Your dreams are a powerful means to understand the nature of your Self and help solve any challenge. A regular dream practice takes, well, practice, but can become a habit and yield great benefits. Here’s a simple 3-step process to guide you. (See all Practices.)
- Prepare. Place an audio recorder or notepad and pen next to your bed. Before sleeping, give yourself the suggestion that your dreams are very important, and you wish to remember them. If you have a specific question or problem, ask your greater Self to give you an answer through your dream.
- Capture. When you awake, try not to move. Ask yourself to recall your dreams. If you don’t recall any, ask yourself, “What was I just doing?” Then lie quietly. Capture anything you remember. You may also recall your dreams during the day. Be open and listen.
- Interpret. Typing on your computer in a meditative state may bring out more information. You can review your dreams with someone you trust, or use a dream dictionary, but ultimately it is up to you to decide the meaning and value of your dream symbols. Each person has their own system of symbols and meaning.
Group Activity: Dream Sharing
Our tribal ancestors knew dreams for what they are: communications from the gods. Dreams formed the very heart of their worship, as they should: their survival depended on them. We can use similar practices as our ancestors to help the gods, our greater Selves, help us in our daily lives.
- Establish the ground rules. Everyone must agree to operate in an atmosphere of compassion, privacy, and trust. They also must agree that while participants will be asked to share their impressions about the dream, the dream’s interpretation will be entirely up to the dreamer. Participants should never assume they know better or push their interpretation on a dreamer.
- The dreamer shares their dream, without any embellishment or interpretation, for example, the feelings the dreamer has towards a person in the dream, or if that person is no longer physical. If the information not in the dream, it shouldn’t be shared at this point.
- Each (non-dreamer) participant shares their ideas about the dream’s meaning. For example, if the dream has to do with dirt, a participant might associate it with uncleanliness, while another participant might consider it an element important for growth. It’s important to ensure that circle members are helpfully insightful but pushy in their interpretation.
- The dreamer, having heard many different ideas about what the dream may be about, “takes back the dream” and shares their interpretation, which may or may not include what the circle has contributed. The dreamer may continue the discussion if desired.