How to Remember Your Dreams
The most common thing I hear when I tell people about my journey studying my dreams is this:
I would love to do that, but I never remember my dreams.
In fact, these folks probably do remember bits and pieces on occasion, but are so used to dismissing their dreams that they fly away before the first cup of morning coffee. Here’s the thing:
You can train yourself to have better recall of your dreams.
A lot of it has to do with intention and focus. And you can also ask for help!
I set my intention to remember my dreams. I set my intention to study the messages in my dreams. I ask for my higher-self [or God or spirit guides] to help me remember my dreams.
Some interesting observations I’ve noted working with my dreams and those of clients:
You may find that once you have engaged a dream interpreter, you remember more of your dreams. It’s as if your guides know they have the opportunity to step forward and get their messages heard.
You may find that once you have engaged a dream interpreter with a specific method, your dreams use more of the dream symbols that interpreter would be familiar with.
You can ask for specific dreams. For example, “Please send me a dream about my job.” or “Please send me a dream that tells me which school to go to.” It may take a few days, but when I ask for specific guidance, I usually get it. There’s a cool dream example at the end of this post!
PRACTICAL TIPS
1) Record your dreams immediately with audio.
For many people, by the time you get your notebook or computer out, the dream will be gone. And writing itself is more of a right-brain task that can make the dream disperse sooner. I recommend using a voice recorder. There are many apps for your phone that will record your voice. Even the iPhone Notes app has an option where you can hit the microphone button and speak. There are also more sophisticated AI-driven voice recorders and apps that will sync to your PC or Mac or email you the text. But the most basic thing you need is a voice recorder. Experiment around with the app during the day to make sure the app is able to keep up with your voice accurately. Make sure it’s easy to operate so you can literally ‘do it in your sleep.’ If you’re old-school you can even use a tape recorder.
2) Have your phone (or tape recorder) on the bedside table, charged and ready to use.
The last thing I do before turning out the light at night is to make sure my phone is plugged in and that the screen that will appear when I open my phone is the one with my voice recording app. Every second counts, and fumbling around with your phone while trying to hold on to a dream isn’t helpful.
3) Practice recall before you are fully awake.
There is usually a half-awake state in which I become aware I am (or just was) dreaming. At that moment, I can decide to go back under (in which case very likely the dream will be gone in the morning), or I can decide to wake up enough to record the dream. But before fully awakening, I try to solidify my memory of the dream. Something like this: “I was just dreaming about a cruise ship and a woman in red and….” I try to recall as much of the dream as I can to make it more conscious before I fully wake up.
4) Record the dream.
If there is enough of a dream there to record, I then wake myself up, grab the phone, start the recording app, and describe my dream. Ideally, you can record it right there in bed. But my husband is usually in bed with me, and I don’t want to wake him up, so I take the phone into the bathroom and record it there.
5) Sometimes you can tease out more detail.
It’s like remembering the lyrics of a song or a past memory. If you can remember one detail — oh, there was a cat! Sometimes that will bring to mind other details - what the cat was doing or where the cat was.
6) Record everything—even if it doesn’t seem important.
I rarely remember entire dreams. Sometimes I’ll wake up and know I had a big, long, epic dream, and I only remember one little moment of it. An example: “I remember four adult brothers were sitting around a table. One was Sherlock Holmes. They were arguing, and a solicitor was standing at the head of the table trying to get them to agree on something. And Sherlock thought, “We really are bitchy, aren’t we?” Seems like a trifle that isn’t worth recording or interpreting. But something may be gleaned from it. Or you may have a dream that seems so nonsensical that you dismiss it as having any meaning (clowns in space!). Those may turn out to be the most significant dreams of all. Don’t second guess it while you’re still half-asleep. Record it.
7) Set your alarm for 1 hour before you need to get up.
If you still struggle remember dreams, set your alarm for 1 hour earlier than necessary. Turn the alarm off and go back to sleep. Your sleep will be less deep in that last hour so you may recall more when you wake up.
8) Certain foods, drugs, or drink may enhance your recall.
You may occasionally take an Ambien or melatonin or aspirin before sleeping. See if you remember dreams better with or without that onboard. You might remember dreams better if you don’t have that glass of wine in the evenings or if you do. You might dream vividly after eating Mexican food! Or exhausting yourself at the gym. Not that you will do any of those things every single night, but it’s interesting to note them in case you’re ever really desperate for a dream.
MORE TIPS:
These things are commonly shared in the dream community. They may or may not truly help, but I do them all because it doesn’t hurt!
Keep a big glass full of water next to the bed. Water is supposed to retain vibrations.
Similarly, you can keep a crystal under your pillow or close on the nightstand. Labradorite is often recommended,
Some people dream more when they nap during the day. Experiment.
BEAN BURRITO WITH BLUEBERRIES
I promised you an example of a dream in which I asked my guides for specific information and got it. Here it is….
I was looking at taking a hands on healing class. I looked at three options online and there was also a local woman in my area who taught it. I didn’t know which class would be best for me, so I decided to ask my guides. Before going to sleep that night, I said, out loud,
“I need your help picking the best class for me. Here are the options:
A) the class from internet personality Leah
B) the class from a local woman Sandra
C) the class from internet guru Mondo
D) the class from Spiritual School Mystic Muffin”
I repeated the options several times out loud and went to sleep. Here is the relevant part of the dream I had that night:
In the dream, I was eating a plate of food. I was with three friends and we were going to go somewhere for a big banquet/party. But I wanted a snack before we left so I wouldn’t be starving. The plate was pretty full-–more than I meant to make. The others looked at me like “why are you having dinner now?” I offered to share it. One friend took a small bite. The plate had a bean burrito with blueberries on top. The blueberries ere really big and ripe and appealing.
When I awoke the next morning, it took me a few minutes to realize what had happened. A bean burrito with blueberries! My guides are fricking hilarious. They certainly gave me my answer. It was choice “B” - the local woman, Sandra.
I did end up meeting with Sandra. And though I didn’t end up taking any of the hands on healing classes, Sandra introduced me to other people who became very important in my journey. Sometimes the guides work that way too. That bean burrito with blueberries prompted me to contact Sandra, not for the purpose I originally thought, but because she opened other doors for me.
