You can't keep this up; you become habitualised to recording your dreams and you find yourself losing sleep waking up t write them down. They can be revealing.
See also ‘Working with dreams and images
Motivate yourself to remember your dreams
When you stir into consciousness lie quietly until the dream is recalled.
Make a record, a note at least. (Not sure about drawing it)
Keep a tape recorder by the bed L
(If you have someone else in bed with you this is impractical)
If you wake up remembering a dream jot down the basics before they disappear for ever then try this set of questions to extract your personal meaning:
I don't recall where I got is from but suspect as I am introduced to her work as part of B822 'Creativity, Innovation and Change' that it is Patricia Garfield (1976).
I have recorded and analysed so many dreams that for a period I kept a dream diary and when I started to blog in 1999 many dreams went into a domain which I have now mislaid Meanwhile, search 'dream' here or 'dream' in my mind bursts will produce a handful of dreams I am prepared to share that I have analysed to death. But does it move me on? Sometimes stopping to think is a mistake, it results in over thinking, even procrastination, often disatisfaction with your lot.
It is part of the 'Technique Library'. We are invited to 'Keep a dream diary'.
1: Who are you in the dream?
2: Who are you with in the dream?
3: What details stand out?
4: What do you feel about these details?
5: What are the various actions in the dream?
6: How are you acting and behaving in this dream?
7: What relation does this dream have to your personality?
8: What does the dream want from you?
9: What are the various feelings in this dream?
10: What relation does this dream have to what is happening right now in your life?
11: Why did you need this dream?
12: Why have you had this dream right now?
13: What relation does this dream have to something in your future?
14: What questions arise because of this dream work?
15: Who or what is the adversary in the dream?
16: What is being wounded in this dream?
17: What is being healed in this dream?
18: What or who is the helping or healing force in this dream?
19: Who or what is your companion in this dream?
20: Who are your helpers and guides in life as well as in your dreams?
21: What symbols in this dream are important to you?
22: What actions might this dream be suggesting you consider?
23: What can happen if you work actively with this dream?
24: What is being accepted in this dream?
25: What choices can you make because of having this dream?
26: What questions does this dream ask of you?
27: Why are you not dealing with this situation?
28: What do you want to ask your dream spirits?
REFERENCE
McKim, R.H. (1980) Experiences in Visual Thinking, Belmont, CA. PWS Publishers (Wadsworth Inc.), pp. 101-3
Garfield, P. (1976) Creative Dreaming, New York, Ballantine, Chapter 8, 'How to keep your dream diary'.
Comments
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Bought a new diary the other day so I will give this method a go.
I've taken a copy of your post to print out the list of questions.
p.s. - I think Particle is a brilliant name for a pet
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Hey Jonathan
That's a lot of questions!!! Sounds very good, though. I have some very strange dreams probably related to the medication I'm on but not as strange as they were now that I don't drink caffeine after 6 pm.
Hope you're feeling better.
Sue
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I've just had a counter-intuitive thought, probably courtesy of the OU module I am doing 'Creativity, Innovation and Change' which gets you to 'think differently': what if, instead of using this set of questions to quiz your dreams you use them to analyse you real life as if it were a dream?