I have had times when I was consistent with keeping a dream journal and immediately scribbling down whatever I can remember upon getting up as otherwise I will forget the dream. I noticed the more often I did this, the more vivid my dreams got and the easier it got to enter a lucid state though briefly so far. Been a long time since I last did this though so I am back to forgetting my dreams completely again :-( . But looking back at my dream entries is interesting even when I don't remember dreaming many of them but a few will stick to me whether due to how profound they were or graphic they were (latter can happen when I am very stressed).
I recall one of my past professors who was a Jungian Psychoanalyst taught us this method of dream journaling which helped me:
1) write in first-person present tense as though you are witnessing the dream in the here and now
2) include as many details as possible no matter how seemingly mundane using 5 senses
3) include how you felt during the dream and at the moment of waking up (which he called the "hook")
4) after waking up, do a "ritual" that day that would honor the dream. For example, my professor once dreamt of wrapping chocolates so he went and bought those same chocolates to honor the dream.
I have never kept a dream journal so might try jotting down snippets I can recall, for that is about where I am after each night. Interestingly, I still vividly recall a childhood dream I had over and over again that was scary but not what I would call a nightmare. As I think of it in this moment I can easily pull up the visceral fear and yet decades later am thinking I might reframe its meaning. I can choose a different ending or continuation. Thank you for the Jungian info and here's to lively dreams that guide us well.
that is very interesting. While I have heard of the concept of conversing with one's dreams, it has not been something I have directly practiced but I imagine it would be very powerful. One of my poems that got published in a literary journal was directly inspired by a graphic nightmare I had that time. It is called Glass Speak and was published in Art Ascent magazine in 2017 if I'm not mistaken on the year.
Congratulations on your published poem, Reema! I will see if I can find it. Yes, we can be inspired even by the dreams we might rather not have. Happy December!
I have had times when I was consistent with keeping a dream journal and immediately scribbling down whatever I can remember upon getting up as otherwise I will forget the dream. I noticed the more often I did this, the more vivid my dreams got and the easier it got to enter a lucid state though briefly so far. Been a long time since I last did this though so I am back to forgetting my dreams completely again :-( . But looking back at my dream entries is interesting even when I don't remember dreaming many of them but a few will stick to me whether due to how profound they were or graphic they were (latter can happen when I am very stressed).
I recall one of my past professors who was a Jungian Psychoanalyst taught us this method of dream journaling which helped me:
1) write in first-person present tense as though you are witnessing the dream in the here and now
2) include as many details as possible no matter how seemingly mundane using 5 senses
3) include how you felt during the dream and at the moment of waking up (which he called the "hook")
4) after waking up, do a "ritual" that day that would honor the dream. For example, my professor once dreamt of wrapping chocolates so he went and bought those same chocolates to honor the dream.
I have never kept a dream journal so might try jotting down snippets I can recall, for that is about where I am after each night. Interestingly, I still vividly recall a childhood dream I had over and over again that was scary but not what I would call a nightmare. As I think of it in this moment I can easily pull up the visceral fear and yet decades later am thinking I might reframe its meaning. I can choose a different ending or continuation. Thank you for the Jungian info and here's to lively dreams that guide us well.
that is very interesting. While I have heard of the concept of conversing with one's dreams, it has not been something I have directly practiced but I imagine it would be very powerful. One of my poems that got published in a literary journal was directly inspired by a graphic nightmare I had that time. It is called Glass Speak and was published in Art Ascent magazine in 2017 if I'm not mistaken on the year.
Congratulations on your published poem, Reema! I will see if I can find it. Yes, we can be inspired even by the dreams we might rather not have. Happy December!
I relate to this Dawn - the dreams, the children, the hill moments, the ledge moments
Thank you, Emma, and they certainly weave through your own writing, yes.