15 Tips to Remember & Reflect on Your Dreams

Throughout history artist, philosophers, inventors, and scientist have gained inspiration from their dreams. I was first introduced to dream interpretation in 2018 and over the last two years I have been taking a deeper dive and training to help analyze people’s nightly thoughts. Dreams are an amazing opportunity to explore our subconscious thoughts, feelings, and gain insight to navigating our lives. But many people struggle to connect with their dreams. Clients tell me all the time that they don’t dream. That’s not true, they just don’t remember their dreams. So, when they do remember their dreams they often think it’s a divine message from up above. Though visitation dreams are real, more often than not they are just finally remembering the message that their mind has been trying to give them all along.

In this blog, I will give you tips to help you remember your dreams, as well as how to reflect on the messages your subconscious mind is trying to tell you. Believe it or not, if you get eight hours of sleep at night you can have up to five dreams. Everybody dreams every night. It’s a natural way our mind processes information about the day when we enter REM sleep. REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement, which happens when we enter deep sleep. The eyes move back and forth because we are watching our dreams play out like a movie. Dreams typically last anywhere from 3-45 minutes long.

Before Sleep:

1. Establish a Routine

This is necessary for people that struggle with insomnia. It’s important to unwind from the day. Simple steps like going to bed at the same time, disengaging from mindful activities, and relaxing the body will train the mind to slow down and fall asleep faster.  One thing that I always suggest is getting prepared for sleep at least 30-60 minutes before bed. This way you’re not engaging in activity right before sleep and your body will be more prepared for a restful night.

2. Keep the Body Pure

Try to avoid things like alcohol, drugs, or sleeping pills. Substances disrupt your body’s natural sleep cycle. Even melatonin and other natural supplements can disrupt the body’s chemistry. Most substances will help you fall asleep faster but will wake you up in the middle of the night.

3. Limit Intake

Avoid eating at least 3 hours before bed. Studies show that people who don’t eat past 8pm not only get better sleep, they also lose weight and burn more fat throughout the night. Try to avoid spicy or greasy foods. They are known to cause indigestion, heartburn, and acid reflux. When you lay down the symptoms worsen, creating inflammation and raising the body’s temperature. Try not to drink too much liquid right before bed so you don’t have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Instead try drinking milk in the evening. Not only is it rich in vitamins but also in melatonin. It increases the circulation of melatonin in the body and acts as a good counter balance against the effects of spicy foods. 

4. Set an Intention

Right before bed I always say a prayer to God/Source/Spirit. I always start by thanking the universe for all the things I’m grateful for that day. Try to come up with 3-5 things that happened. If you’ve had a particularly difficult day, this is even more necessary. Start with simple things most of us take for granted like clean water, fresh air, the fact that you made it through the day safe. Then set an intention for your dreams. Even if you don’t believe in a higher power, you’re telling your mind what you want to focus on. It could be help working through an issue, releasing the past, or just wanting healing or guidance. Sometimes this could take a few nights to actually play out in your dreams so keep with it.

While You Sleep:

5. Keep It Comfortable

Make sure you’re as comfortable as possible. Set the temperature to optimize body heat. Wear your comfy pajamas. Reduce noise by having ear plugs, a white noise machine, or a fan. Limit light pollution with blackout curtains or an eye mask. Keep children or pets out of the bedroom in case they disrupt your sleep.

6. Place Crystals by Your Bed

Choosing the right crystals to have bedside shouldn’t be overwhelming. Salt lamps are great for purifying air as well as having mood lighting. Any blue stones such as Kyanite or Lapis Lazuli are very calming. Amethyst is a great stone for sleep, protection, and opening the crown chakra. Green Kyanite and Dream Quartz are known for helping with dream recall. But go for whatever stone you feel drawn to.

7. Avoid Electronics

All electronics give off EMF, electric magnetic fields, which is a form of radiation and air pollution. In the world of Feng Shui having any electronics, even turned off ones, disrupt the chi energy in the room. If you need to have electronics place them as far away from you as possible. Any electronics that aren’t in continuous use keep them unplugged. You can also place crystals near electronics that filter EMFs such as Shungite, Sodalite, Black Tourmaline, or Amazonite.

After Waking:

8. Wake Up Naturally

If you can, wake up without an alarm clock. Nobody likes their sleep interrupted by a loud beeping noise. Most of us need an alarm. There are clocks that wake you up with light, gradually getting brighter. Many phones have features that the alarm will gradually get louder. There’re even smart watches that track your sleep patterns and wake you up at the right cycle. If you have good sleep hygiene, you will start to develop an internal clock and wake up around the same time every day.

9. Stay Still

After you wake up, don’t move. Once you start moving your brain wave activity starts to rise and you will forget most of your dream. Lay still with your eyes closed and try to remember as much details as you can. This is also the best time to connect with the feelings from the dream.

10. Take Notes

Always have a pen and paper by your bedside. Jot down as much details as you can. Draw pictures and don’t worry about accuracy or artistic ability, it’s for your eyes only. Remember all your doing is transcribing the dream at this point. This is not the time to analyze it. You’ll be more effective at decoding the dream later when you’re not so emotionally invested and can think more clearly about the message. There are also dream journals that help you with dictating your dreams.

Reflecting Back:

11. Leave It and Forget it

I know this sound strange but once you record your dream, it’s best to just go on with your day. This is helpful because you’ll more likely to remember the most important parts of the dream and not get caught up in the details. Don’t waste energy on analyzing it. You just need the overarching message. The major things about the dream will reveal themselves.

12. Decoding the Dream

Now that you’ve done all the prep work for documenting the dream you can move on to analyzing it. First, start with where the dream took place. Location is like the back drop of a stage; it sets the tone for the whole dream. Then look at who was in the dream. Many experts believe you are everyone in your dreams. Think of them as a part of you in the costume, playing the role of that person. Pay attention to how they make you feel in the dream, not in real life. Then, notice the movement in the dream. What is happening, how are you handling the situation, what are you doing? This gives you insight to how your handling situations in waking life. Finally, take note of anything that seems to stand out or out of place. These are usually key items to decoding the dream.

13. Interpretation

Dream interpretation is both an art and a science. There’s no rule book, only guide lines to help. You need to know what the things in your dreams mean to you. Remember your subconscious speaks your language. In your world, a house may just be about where you live. In the dream world, a house can often reflect your inner self and the state of the house can depict your emotional well-being.

14. Nightmares

I know nightmares can be frightening but they don’t typically come out of nowhere. Unless you saw something frightful or harbor a deep fear of something then this has been building up inside of you for a while. Nightmares happen when you haven’t been handling a situation well. Your dreams have been trying to give you insight to the situation but if you aren’t getting the message then it manifests in your dreams as a nightmare. To end the vicious cycle, you have to change the narrative and outcome. Before bed, try envisioning the dream and changing the ending. You must face your fears and take back your power.

15. Repeating Dreams

If you keep having the same dream or similar dreams then you aren’t taking action. The dreams might even seem different but there’s always something in it that will be the same. I’ve had people tell me about a dream that they’ve had for years. You will keep dreaming of different variations of the dream until you deal with it in your waking life or learn to let it go.

Example:

I kept having dreams about needing to go to the bathroom. Every time I found one, it was a dirty public toilet with little privacy. Toilets in a dream represent frustrations that need to come out. I thought that once I knew what it meant it would stop but it didn’t. I had this dream from months. I knew it had something to do with a wider audience, hence the public bathrooms. It wasn’t until I realized I was frustrated with all the ugly (dirty toilet) things going on in the world (public toilet) that I was able to pin point the source of my frustrations. By acknowledging my feelings and realizing that getting angry at the world only added to the chaos; I worked to release the negativity by recognizing I am just one person living in the world, not running it. I choose peace and yes, it is a choice, therefore contributing to more world peace!

Interpreting dreams isn’t easy but once you start listening to what your dreams are trying to tell you it’s an amazing way to gain insight into how to navigate your waking life. Dreams speak in symbolism and metaphors. Remember not to judge your thoughts and be kind to yourself. This is an excellent way to get to know yourself on a deeper level and become more enlighten every day.  Keep on dreaming!

If you would like a dream interpreted visit my website intuitivewanderer.com for more information. I create a safe and exploratory place where your free to reflect on your deepest thoughts and feelings without judgement.