Recording your dreams is critical to a Dreamcraft Practice that helps you learn, grow, and transform to your truest self. Over time you have patterns emerge, and details repeat, that then give you more insight into the messages, themes, and visitations that happen in our dreams. But you have to write (record) them down. You need a dream record.
Lack of recording dreams is the number one thing that stops practitioners from having a meaningful practice. And there’s so much mental friction around dream journaling. Our brains – especially groggy morning brain – has a super power to find reasons to NOT record our dreams. There’s no dream interpretation without recalling the dreams. Writing them down solidifies that recall.
Dedicate, Devote, Defeat the Don’ts, and Document
Dedicate to the practice. You will need to give – dedicate – yourself for a certain amount of time – start small – new moon to full moon or full moon to full moon. Dedication gives you the permission to be disciplined about a new habit, and Dreamcraft really comes down to that discipline often.
Devote the resources. Schedule bedtime sooner so you can reflect before bed and set intentions for dreams, have your journal, a writing stick (or recording device of preference), leave it where you’re most likely to see it. I had a student long ago, keep it right next to her toilet because she often needed to use the facilities before recording; but, dreams can fade as fast as a stream of water. This student was able to multi-task and keep her practice on track. The details she would remember were incredible! It worked.
Defeat the Don’ts.
Do It Anyway trick. Even if you think you don’t remember anything, record it anyways. Write anyway. Talk into the mic anyway. You can write the date and how you felt when you awoke. Even the entry of “No recall” can ping a thought later in the day or that night, or when you do your reflection before bed. I’ve lost count on how many times I’ve not remembered when I’m recording the dream but after my first cup of coffee or mucking the barn…bam! I get a snippet. I record it as soon as possible. Sometimes a note to myself on my phone to include in my dream diary later. This defeat the don’ts strategy works because it begins to train your brain that recording dreams in the morning is a foundational routine. If you dedicate and devote, even a coupe of weeks of recording you’ll likely find that your brain will start recalling dream fragments just to give you something to document.
Don’t Open trick: Another defeat the don’ts tactic to try when you’re wanting to hit the snooze button – which is a big dream recall killer – but you seriously are too tired, is to use something you can do with your eyes closed, or half open. I often will resort to using a digital recorder in times like these. I can record me whispering a few key notes, like “there was a monkey in the kitchen”, or core emotions, such as “stomping mad” or any other random images – “we were watching a yellow star balloon sail through the sky.”
Don’t Move trick: Sometimes too much physical movement can act like a delete button for our dream memory. Some of us will need to just stay perfectly still for a moment. Don’t shift, roll over, or pick up your phone. Don’t even stretch. Just stay put and review whatever fragments you have in your dream while remaining still. Thinking about it for one minutes helps anchor it in your mind, making it much harder to forget once you’re putting pen to paper (or voice to text).
Don’t Expect trick: Drop any expectation you have of your dream being a cohesive story. Many dreamworkers end up not recalling because they are thinking the dream should be like a sitcom episode. Beginning. Middle. Conclusion. Short, bizarre or seeming nonsense in the dreams are all worth recording. Enter your dream work with nothing but expecting to keep track of it.
Document, Document, Document
When we document dreams we create a powerful tool not only for spiritual health, but it can also be a tool in keeping us mentally healthy, discover more about self, and boost our creativity. The logical mind lowers its guard while you sleep. Dreams offer a direct window into our higher selves.
The act of recalling and writing down complex, fleeting dream sequences strengthens your brain’s working memory and neuroplasticity. Reviewing your dream diary over time helps you notice recurring places, people, themes, which grounds you more deeply in your waking life.
Lastly, in order to unlock more advance Dreamcraft, like lucid dreaming, you have to learn to remember your dreams first. There’s no practicing to control your dreams until you teach your brain to recognize the distinct difference between the waking world and the dream state.
Everyone is able to work with dreams. You just need to: Dream diary first.
Wishing you all an easy time to Dedicate, Devote, Defeat the Don’ts, and Document your dreams!
Want to learn more about dreamcraft? I have an entire 10-week self-paced course on the Foundations of Dreamcraft. More information can be found on my website.
