by Sylvia Farley

Created on: January 19, 2011   Last Updated: April 05, 2011

The best way to improve your dream recall is to write down every wisp of memory as soon as you wake up.  These traces fade so quickly that you need to fix them in long-term_memory before they disappear.  Rehearse them to yourself and try to understand what your subconscious mind is trying to tell you by identifying with each point that you remember. 

If you dreamt you were in a lift,  let yourself freely associate thoughts aloud, beginning with the words, “I am the lift” .  Perhaps you will go on to say, “I go up and down in the same place, day after day, but never get anywhere.  If you were lost in a strange building, say “I am the building.  Perhaps you will then continue, “I am huge and complex.  No-one can easily find their way around me.  There are many locked doors and secret rooms.”   Say whatever comes into your mind.  Write it down.  Even if it makes no sense now, it may do so later.  When you read it back, you will often realise that you have said something very profound about yourself.

When the dream fades too quickly, try a yoga technique.  Empty your mind. Form a circle with the finger and thumb of each hand.  Breath deeply and slowly, keeping your mind still and empty.  Make no effort to recall the dream.  Be at peace.  Sometimes a key picture or word will pop into your mind.  This technique is also very useful for finding other things you have forgotten, words, numbers, names, or even where you put the car keys.

As you piece together the pattern of your dreams, you may identify recurrent scenes or themes.  You can use these to clarify half-remembered dream fragments.  Immerse yourself in a dream you do remember and then allow yourself to follow it through to new ideas.  Your more recent dream may well emerge as you do.

The more you practise recalling your dreams, the more you will remember. Sometimes you may be able to note down several dreams in one night.

The next step is to programme yourself in advance to recall your sleeping experience. As you settle down to sleep, bang your head gently on the pillow four times, whilst you say, or think to yourself, “I am going to dream, and when I awake, I will remember clearly what occurred”. This technique also works to programme yourself in other ways.  It can work as a subconscious alarm clock.  Say, “I am going to wake up at seven in the morning” and bang your head seven times on the pillow. Confidence is the key.  The more you find the technique works for you, the more confident you will become and the more you will succeed.

Eventually, you will be able to programme your actual dreams. 

Perhaps you have a problem with a child or colleague.  Tell yourself, “I am going to dream about this problem and my unconscious mind will advise me what to do.”   Dreams that are pre-programmed in this way are much more easily recalled.  Finally, you will be able to re-enter a dream at will and recall more and more of  its detail.

Once you have developed your dream recall techniques and your confidence in the benefits of this practice, you will be able to use this valuable new tool to good effect.  Eventually, you will be able to use your dream content as the basis of new insights into yourself or others, new approaches to problem solving and even inspiration for plots, projects and new objectives.

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