From Where Do Dreams Come?
A dance floor in the attic of my house open to the stars, showing up for a school exam naked, getting behind at work and then even more behind with more and more people waiting for me, detailed faces of people that I have never met…all these have made me wonder, where do dreams come from?
I found a fascinating article, Where Do Dreams Come From?, by Siddharth Babbar at scienceabc.com. It says that dreams seem to arise in the unconscious mind and from there become a collaboration with the conscious (aware part of your mind).
What Do Dreams Mean?
Do you have dreams that seem significant but the meaning eludes you? Dreams heavily rely on symbolism and primal meanings. When I do dream interpretation, I hone in on those symbols and what they may mean particularly in your life. There are reasons why you keep having the same dream over and over: your subconscious mind wants you to understand something!
You can keep a dream journal to help you solve the mystery of your dreams.
Keeping a Dream Journal in 5 Easy Steps
Keeping a dream journal is by far the easiest way to remember more of your dreams. Here is how to keep a dream journal in 5 easy steps.
1. Select a journal and a pen.
You can get a fancy journal book and fountain pen or go with a little notebook from the dollar store and select a ball point. The important thing is that you select something that you like. As a practical matter, I like a small spiral notebook because it will lay flat when open and the pages won’t keep popping up like some of the more expensive journals I have used. I am in love with gel pens because I like the way they glide over the paper.
2. Place the journal and pen next to your bed.
If you wake up from a dream in the middle of the night, it is best not to disrupt getting back to sleep unless you really want to. I find that just writing down a few key words will trigger my memory of the dream in the morning. You can try to do this in the dark or use a little flashlight or book light to do it if you have a partner and don’t want to disturb him or her. When I am journaling in more detail in the morning from those few words, I usually find that the journaling will trigger even more to flow back into my memory.
3. Record your dream first thing in the morning.
Whether or not you wrote some key words or snippets of a dream during the night, record your dreams first thing in the morning. If you aren’t remembering much at that point, start with what you have. For example, an image of you looking through the open door of a tool shed. As you write that down and recall the image, most likely more will come. If you are so inclined, you could add a doodle of the image. If more doesn’t come, don’t be hard on yourself. It is best not to pressure or judge yourself because that won’t help. Just be willing to make a note if something more comes to you at a later time.
4. Pay attend to the emotions that you feel when you recall or think of the dream.
Emotions are a key component of understanding our dreams. Even if you don’t fully recall a dream, you may have strong emotion connected to it. Note what the emotion is. Examples of emotions that a dream could evoke would be dread, excitement, curiosity, anger, joy.
5. Begin to connect your dream life with your waking life by asking yourself the question, “How is this dream like my life now?”
Obviously in your physical life, you are not going to be flying to Canada through snow storm with a monkey on your back but you likely will find a link to your waking life that will unlock the meaning of your dreams. Get into the habit of keeping your dream journal and stay with it.
Over time patterns and meanings will emerge. I believe that you will discover some amazing things about yourself.
Take care and may your Divine Spirit guide you today and always.