Meditation and Dream Recollection
How Meditation Can Assist the Process of Recalling Dreams
Apr 30, 2009
Dreams are a vital part of a person's inner life. Dreams can assist in the process of clearing out mental clutter, of coming to terms with loss, of revisiting the past or of entering a world of fantasy and imagination. Many people find it very difficult to recall their dreams.
Upon waking, the mind shifts out of its subconscious state and into the details of the day at a rapid pace. Dreams quickly evaporate.
Meditating first thing in the morning, before one even rises, is a highly effective way to train the mind to recall dreams. Once one remembers dreams, one can then write them down, analyze their symbology if desired and even begin to develop lucid dreaming states where one is in greater control and possession of the acts of the subconscious.
How Does Meditation Assist Dream Recall?
People who meditate regularly are generally less stressed out and tense than non-meditators. Their minds are more free of clutter and distractions. Mediation increases one's awareness of internal thought processes. It aims to detach the mind from negative impulses and obfuscating data that impede focus and concentration.
Meditation enables one to be grounded in the moment, in one's own deep temporality. Silencing the mind or at least quietening its voices is an important part of dream recall. When the mind is stressed out, over full, or entrenched in repetitive thought patterns, remembering one's dreams becomes nearly impossible.
People who don't meditate often wake in the morning convinced they have had no dreams at all. In fact, the mind dreams every night of deep sleep. A failure to recall one's dreams can keep secrets of the subconscious, the occult or simply the past locked away from one.
At its most basic level, dream recall, enabled through meditation, can bring pleasure — even without a deeper meaning — to one's day or life.
How Can One Meditate to encourage Dream Recall?
First, dreams usually occur in the few hours before waking. Setting an alarm clock for several hours before one wakes, then waking and setting it again for an hour or a half an hour later will increase the likelihood of dream recall. Create time in the morning to remember the dream before the daily schedule must begin.
Secondly, lie very still with eyes closed upon waking. Breathe deeply. Do not start thinking about the day's plans or anxieties. Remain as close to sleep mode as possible.
Thirdly, as with all meditation, let the mind drift. Release oneself from structure. If other voices enter, allow them to flow over and away. Gather the dream in loose fragments. Focus energy solely on the dream world. If necessary, ask slow questions regarding people or places that might have been in the dream. Intensify a calm state of deep awareness.
Lastly, after this meditation has produced dream recall, sit up and write down whatever has been gathered in a bedside notebook. The more this process is practiced, the more details will be available. Eventually, one may even be able to enter a land of lucid dreaming, in which one will be actively enacting the reverie as it is experienced.
 |
