Oh yes you DO dream!

Dearest Dreamers,

A friend told me recently she never dreamed!  We had to lay that misconception to rest immediately:  Every one dreams every night!  Now, it’s true that not all of us remember our dreams.  Some say they don’t even recall a snippet of a dream, ever.  It’s hard for me to imagine!  I always feel a little sad for those who don’t wake with an image of any kind.  Even if a person isn’t interested in learning about her dreams, just think of the entertainment she’s missing! 

Research shows that if a person is sleep-deprived, and therefore dream-deprived, she will suffer multiple effects ~ everything from irritability all the way to hallucination ~ almost as if her dreams begin spilling into her waking consciousness.  That can cause some real problems!

My friend asked for a means to begin remembering her dreams.  It’s not difficult to get started.  If you want to start calling your dreams to mind, take these few steps: 

1)      Follow a consistent routine as you prepare to sleep.  This alerts your physical self and your Dreaming Self to anticipate the night’s adventure. 

2)      Avoid alcohol and drugs if possible.  Of course, follow your doctor’s orders!

3)      Keep a notepad and pen at your bedside.  Some dreamers use a recording device.

4)      When you wake, don’t move!  Evidence suggests that dreams produce muscle memory, so the more you move about, the more of your dream you’ll be “erasing.”  Stay still for a bit and allow some reverie.

5)      Write down even the tiniest glimpse of a dream.  Nothing is too small!  Remember, a fragment of a dream may be a story or scene, but it can also be a voice, music, an emotion or an image.  Some even report a written phrase.

As though following your waking intentions, your Dreaming Self will most certainly reward you.

My forgetful friend fussed with the steps over a period of time, trying to get everything just perfect.  She was so determined to remember a dream that she hardly slept, and sometimes woke with her teeth clenched and a stiff neck!  She’d almost given up, but added a cup of Chamomile tea to her nightly routine and voila!  

Here is her first memory of a dream after following her routine:

I dreamed I bought a mailbox.  I shopped thoroughly and carefully until I found a sturdy one.  It was painted eggshell white.

That’s it!  Beautiful in its power and simplicity, isn’t it?  As though shopping thoroughly and carefully, she had worked diligently to get everything just right, to establish a method for receiving missives from her Dreaming Self:  A mailbox!  Of course!  What better metaphor for anticipation of her nightly travels and readiness to remember them?

But don’t forget the last detail ~ her mailbox isn’t just white, it is eggshell white.  Like an egg, bearing new life, this vessel will deliver her dreams! 

She has tapped a deep source of wonder, intuition, insight and growth.  Just lovely!   

Sweet Dreams to You, Dear Dreamers!