Keeping a Dream Journal

People who wish to look further into their dreams might think about writing them down. Dream journaling has a long tradition and can be another useful tool in dream work.
A small spiral notebook and a familiar writing tool is all you need. Keep them near a light source beside your bed.
It is recommended that you write about your dream as soon as you awaken. Details escape very quickly as the waking day intrudes upon the dream space.
One method is to make notations about the “5 W’s”. . . who, what, where, when and how. Who are the main characters? What is the plot of the dream? Where is the action happening? What time period is it? How did the dream make you feel? Or what was the predominant “feeling tone” present in it?

Answer the questions in any order and don’t worry about the quality of your writing. Just get it down on the paper. You may have to work backwards from the end (or when you awakened yourself), to the start of your dream.

Writing in “stream of consciousness” style is also OK. And, if you can, name the dream. The first thing that pops into your head is likely to be accurate. While it is fresh, go back and highlight/underline what you wrote that seems important to understanding the meaning of the dream.

Date the dream, and note if it seems to be one in a series of dreams about one issue, or one theme. Write down any “day material” (usually within the past couple off days) that appears to be connected to the dream.

And, finally leave some space between the journal entries. You may remember something later that you want to add.

Sweet dreams, Friends.

Day and days –

Seven days of dream postings raised a number of issues about which I’ll reflect as a wrap-up to the week.  Practically creative thoughts occur to me:
— The idea that I have a Dream-Maker has always intrigued me. I owe that force a lot . . . my sanity , actually. And, strangely, that entity has always seemed masculine in nature.
— Dreams have great power to enrich our daily lives. We can make sense of nonsense, make solutions easier and make ourselves wiser and more functional.

— Dreams are a subconscious activity coming out of the day’s events. The phenomena is the combination of:
1) integrating the most recent day material to match it with our biases, blocks, and beliefs;
2) psychologically processing the most recent events and thoughts, despite ambivalence and confusion.

Sleep well, my friends.

A Dream is but a dream . . . Really?

While you are in the dreaming state, it seems absolutely real. Those people who have “lucid” dreams report being aware that they are dreaming. If I am “day dreaming,” I lose the awareness of my surroundings and “get lost in thought.”
There are believable cases of dreams coming true, and reported dreams that foretold the future. There are societies in which the main topic of conversation is about dreams the members experienced, and are all working on during the day.
Beliefs about dreams are probably as old as language and as fascinating. For example, I believe in the possibility of a “Universal Consciousness,” into which all of us dreamers dip for information.
The mystery is that it is hard to really know the absolute truth about dreams and dreaming.  So I will share a few more little ideas over time and hope they are helpful.

Does a dream just happen?

When I have certain dreams, I ask myself, “Where did that come from?” And my first thought is, “Well, from my Dream-Maker.” But then I start to remember my “day material,” what was happening in my life in recent days. Those events and encounters form the most frequent sources of dreams. Add in your unresolved psychological “stuff” and you have a good amount of possible dream material.
But, did you know that you might actuallyly be able to help yourself have certain follow-up dreams? The process is called “dream incubation.”
Try this. When you retire, get comfortable. Get rid of distractions. Settle your thoughts. Pay attention to your breathing. And visualize briefly what you want your dream to be about. Say what your wishes are for the dream. You might want to learn more about an issue, solve a problem, resolve some ambivalence, etc.
Then just relax and “allow” yourself to sleep and dream.
Who knows what might happen.

The Practical Creativity Model

Most of us admire those we call “creative” people. And unfortunately, too many of us do not see ourselves as among those who are “creative.”

If that is the case with you, here’s a new way you might think about it. I call it “Practical Creativity.” Use this model as a way to problem solve.

Step 1 – Ask yourself, “What do I need or want?”
Step 2 – Then ask, “What do I have already, that I can use to get to where I want to be?”
Step 3 – Then determine ” What do I need to get, to go with what I already have, to make it happen?”
Step 4 – Make a step-by-step plan.

The practical part is deciding what you need. Creative thinking comes into play when you admit what you really want. If you can find creative new ways to use what you already have, you are on the way. If not, it is often more practical to buy what you need to go with what you have.

The beauty of being creative is that you may not have to settle for only what you need. You could ultimately gain your heart’s desire.

Telling your dreams

          “Sharing Dreams,” a poem

What do we know without truly knowing?

How do we see that we’re really growing?

There is a certain mystery in the telling of our dreams,

When illumination comes the way of stray moonbeams.

Will we find comfort as we risk together?  And in foregoing,

With temptation to avoid, will we miss Dream Quests’ showing?

There is certainty that pre history explored night’s mind screams.

We join with the ancients seeking Dream-Maker’s dark schemes.                                                                                                                 

Why come together to tell dreams when it is not easy going?

Will we be able to say the hard things if we’re not so outgoing?

There is certain possibility the Dream Journey seems like rowing upstream.

We might find it be too difficult to remember, find enough details to redeem.

Will others join the search, the dialogue of to-ing and fro-ing?

What thoughts, cares, memories, ideas will show new waygoing?

There is a certain common history in discovering Dream Themes.

When light arrives, we learn our shared myths are in the mainstream.

What if dream sharing is really for nurturing peoples’ on going?

Would we’ve believed Dream Community would be mind-blowing?

There!  It’s certain!  We now have new stories to tell our daydreams.

With wonder we’ve come to know things weren’t at all what they seemed.

by Carol Underwood

12/05/04

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How people share their dreams varies widely.  Some write them in a dream journal.Some tell them to loved ones or friends.  Discussion might follow.

While I was facilitating dream groups, members would first tell their dreams. Then the group would give feedback or ask questions so that the dreamer might find the meaning in her dream.

Here is a link to a handout that I gave to my Dream Group some years ago.  It is a tool to use when you are exploring your own dream:  The Five Dream “W’s”

Here is the link to my 2006 MGM post , Bloggers share their dreams

My thought about telling dreams is that it is yours to own.  Others can help but your interpretation is the one that really matters.

Can someone tell if you are dreaming?

We think dreams are private, and they are. But sleep researchers are able to see that their subject is having a dream. Sensors placed on the head (and perhaps other locations of the body) indicate the kind of brain waves being produced. Dreams have a particular pattern.
The other indication is known as REM sleep. R.E.M. stands for Rapid Eye Movements. Our eyes move behind closed lids as we dream. But our bodies are otherwise mostly paralyzed.
So there we are in the laboratory, exposed as dreamers, but the content of the dream remains our own drama, to disclose or not, as we choose.

More about that next time. . .

 

Dream after dream

There are some nights when we have a lot of dreams.

For me, I know so because I wake up feeling tired, or exhilarated or confused. My Dream-Maker has been busy helping me do the psychological work necessary for my health.

As a matter or fact, researchers have learned that dreaming in absolutely essential to maintaining mental health.  Subjects who were awakened, as soon as they were seen to be dreaming, became mentally unstable after just a few days.

So, if you wake up feeling tired after having lots of dreams, just be aware that you have done a long night’s work. . . and a good night’s work.

Do Nightmares Scare You?

We are still solving the mysteries of sleep and dreaming.  A dream can be incomprehensible mysterious, troubling, frightening, or so terrifying that you wake yourself from it.  But, “It is just a dream,” as your parent might tell you.

Regarding nightmares, here’s what I think.  Your Dream-Maker is trying to get your psychological attention, i.e. “This is a big deal.”  Through the dream you encounter fears, against-the-law thoughts, and other scary stuff that goes on in your mind.

But, here’s the good news.  Your conscious mind just got a glimpse of your unconscious mind, and that is always a gift to be explored.  Your Dream-Maker won’t allow you to know anything you can’t handle.

So the nightmare might be your most recent opportunity for growth through some thoughtful self-exploration.  Figure out what the symbols represent, perhaps by looking at what has been happening in the past couple of days.  Or what have been some of your persistent thoughts. The clues are all there, if you can solve the mystery.

Dreams are there to enhance your mental health and overall well-being. . . perhaps even those pesky nightmares.

 

Dreaming In Series

Occasionally, we have dreams that seem to be somehow related. The same characters interact, for example. Or we come to know they have a common theme.  Another type of series is a set is where it feels like “the same song, second verse.”
What our Dream-Maker might be telling us is that we are in the midst of working through an unfinished issue. Each dream adds information to our ongoing awareness.  And one of the things we know is that we have the dreams that we can psychologically tolerate.
Even our nightmares eventually become less scary.  Your Dream-Maker will not give you anything that you can’t eventually deal with.
Be clear-eyed about this.  Do the work, become more self-aware and move on.