Twelve Tips for remembering your dreams

 

Hokusai: The Great Wave Off Kanagawa 

 

We know that the mask of the unconscious is not rigid – it reflects the face we turn towards it.
Hostility lends it a threatening aspect, friendliness softens its features.

C.G. Jung; Psychology and Alchemy (1944). CW 12: P.29

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Make being receptive to dreams an intention; “”I will be grateful to remember a dream when I awake.”

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Avoid the use of alcohol before sleep.

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Avoid using an alarm clock, if possible. If not possible, use the most gentle one available.

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Get enough sleep. Getting enough good sleep should have a priority over remembering dreams.

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Try not to change posture after you wake up; if you lay still you are more likely to remember the dream

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Keep a journal or recording device near the bed.

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Write down as many details in your dream as you can, no matter how minute or seemingly unimportant they may seem.

After recording the dream, note where the emotions are in the dream.

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When you do write your dreams down, use the present tense (“I am flying”) rather than past tense (“I flew.”)

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Write down initial random associations to the dream.

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Don’t worry about interpreting the dream initially.

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Sketch or draw at least an element of the dream if you can.

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Share the dream.
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