Watery Pisces swims in the subconscious and we all swim there every day in our dreams. I have, in the past, had many conversations about dreams. What they are. Where you are, really, when you’re dreaming and where you can go. Do we dream on the astral plane? Can we travel between realms in our dreams? What about time? Space? Or are dreams really just our brains playing make believe? These conversations can get heated. I will refrain from re-living them just now. I personally believe that very powerful magick can come from our dreams.
The first step to Dream work is dream recall. Some practitioners will move from there to lucid dreaming, intentional dreaming, dream incubation, dream walking and more. Some people use dreams as a leaping off point for astral travel and travel between realms and even in time. I don’t want to talk about what is possible. I will tell you that I have routinely used dreams to explore difficult problems to work out solutions. And, when my lovers were far away, we arranged to spend time together in our dreams. And maybe, once or twice, I might have used dreams to put an idea in someone’s head.
I have great faith in the power of Dreaming as a magical tool and a mundane one. I make a point of exploring concepts I am having trouble with before going to sleep, so I can dream about it and sort it out that way. It works and there are loads of anecdotes from scientists, writers and more to back it up.
That being said, the first step to dream work is dream recall. If you don’t remember your dreams, they can’t help you much, can they?
Getting Started with Dream Recall
Dream recall is simply remembering your dreams. Many folks don’t remember their dreams. You may remember that you had a dream or wake up feeling like you were doing something or someone had just told you something important but now you just. can’t. grasp it. But you can improve your recall with a few simple techniques.
First, start a dream journal. Yes. I am big on journals. If you want to make serious study of dream work, you’ll want a dedicated dream journal. Keep it next to your bed and keep a pen or pencil with it.
Set Your Intention
Set an Intention the night before to remember your dream. Open your journal and write the date at the top and then write “Tonight I dreamed:” then mark your journal in that spot and go to sleep. Keep your journal right next to you where you can reach it even without sitting up in bed.
Lay down, get comfortable and say out loud “I will remember my dreams tonight.” Alternately, if you are so inclined, you may wish to pray for the aid of the deity of your choice to assist you in remembering your dreams.
I like to listen to audiobooks to go to sleep. Don’t do that. Music is okay, especially instrumental. Nature sounds is even better.
Write it Down First!
As soon as you realize you are awake- grab your journal. Don’t get up to use the bathroom or get a drink. Don’t worry about what time it is. Just start writing.
Think about the last thing you remember. Was it a feeling? A color? A sound? A voice? Was something moving? Did someone say something?
It might not be much at all, but write it down. It might be something like “The color blue” “Something sparkling” “Downward” “Something metal. Large. Held together with rivets.” Keep writing. Then see if you can think about what you remember from before that. And before that. Things might start to take shape. Or they might not. And if they don’t today, they might tomorrow.
Some people remember images better, while other folks remember feelings or voices. Experiment and see what’s best for you. Once you’ve snagged the bit you can connect to, you can work backward to see if you can remember the rest.
Sometimes your dream memories will be short. Sometimes they will be epic. Sometimes they will have strange words or names in them. Look these up. They could lead you somewhere interesting.
If you absolutely can not remember anything about your nocturnal journeys with Morpheus,
Practice!
Dream recall is a learned skill. You will have to keep practicing. If it doesn’t work well the first time, keep doing it. Eventually you will be able to go to the bathroom before writing down your dreams.
What if you Don’t Dream?
They say everyone dreams, but not everyone remembers it. But “they” say a lot of things and I am willing to give people who say they don’t dream the benefit of the doubt. I know that there are many things that can impact the quality, vividness and impact of your dreams – such as medications, exhaustion and stress. I was once told that I shouldn’t dream, because my brain waves showed that my sleep was consistently interrupted just before I went into REM- but I did dream. So, there goes that doctor’s certainty about how it all works.
Nobody knows how it all works. But there are some things that have been shown to increase dreams or at least increase dream recall.
First, get regular sleep. If you are exhausted, you might just be too tired to remember your dreams.
Avoid suppressants, like alcohol and other sedatives and even stimulants that might interfere with the normal operation of your mind.
Reduce stress. Get some exercise and wind down at the end of the day with some meditation.
Interrupted Sleep – The more you wake up in the night, the more likely you are to remember having dreamt something, but alarms can be jarring and drive the thoughts right out of your head. Try drinking a glass of water before bed so your bladder wakes you, if it is safe for you to do so.
Vitamin B6. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the supplement increases dream vividness and recall. I was not able to find any studies to back this up, and some showed the opposite effect. B6 is important in the construction and regulation of sleep hormones, so its deficiency might interfere with sleep and dreaming but B6 is common enough in foods that this is unlikely. Please use caution and do research, because overdosing can be dangerous.
Melatonin. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Melatonin can increase sleep quality and dream recall. Other anecdotes suggest that it makes it harder to remember your dreams. Researchers have no conclusive evidence in this area. I have experimented with melatonin myself I do not recommend it. In fact, if you are taking it and can’t remember your dreams, I recommend stop and see if that helps.
Herbal Teas-Several herbs are well known for contributing to sleep and dreaming. My personal favorites are lemon balm and passion flower, which combine for a lovely evening tea. These are not your usual recommendations, though. You will be able to find more on the website at https://sacredhearth.com/tag/dream-work/
Aromatherapy Try spraying a bit of diluted lavender oil onto your sheets to help you rest and putting a drop of Rosemary oil on the pen you keep with your dream journal to stimulate your memory in the morning.
Let’s Talk About It
Do you engage in dream work? Keep a dream journal? Do you have any tips and tricks?
Comment below, or join the Patreon or Discord for more personal discussion.
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