It is important to start recording our dreams, especially those of us who do not remember our dreams. The act of writing our dreams will teach our minds to remember them long enough to write them down. Keep a dream journal or notebook and pen by the bed. There are light-up pens available for those who do not want to wake up a sleeping partner.
We can create rituals from our dreams. We can create a performance of some kind to express the most powerful aspects of the dream. This could be a dream guiding us to take on something new in life or to release something. Invite trusted friends and family to the ritual. Only invite those who are supportive of changes to be made. Take all the time needed to create the ritual.
If we are unsure of what a dream means, we can always request a confirmation the next night. We can also ask a question before bed and expect some guidance on the answer to come in our dreams. It is also important to get enough sleep on a regular basis. Dreams are hard to access when we are sleep deprived. And once we start using this guidance to our benefit, we will not want anything to interfere with it.
Our dreams come from our realization of our potential. We dream of doing something because we know our potential is to do that something. We dream of being someone because we know that being that someone is our potential. Every time we work to fulfill one of our dreams, we are reaching toward our potential.
Sometimes our initial dreams need to be massaged a bit to form it into a reality. If some dream, usually a fantasy, is a pretty high reach (like piloting the space shuttle) it may simply be a reflection of something more realistic (like piloting a Cessna). A dream should not be dismissed outright without looking at it in this way. Something that seems too fantastic should not be outright dismissed because it is coming from the realization of our own potential.
Dreams are to be treasured in our hearts. Quite often they are what gets us through challenging times. Just ask any college student during final exam time. It is the dream of graduating and how to fulfill his or her potential with his or her education that keeps the student plugging along.
Dreams also have to be our own. We cannot take on a partner’s dream unless we also share the passion. The same thing also applies to taking on our parents’ dreams. And it is not fair to expect children or spouses to fulfill our dreams. It is our potential. They have their own dreams.
By Denise Onyskiw