Dreaming is a universal experience. We all dream every night, although many of us don’t remember our dreams. The more we pay attention to our dreams, the more we begin to remember them.
For those who choose to work with dreams in therapy, they find that dreamwork increases their conscious awareness of themselves and deepens the therapeutic experience.
For more information on dreamwork as a therapeutic process, click on this link from goodtherapy.org.
Tips for Remembering your Dreams
Before you fall asleep, to prepare your unconscious, set the intention that you will remember your dreams by telling yourself “I will remember my dreams.” “I want to remember my dreams.” Remembering your dreams is similar to working a muscle. The more your work with your dreams and pay attention to them, the stronger your dream retention will get and the more your dreams will pay attention to you.
Keep paper and pen next to your bed and make notes as soon as you wake up. The longer you wait to write your dreams down, the less of your dream you will be able to remember.
Another option is to record your dreams using your smart phone and then write them down later.
Keep a dream journal or notebook instead of keeping notes on different pieces of paper can be helpful because it allows you to track your dreams over time.
t’s ok if you remember very small parts of your dreams and your notes are very short sentences or phrases. It’s ok to draw images or pictures from your dreams.
Wake up naturally, instead of waking up to an alarm. When you are jolted awake by an alarm, it can make it more difficult to remember your dreams.
It’s also useful for our work together if you think or write about the events going on in your life at the time of each dream. As we review your dreams together in session, we will slowly reflect on the images and their meaning for you. In this way, we will create a kind of dialogue between the conscious and the unconscious parts of your personality that allows new images and ideas to arise within you. This is valuable material that will guide and assist your therapeutic process.
An excellent resource for those new to dreamwork: The Beginner’s Guide to Dream Interpretationby Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D.
To find out more about what it would be like to work with me, or to see if we would be a good fit, click here to schedule a free, 20 minute phone consultation.