“The person with dreams is more powerful than the one with all the facts” – Albert Einstein.
I’m sure Einstein was talking about those dreams which are our hopes and aspirations, rather than what goes on when we are asleep. I would like to posit that those movies we play when we are unconscious are important. Therefore, you should record your dreams so that you may benefit from them.
Why do we have dreams?
Why do we have dreams in the first place? Are they just an evolutionary quirk from when we first became conscious beings?
Flotsam and jetsam
Materialistic scientists would say that they serve no purpose. Dreams are just the useless items of our daily lives being washed up as we sleep, so that we can clean them out and forget them. Are they the de-fragging of the mind?
To make sense of the world
Other experts suggest that dreams help us make sense of the world and help with our memory building. It’s certainly true that lack of sleep can cause poor memory retention and recall.
Warnings and opportunities
I do believe that it may be true that some dreams serve no purpose or that they are our brain’s nightly decluttering. However, some dreams are there to warn of certain threats or to highlight opportunities.
The problem is that you don’t know which dreams are useful and which aren’t. That’s why I record my dreams so that I can look back to see what patterns there are.
How to record your dreams
How do you record your dreams when you don’t remember them. Dreams are like the will-o’-th’-wisp, they disappear shortly after you wake. Here are some tips to help you record your dreams
Say to yourself “I will remember”
When you are in bed just about to sleep, say to yourself, that you will remember your dreams. You are sending your unconscious mind an instruction and it will obey.
Notebook
Have a notebook next to your bed. If you wake up in the night or first thing in the morning, write down your dreams, before they evaporate.
Dream journal
It’s often a good idea to put these dreams into a dedicated Dream Journal. I used to put my dreams into a normal daily notebook journal, but looking back it was hard to find the entries. A dedicated dream journal will make it easier for you scan your past dreams to look for clues and trends.
Problems & puzzles – ask a question before you sleep.
Your unconscious mind will obey your commands if you give it a specific directive. If you are struggling to solve some conundrum in your life, try asking for an answer in your dreams. I’m sure this is where the phrase to ‘sleep on it’ came from.
Take a nap
Why wait for bedtime? You might be able to make use of napping. Often during a nap you will have dream-like visions or maybe you will hear yourself say phrases. These again can be useful if you have directed yourself beforehand.
Many famous people have used afternoon naps for this purpose. Thomas Edison would lock himself in a dark room to sleep on a problem. He would then wake up refreshed and usually with an answer to whatever was puzzling him.
Try it yourself. Get yourself a blank notebook and pen start recording your dreams. Also read my other post on dreams and how to interpret them.