WORKING WITH YOUR DREAMS
Why we forget dreams
Before we can start working with our dreams, it is important to train ourselves to consistently remember them when we awake. As mentioned in part one, it is important to tell yourself (before you go to sleep), you want to wake during your last dream and remember as much of it as possible. However, the main cause of not remembering dreams is the fact many of us do not want to, or know how. There are a variety of reasons for this: partly because we have closed our minds to the spiritual part of our life (which is, in essence the realm where dreams take place), or due to a tired body, overuse of medication/alcohol - and the most common reason, childhood programming.
In our youth, many who try to describe their first important dream hear: "...forget it, it's ONLY a dream...", and as impressionable children - many of us do so. Our minds, similar to a computer, once having been programmed to forget, will do so - until reprogrammed to remember. The exception to this is the occasion nightmare, or extremely vivid dream, which somehow crashes through all our defenses. This is why it is ever so important that a child is taught early on, exactly what a dream is, and how to work with it. Once developed, dreams can be just as important as our other senses, such as sight, smell, and touch.
For some individuals, a frightening dream experience early in life will cause a shut off all dream recall. People with vivid ESP dreams (especially those which warn of an unfortunate experience) tend to feel frightened, and even guilty, when the dream comes true, as if they should have somehow been able to prevent it. This can cause them to unconsciously determined not to remember their dreams, which they follow through on.
How to remember your dreams
Your lifestyle must first be considered, to create an environment that will assist you to remember your dreams. It is best if you can arrange your schedule so that you have 15 to 20 minutes to simply lie in bed after first waking, so you have some quiet time to think and remember. If you are the type that jumps out of bed immediately upon waking up, and charges to work, it may be best to set your alarm 20 minutes earlier.
Get a special notebook that is ONLY for recording your dreams. Somehow, attach a pen to it (so you don't spend your first 15 minutes each morning looking for something to write with). Keep this next to you while sleeping - the closer the better - under your pillow is a good suggestion. Simply writing a few notes of scrap pieces of paper laying around is not recommended - these tend to get lost, as do phone numbers which are collected the same way. A special notebook tells your sub-conscious you are treating your dreams with such energy - SPECIAL. Remember, your subconscious is a part of you, and besides knowing each of your thoughts - wants to be treated with respect in the same way your conscious personality does...
Besides writing down whatever story, or events you can remember upon waking up, it is good also to create drawings. Remember, your subconscious uses pictures to communicate, so ANYTHING that visually stands out in your dream is probably a significant message your spiritual self is trying to tell you. You will also find that once you begin the practice of remembering, you will get better at it as time goes on, as does anything you concentrate on, be it swimming, tennis, typing, and even memory.
However, the most important step to remembering your dreams needs to be taken BEFORE you fall asleep. What follows is an exercise on how to prepare, or 'tune', your mind, before you fall asleep. This will strengthen the communication between your mental and spiritual bodies.
NIGHTLY EXERCISE
Nearly all of us, unless completely exhausted, think of countless things before we fall asleep. We worry over the possible confrontations that may occur tomorrow, the arguments, or negativity, from several days ago (which still bother us), plus all the events from the current day, and so on. Actually, this chaotic pattern of thought before we fall asleep contributes to our dreams being chaotic, or not 'making sense'.
In the diagram A, you can see what happens when scattered thoughts enter the sub- conscious as you fall asleep. Basically you are creating many issues in which your sub- conscious must deal with, as it slowly takes control of monitoring your body systems during the night. In the same way Newton's law accounts for an equal, and opposite reaction to any force and movement, so it is with dreams and your mind. If you enter your subconscious with hundreds of tiny fragments (unresolved matters), then your dreams will take on this pattern, returning it as such to your conscious mind, when you wake up.
To create a stronger, clearer bond with your sub-conscious, the first step is to focus, or mediate, on ONE symbol before falling asleep. Spend some time to create this symbol, having it represent the 'door' between your conscious and sub-conscious. It is recommended to choose something you have always 'felt' was significant to your life, but do not 'know' why. The reason being is such a symbol is already important to your conscious/sub-conscious communication, and could speed up your dream understanding development by months, or even years!
In diagram B, note as you enter the sub-conscious CONSISTENTLY through one symbol, the messages will RETURN patterned through this 'door' as well. Not only will your dreams start making more sense, but you will receive more 'intuitional' information from your dreams as well. Remember, your sub-conscious is not bound to your physical body, and can 'travel' to other places on the earth (and off it) to collect 'impressions', and even information!
Besides training to enter the sub-conscious though the same 'door' each night, it is also important to do so with the same emotional energy....one that is relaxed, and at peace. Quite often we are so busy in the day, our 'worrying' is saved for whenever there is any free time - which the only REAL free time usually ends up being before we fall asleep. Try to change this habit. The best way to avoid worry before falling asleep is to bring back, and concentrate, on memories of your favorite experiences, places, or people. Fantasies are also good, such as flying, or being with one you desire as a lover. A worried mind falling asleep produces dreams of such.
Once your connection is strengthened, then you can experiment to develop other areas of communication between your conscious and sub-conscious. For example, a question can be attached to a dream symbol, so that your sub-conscious will create a dream of the possible solutions. All you need to do is focus on the symbol with your question, and fall asleep EXPECTING an answer. What many do not realize, is that to receive information from your sub-conscious, all you have to do is ASK!
Sub-conscious co-operation
Remember, there is a powerful co-operation between your mind and sub-conscious, in the same way there is working co-operation between your mind and physical body. An excellent illustration of this is the simple act of reaching for a glass of water to drink: the mind sends electrical impulses through the nervous system, which causes the muscles to react, the fingers to grab the glass, and the arms to move it towards your mouth. This co-operation of course, took some time to learn, as muscles had to practice, and develop some, before one is able to do this as a developing child.
The co-operation between your mind and spirit works much the same way - the only trouble being we often do not even recognize the spiritual side of our life, so this power, and co-operation, is not even used! Quite often we receive a strange, or even frightening dream, since the sub-conscious is trying to warn us of something, or to have us look into an area being ignored. Remember, your sub-conscious and spiritual energy is a part of you, and is looking after you as the metaphoric 'guardian angle'.
Be aware also that the answer you seek may not always come in the form of a dream. We as humans are not masters of time and space - but respond to these, as does our sub-conscious. It may be your answer will come in the form of a person, event, unexpected situation, or even something seen in a magazine, or on TV. Quite often, though, you will find that it was your intuition, or some 'higher' power, which lead you to this person, event, or magazine, in the first place!
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