You awaken from a dream, and you remember some amazing (and bizarre) details. Maybe you recorded the dream into a dictation app on your phone. Now what? What’s the best format for getting it on (digital) paper? What do you hope to remember?

What actually matters in dream interpretation?

Here are some tips for what details are ideal to write down from your dream….

REMEMBER - if you don’t recall a detail, it’s OK, just write down what you do remember. But if any of these details are there, make sure to include them!

LOCATION

What was the setting? An office? Tropical island? Restaurant? A cloud? Be specific.

“I was in a college building, but not one I recognized.”
“I was on the top floor of a skyscraper in New York.”
“This was old London, maybe Victorian era.”

The location of a dream has meaning on its own. For example, if you dream of your childhood home, the dream is likely about childhood influences. You may have multiple locations in a dream. Make note of whatever you remember.

2. NUMBERS

Every number has a symbolic meaning. In dreams they are clues to what’s really going on. Record every number you recall.

“The train conductor handed me 3 tickets.”
“The waiter said it was $1.50.”
“I took the #23 bus.”
“There was a little girl around 5 years old.”

3. COLORS

Colors can change the meaning of objects in the dream. The more specific the better. A drab brown-green has a different meaning than a bright Spring green.

“I had on a lemon yellow hat.”
“The stairs were black and red. Like a Christmas red.”
“The dog was on an olive green sofa.”

4. PEOPLE — INCLUDE TITLES AND AGES

If a person from your dream is someone you know in real life, name them. Describe what that person represents to you.

If they are not someone from real life, describe them. If have a title like “paramedic”, “repairman”--these are important too. Add any physical description and ages you recall and especially anything that stands out to you in the dream.

“The landlord was a fat, bald man.”
“My ex-boss John (he was always super nice and supportive of me—married, a ‘dad’ type, around 40) was walking next to me carrying a rope.”
“The little girl had red hair and was about 7 years old. She had on a dress.”
“A man was following me. He had one leg and used a crutch, but he moved very fast. He wore a hat and I couldn’t really make out his face. He was creepy.”

5. SHAPES

Yes, shapes have meaning too!

“There was a triangular craft in the sky.”
“We were sitting at a round table.”
“I opened a mailbox. It was like a regular mail-box only it was super long.”

6. EMOTIONS

Record any strong emotions you or others express in a dream. Be sure to include any strong emotion you feel upon waking.

“I was getting frantic.”
“I was embarrassed.”
“I was so anxious when I woke up, I had to remind myself it was only a dream.”

REMEMBER - Even fragments tell a story.

What if you remember hardly any of these details? No sweat. Just record what you can.

Sometimes I will awaken knowing I had an epic, long dream, but I remember one small bit of it. But that little fragment might contain a nugget of gold. Keep it!

A TEMPLATE FOR YOU

I have created a Microsoft Word template you can use for recording your dreams. You can find it here.

Good luck, Dream Surfer!