If that's not the problem, then this is quite easy to fix! A lot of people don't remember their dreams simply because they're too busy. The first and most important thing to do is to take some action in the physical world to show your subconscious that you intend to remember your dreams. Often, just thinking about it won't do. You have to do something physical. One method that works well is to designate a notebook as your dream journal and keep it by the bed. Before you go to sleep, write down either what you'd like to dream about; i.e., a problem you'd like to solve, etc., or simply the statement, "I will dream and I will remember my dream."
Something that works even better is to get a deck of dream cards and start playing with them, even if you don't have a dream to interpret. This is more involved and makes an even clearer impression on your subconscious. You'll be surprised at how it responds.
My favorite dream card system is Strephon Kaplan-Williams' Dream Cards These are very, very in-depth and I will caution you that many of the images in the beautiful artwork contain nudity, and one or two are pretty graphic, so if this makes you uncomfortable then I wouldn't choose them. In addition to a 52 card deck of large cards with beautiful artwork depicting dream images, the set contains another deck with archetypes of the symbols and tasks for the dreamer to focus on.
Although I haven't read much of him myself and was not overly impressed with his dream dictionary, Leon Nacson has a good reputation and his card deck might do. For a good, basic dream dictionary, I highly recommend Craig Hamilton-Parker's The Hidden Meaning Of Dreams. Don't the the fluffy cover fool you. The artwork is beautiful, and his definitions are short and concise and point to applying the meaning of the symbol to your life.
The second most important thing is to learn not to jump up out of bed right away. Get into the habit of lying there for five or ten minutes to think about your dream and then to write it down in your journal. If you're afraid that you'll go back to sleep and be late for work, then sit up, but don't get up and go get your coffee just yet. Sometimes just thinking about it doesn't work as a method of remembering - if you don't write it down you may still forget later in the day. There is just a little window of opportunity there and if you don't catch it, your dream will fly right out that window. It's also believed that we are more likely to remember our dreams right after our REM cycle of sleep. For most people, this occurs around the sixth hour. If this is when you wake up, then you're right there in prime time. If you don't wake up until one or two hours after the REM cycle, it may be harder to remember your dream, but not impossible. Even if you don't remember your dream, write in your journal that you didn't remember your dream. This again puts in an order with your subconcious to cooperate.
There are times when we do remember our dreams later in the day although experts deny that it's likely. Those of us who have experienced it can attest to the fact that it does happen, albeit not frequently.
That's it for today. This little blog was getting lonely and I wanted to give it some TLC. I hope that's helpful, and don't forget to pick up your free dream interpretation guide and journal sheet from my website.
4 comments:
This is a great post...I have had medical problems for years, and most stem from a few things that were found in my brain, (I told everyone, that I really had a brain...J/K). I rarely dream, but if I do it sometimes hits me later in the day, leaving me wondering if it's infact a dream or my usually wandering mind???
Hi Robin! Thanks for reading. I'm sorry to hear that you're dealing with some things, I hope it's not serious. There are lots of things that can affect the ability to remember dreams so it makes sense that they could also affect the time that we do remember dreams."Experts" like to have their little sets of "determinations" and don't often like to explain any deviations from them!
Thanks for the post. I go through periods where I remember dreams more than other times. I also believe I went through some periods where I didn't dream at all due to certain medications or substances I was using. I do keep a dream journal though (http://www.dreamjournal.net) which really helps with my recall.
also i've recently had trouble sleeping and the doctor recommended ambien, that actually increased my dream recall as well as the vividness and clarity of my dreams. Although i definitely don't recommend it for that reason, but it certainly helps if you're having insomnia or trouble sleeping.
Hi Righteous,
Thanks so much fore reading. The Ambien probably helped your dream recall because it helped you achieve REM, you were probably exhausted and weren't getting any quality sleep. Used long-term it will probably stop having that effect once you catch up on your rest. If you continue having trouble sleeping due to anything other than stress, please make sure your doctor looks into why rather than just using a band-aid solution. Once you stabilize, you might try more natural means. There are a lot of good ones available.
That looks like a great site! I've hesitated to put my book on the market because I have a strong belief that the dreamer is the only one who can interpret their own dream. Books and discussions can help get your own insight going, but can't really you what your dream means, only you really know that. Often, a dream may have one meaning for us now and another six months down the road - when something happens that was related to our dream!
That's why keeping a journal is so important and I'm glad you're keeping up that practice. Whenever you can, try to write them out in longhand. It seems to be the general consensus among experts that writing in longhand makes a better connection with the brain than using a computer does. Julia Cameron, author of The Artists Way insists that our three "morning pages" always be written in longhand. Who has time, right? But I do find that that it does work best for me.
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