Interested in your dreams but find yourself having trouble remembering them?
Here are some effective techniques for strengthening your dream recall, the foundation of any dreamwork practice.
Intention
Simply wanting to remember your dreams increases dream recall. Try setting a clear intention to remember your dreams before you drift off to sleep.
Write down your dreams
Write any remembered dreams down upon waking. Even dreams that feel so clear and compelling that you imagine you could not possibly forget them are often gone within minutes.
Be prepared
Have pen and paper ready right next to your bed.
Wake naturally, stay in place, reflect
Waking abruptly to the sound of a jarring alarm clock, and also quick movement upon waking, can contribute to forgetting a dream. If you cannot avoid an alarm clock, one that increases in volume slowly can be helpful.
Once you wake, take a few moments to consciously try to connect to any dream content while remaining in the same body position you awoke in, this often reels fading dreams back in. Even if you remember only part of a dream, no matter how vague or minimal, continue to remain in the same body position and recall as much detail as possible.
Once you feel like you have as full a sense of the dream as you can, proceed to move slowly, get your pen and paper and write down the dream – no matter how minimal the dream imagery may be, even vaguely remembered dream fragments are meaningful and significant. Additionally, more detail may come to mind during the process of writing the dream down.
If you’re short on time you can simply jot down highlights of the dream. This is often enough to bring the rest of the dream back to mind when you later have time to write it out in full.
Engage with your dreams
Regularly engaging with your dreams in some way also improves dream recall. Embodied Dreamwork Mentoring Sessions with Jessica Radulovich, HHP support you to learn many fun and effective ways to engage directly with your nightly dreams. You cultivate a conscious personal relationship with Dream and strengthen your dream recall.