How to Remember Dreams - Expert Tips

The messages contained in the dreamworld will help you decode and demystify the language of Spirit and help you make sense of the energy and messages you may experience in waking life. This is a language that speaks in energy, symbols, and feelings - and just like learning a foreign language - it takes time and effort to perfect.

The biggest obstacle to perfecting the language of dreams is an inability for most people to remember dreams. What most people don't realize is that remembering dreams is a learned skill. It takes a bit of sustained effort and a few small nighttime behavioral changes. So, do you want to heighten your dream awareness? The answer that I hear consistently from my clients is a strong yes!

IDream Wisdom is something that comes directly proportional to a) the strength of your intention and b) the strength of your actions. If you already are able to remember dreams, give yourself a pat on the back! Only about 3-10% of individuals regularly remember dreams. For the rest of us, it's a skill that takes perserverance and hard work.

Every night we have an opportunity to connect with our Highest Selves, our Guides, & our Guardians. Over the last 15 years of dream study, I've discovered some effective and simple techniques for helping to cultivate Dream Wisdom.

1) Just before sleep, physically voice your intention to remember dreams. While you may initially resist the suggestion to physically voice the words, I have found that it is more helpful than simply saying it mentally. There is something about engaging the vocal cords that helps to energetically program your nervous system.

2) Create a dream altar with a dream journal on a table near your bed. On the dream altar, place a dedicated Dream Journal, several pens, and have a flashlight or convenient lighting source. I have found that placing a quartz crystal on the altar will help raise the vibration and help you tune in to the Dream frequency. It is imperative to have a convenient source of light. I use this nifty little item, a high quality lighted pen that I have found indespensible.

3) Date your dream journal entry before you fall asleep each night, as this will help produce an expectation to remember dreams.

4) Set your alarm clock to wake you at a specified point during the night. If you are worried about waking either yourself or a partner, then drinking several large glasses of water prior to bed may be another way to assure you will awake (and thus remember dreams).

5) Establish regular sleep routines. This means starting your night of sleep in the same position every night, as well as going to bed and waking at the same time. Do not eat heavy meals before bed as this will interfere with your sleep cycle and your ability to remember dreams.

6) Upon waking, gently probe your mind and pay attention to bodily sensations. If you don't immediately remember your dreams, stay with a feeling, and follow it deeper by asking the feeling to be amplified. Specific recollections will often be triggered by focusing on vague feelings and sensations. If you're in a different physical position that you were while dreaming, try shifting your body back into that position. This will often be enough to remember dreams. If you cannot remember an image or event, stay with even the smallest feeling, try to make it larger, and it often will trigger a dream rememberance.

7) When writing, include all sensory impressions that come to mind - colors, images, sounds, tastes, people's expressions, settings, feelings, and emotions.

8) Make sure to write as much as you can. If you're sleepy or feeling lazy while awakening (common), then just use your willpower to bust through that. Even though you are groggy and tired when waking, it's worth it to write as much as you can before you forget. Here's some text, verbatim, from one of my more amazing, and yet frustrating, dream journal entries. It sounded like I had a near death experience. I had written the following: "I actually died. I drifted away. Things were then neutral and then sped up very fast into a vortex of life recall. Every memory of my life happened very fast. I was in awe." My current reaction to reading this past entry is "that's it?" Probably one of the most amazing dreamstate experiences I have ever had, and I didn't write more? Take those few extra seconds while sleepy to be as specific and detailed as possible!

9) Certain dietary supplements (e.g., Lecithin and/or Melatonin) may promote your ability to remember dreams. Please consult with your health care provider before starting any supplement or diet program.

10) Check out the International Association for the Study of Dreams. It is the best source on the web for the promotion of a societal and scientific focus on dreaming. I joined ASD in 1996 and have attended past conferences, which are exceptionally fun and stimulating!

11) Consciousness altering audio technology can help you remember dreams. Using these binaural beats can also help promote lucid dreams. I use them most nights before I go to sleep.

In a word, our dreams are powerful. And with practice, it is a power that we can indeed harness. With a sustained effort, practice, and a healthy dose of patience, you'll remember dreams - and your waking life will be richer because of it!

Consciousness Altering Mp3 Technology - Technology that automatically changes brainwaves to help you remember dreams. Also promotes lucid dreams.

The Complete Empath Toolkit: 44 Practical Steps to Master Your Energy; my book & audio package.

EmpathConnection.com - My free online resource center for Empaths.

LDintuitive.com - If you need healing for chronic illness or aches & pains, check out my good friend L.D. Porter, who offers remote healing.

Akasha Sacred Journeys - Join our small group in an upcoming sacred journey to visit Mayan temples and perform healing ceremonies in Guatemala. January 23, 31, 2010.

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