dream interpretation 101 dream journaling
As a teacher at a School of Metaphysics center and dream specialist, I enjoy asking people about their dreams. Oftentimes, I meet people who tell me, “I’m the type of person that just does not remember them!” Sometimes, this comes from the experience of being told, “It’s just a dream, honey. Go back to bed,” repeatedly as a child, or exposure to different chemicals in drugs or the diet. Regardless of the cause, dreams are highly valuable messages from the subconscious mind, a deeper part of the mind, which can give us insight on our state of mind, health, and numerous situations in our lives. To make the most out of these nocturnal visions, the first step is remembering them. Step One to remembering your dreams is choosing a dream journal. You can use nicely designed notebooks found at bookstores and specialty shops or use plain notebooks from office suppliers. You can even make your own! Whatever you choose, find one that you’ll only use for writing down your dreams. Step Two is preparing yourself to remember your dreams. Before going to bed each night, write down the calendar date of the next day. This sets up the expectation that you’ll wake up and write down your dreams. Also write, “I will remember my dreams!” underneath the date and sign your name like you are signing an important document. This also builds expectation of remembering your dreams. Then turn out the lights, close your eyes, and spend a few moments visualizing yourself waking up the next morning and writing down your dreams. Step Three is writing down your dreams. Make sure that this happens when you first wake up. Dream recall is at its strongest the moment you arise. Like the sound of an echo, remembering your dreams weakens the longer you wait to write down your dream. Write down everything that you remember, no matter how much or how little you remember. If you don’t remember anything, write down, “I didn’t remember last night’s dreams, but I will remember tonight’s dreams.” It is important to write something down every morning, because it strengthens your desire to remember your dreams. When the desire to recall your dreams heightens, your dream recall will strengthen as well. Overtime, consistent practice of Steps Two and Three daily produces the greatest results. If it takes awhile to remember your dreams, don’t get discouraged! Every time you practice these steps, you send a message to your subconscious mind that your effort to remember your dreams is sincere. Just like an understanding friend, your subconscious mind will give extra effort on its end to help you remember your dreams. Matt Valois has studied and taught at the School of Metaphysics for six years. In addition to giving numerous presentations on dream interpretation, he was also a contributing writer and editor of “The Moon’s Effect on Dreams.” He continues his work in dream interpretation through working closely with the School of Metaphysics’s Global Lucid Dreaming Experiments and publishing dream tips and articles at his website Dream Interpretation 101.
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