bed and write down everything you remember. Dreams are like lovers; they’ll blossom if you pay attention to them and abscond if you ignore or invalidate them.
6. Be playful & persistent. Find enjoyable ways to explore your dreams in greater depth. Share them with a friend, start a dream group, paint your symbols or Google them on a quiet morning. Stay tuned for further clues in waking life.
The Living Bridge
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Yes, this is so right, this is my experience too.
I wanted to remember my dreams. I started writing and / or drawing them, seeing the patterns.. I began to remember all the dreams appearing during the night. After some time I counted five or more every night for weeks and months, and I had to tell my dream self not to remember them all, as I got so tired by this ongoing movie! Only the most important, thank you. That worked just perfect. I kept journaling my dreams for more than 10 years, no problem, after a short time I remembered the dreams during the day, to write in the evening, when the busyness of the day faded away. Now I get only the dreams that I need, the dreams that tells me something special, that carries a deeper feeling or longing.
With love, Mette
Beautiful sharing Mette! I’ve seen that pendulum swing too, from no dreams at all to an overwhelm of plots and subplots. I love your solution in simply asking for them to be more succinct. So often these short dreams pack a real punch and, given their simplicity, allow us to focus our attention. Isn’t is delightful how dreams respond so generously to our requests?
Lovely post, Toko-pa. I love Mette’s comment too, which demonstrates how you develop a relationship with your dreams in which you can negotiate and use intention. I think the most valuable thing is that experience of flow you get when you recall something every night – whether it’s half a dozen long narratives or a single arresting image. It puts waking life in a wider context, like the experience of walking in a wild place, where you know how small you are, and it feels exhilarating
Wonderfully said, Jenny. Yes – it’s what I call the Dynamic Reciprocity between waking & dreaming. It’s just a fuller, richer, more magical way to live!