Making your dreams more memorable and more vivid

Meditation

Meditation does seem to be a good way to bridge the gap between your conscious mind and your unconscious mind. If you can do it, that's great, but if you're anything like me, it is usually thew last thing you want to do. One way I can coax myself to do a simple meditation is as follows: when I go to bed, I lie down, relax and try to stay awake as long as I can with a fairly empty mind. If I'm really tired, I fall asleep immediately (which is obviously what I need) but if not, then I enter the dream state as slowly as possible. Using this method, I am far more likely to remember dreams and details from them the next morning.

Gotu Kola and Rosemary infusion (ie tea)

In India, Gotu Kola (or Pennywort) is referred to as bramhi, or ’greatest of the great’, and is known as ‘the herb of enlightenment’.

Rosemary is also a good general herb for increasing the circulation to all parts of the body - including the head.

What I suggest is buying a small pot of Gotu Kola and a Rosemary bush and before bed every night making a cup of tea by placing a sprig of Rosemary (perhaps four inches long) and three Gotu Kola leaves in a cup of hot water and leaving it for 10 minutes or so before drinking. (Purists might want to cover it to stop the essential oils from evaporating.)

I definitely find that this tea makes a difference!

Click here for a fuller description of Gotu Kola plus photo and tips for cultivation.
Click here for a fuller description of Rosemary.

General Dietary Tips

Don't eat a heavy meal at night! Heavy food (ie meat and starches such as rice, pasta and potato) take a lot of digesting and cause most people to enter a deeper state of sleep where their consciousness is far less alert. It is definitely better to have a lighter meal at night than most people do -and earlier as well, so most of the digestion can be completed before you go to bed. Also have two or three cups of water just before going to bed to help flush the food through your system.

Also fresh juices during the day such as carrot juice are generally beneficial, as is a healthy diet with an emphasis on vegetables and fruit.

Raising Melatonin Levels

This makes a real difference, but can be a little harder to improve. For a description of melatonin and tips on raising your melatonin levels, click here.

B Vitamins

I can't say 100% if this is true, but I am told that having good levels of B vitamins in the body will help you remember your dreams better. So if you are on a poor diet, then you should try to correct it! Note that mushrooms are a good source of B vitamins for vegetarians.

Back to The Esoteric Page

This page was updated by Richard Holmes on Friday, 17 August 2001