Write Here, Write Now

Recording your dreams is an effective method for self-discovery.  By paying attention to trends in imagery and plot, you gain a fascinating perspective of your personal challenges, strengths and symbolism.

I’ve had four or five dreams over the last two months that had the following scene in common:  My husband comes home late.  I suspect he’s having an affair.  As soon as he walks in the door I start screaming at him.  He clams up and will not answer my deluge of accusations and questions.  I get even more angry.

I would wake from these dreams shaken.  My husband and I have a wonderful relationship and we never treat each other this way.  But the dreams were so vibrant and realistic, I started having doubts.  I recorded these dreams and the doubts they brought up.

Last night I had a dream with the same theme.  This time, a double of myself approached me before my husband got home and told me to give him the benefit of the doubt.  She told me that I was not giving him a chance to explain before I lit into him, and that he had a reasonable excuse.  But as soon as that door opened - WHAM!  I was at it again.

But when I woke up this time, I was not so shaken.  As I recorded the dream, I found myself not wanting to be honest about the advice I’d been given about over-reacting.  I realized that element struck a chord with me, and I used it to further identify what it is in my own personality that I am trying to give up through this dreaming process.

I do my best dreaming when I sleep in, generally between 6am and 8am.  If you don’t usually remember your dreams, try taking a nap at a different time of day or sleeping in a little.  Record your dreams for a month and see if you’ve got any recurring patterns.  If you’d like help deciphering what you’re experiencing, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll get in touch with you.

 Sweet Dreams!

 Some people interact with their world through sports, some through the lens of a camera, some by watching it all speed by through the windows of their vehicles.  For people like you and me, the richness of life’s experiences is deepened through physical recording of the events we witness and how those events touch our souls.

Take the lunar eclipse earlier this week:  A beautiful sight.  Something at which to marvel.  For the average person.  But to a writer…  That final sliver of light slipped off the moon’s curved edge like the last drop of dew from a leaf.  The remaining blood red orb brought to mind ancient cultures and women’s rites.  Were the bats confused by the change in illumination?  By the time the last bit of shadow slipped away as silently as a doe’s stealthy retreat, the stars alerted to the sun’s arrival by hiding behind the veil of brightening blue sky. 

If it were not for my bearing witness to the event through close observation and recording of my thoughts, that lunar eclipse would have been lost admist the millions of memories swimming about in the collective unconscious.  Because I was there, in every aspect of the word, it instead served as a touchstone for my life, as one chapter ended and another began. 

As we travel together in the craft of recording experiences, I hope to learn from you as much as I look forward to sharing the resources and tools I have discovered. 

Happy journaling!