Many clients I have worked with initially struggled to recall their dreams. A common theme was their intense focus on external aspects of living. Consumed by responsibilities, they lacked mental space for inward reflection, falling asleep while replaying the day's events and waking up with thoughts about the day ahead. Rarely did they grant themselves mental space between thinking of the past and the future.

Many believed they did not dream. Although dream analysis was not their original intention to seek my counsel, it emerged organically over time. I noticed a pattern among those who began taking an interest in their inner lives—they spontaneously started recalling dreams. At first, these were just fragmentary glimpses. However, as their curiosity and connection to their interior lives deepened, so did their dream recall capacities. Eventually, their dreams became a rich tapestry of guidance, sparking creativity and psychological healing.

Research links the personality trait of openness to enhanced dream recall. Openness, characterized by receptivity to new perspectives, ideas, and experiences, is commonly cited among dreamers. Those oriented toward invention, creativity, and spiritual exploration tend to possess more openness. This trait is the inverse of habitual consciousness—the repetitive thought patterns and emotional states that distract one from new input.

This research sheds light on why my clients experienced increased dream memories. Openness does not solely apply to the outer world but extends to the vast imaginal landscapes of the psyche. To be open to your inner life is to journey beyond the confined territory of ego and identity. It’s about befriending the strange yet beautiful possibilities in the undiscovered reaches of your selfhood.

You cannot force dream recall through sheer willpower alone. The unconscious mind, the wellspring of dreams, can only be accessed through openness, curiosity, and receptivity. You must let go of your hyper-focused waking consciousness and cultivate a spaciousness that allows the mysterious workings of the psyche to emerge.

Reflect on your daily life. Are you so consumed by the external world of tasks, responsibilities, and future planning that you leave no room for your interior world of symbols, deeper emotions, and the rich imaginal realm? If so, dream memories will remain elusive as you habitually turn away from their source.

But if you can embrace more openness and maintain an embodied presence, the doors to your unconscious can open. You do not need to be a prophet or mystic. You only need to remember the sense of wonder that existed for you as a child. As a child, that wonder was aimed outward into your fascination with the outer world. Now, you are turning that sense of wonder toward the fascinating aspects of your being—your inner world.

What secrets may be unlocked if you follow this path? When you feel that tender longing to know yourself more deeply, you have taken the first vital step. Begin by formalizing that sense of wonder into words. A dream diary is an ideal repository for your thoughts and aspirations, but a loose piece of paper will do if you don't have one.

Write your desire to remember your dreams in a short phrase. The only rule is that your words genuinely capture your desire. Word your intention as simply or creatively as you wish, e.g., “I will remember my dreams,” or “I will discover my inner mysteries through dreams to know myself better and share my deepest self with others.”

Speak your intention aloud so the dream gods and ancestors can hear you and pay you attention. Say it like a prayer, a poem, or a song—in whichever way inspires you. Keep your written desire for dreaming where you can read it every night before sleep. Try not to rely on memory. Read your precise words and reconnect with the feeling of your desire.

If your words lose their power, check in with yourself. Is it because you’re too tired tonight? Then, forgo the exercise. If the words no longer embody your true desire, tweak them accordingly.

All inner journeys need a supernatural helper. Now, it’s time to connect with a guide who will escort you into the imaginal realm of dreams. So, take a few moments before bed to close off your senses and turn your attention inward. Get comfortable in bed and invite a symbolic figure or power image to emerge as the guide into the unconscious, your psyche.

The key is to find a dream guide that holds a certain sacredness for you. It should inspire trust, reverence, and openness to receive its mantic wisdom. This may take time to develop, and it isn’t absolutely essential, but I and many of my clients have found this to be very helpful. Here are some examples:

• An ancient book of magic
• An angelic form
• A sage, sadhu, or mystic
• A cherished teacher
• A deity 
• Sun, moon, or stars
• A sacred symbol: cross, Sri yantra, caduceus, tree of life
• A book or toy from your childhood that felt magical
• Nature: lion, owl, fox, deer, ocean, forest

Imagine this entity with a sense of anticipation that it will bring insight, perhaps a key to resolving an ongoing problem, achieving a long-held desire, or connecting with a hidden talent. Maybe you don’t know what the insight will relate to. That’s fine. Just open your mind and heart to magic—trust the wisdom and wonder are there, awaiting discovery.

Draw closer to your entity or symbol in a calm, confident anticipation of a glimpse or revelation of something you are curious about. Dwell on the image as you cross the threshold between waking and sleeping—the hypnagogic state. Then, gently cast your eyes downward until you fall asleep.

When you catch a dream immediately upon waking, its integrity remains intact, and you can unpack its wisdom later. But if you dismiss it too quickly for your day's demands, it will likely dissolve into the undifferentiated waters of the unconscious from which it emerged.

Wake slowly. When you first wake up, don't let your typical mental and physical habits whisk you away from the dreamworld you just visited.

Resist the urge to start planning your day, checking devices, or jumping into activities that will sever the subtle threads still connecting you to the unconscious.

Instead, keep your eyes closed and cast downward while still in that semi-awake state. Tune into the dreamscape's energy, sights, sounds, feelings, characters, and atmospheres. Don't try to make sense of them or create a linear sequence. Let everything surface abstractly.

If nothing comes, gently move your body into familiar sleep positions. It may sound strange, but often returning to the position you were in when you were dreaming triggers dream recall.

One well-captured dream image can reveal deep insights from your unconscious. Recording your dream helps you gain subjective and objective insight. This means you will need to catch your dream in a way that feels natural and immediate.

I prefer to write my dreams, as writing triggers more dream content. All of my clients write about their dreams except for a few artists who use mixed media, such as writing and sketching.

To catch your dream quickly, forget style, correct punctuation, and literary form. Dream journaling is closer to stream-of-consciousness than to the narrative writing technique. Allow the abstract fragments to flow in any order—record in the present tense, which will help you feel more connected to the dream. Grab the content like a reporter watching a scene (objectivity) while giving weight to your feelings (subjectivity).

Here’s an example:

evening cold.. man, 30-ish, in a light green coat crosses the road.. weaves through heavy traffic & walks intently toward me... a strange look on his face… menacing... but now closer, I see his tears–no menace, just sad. me singing in an old saloon-style 1920s. woman smiling, wearing a red frilly dress... don't know if I can I trust her. too friendly. dog barking. is the dog warning me about her

Everything about the dream is worth noticing (and noting)—the images, objects, people, animals, structures, textures, colors, atmospheres, and sensory data.

With the dream captured, you have a living symbol of your unconscious in your daily world. But it’s not just superfluous material—it remains a portal into the dynamic opposites, paradoxes, and blind spots your unconscious revealed for your growth.

Return to each of the elements of the dream. Dwell on each component and see what arises intuitively without looking for meaning. If you don’t have much time, choose three things that evoke an emotional charge, e.g., fear, joy, or a sense of intrigue.

Review the predominant feelings of the dream. Ask yourself how that emotion appears in your waking life and what experiences and memories it relates to. How is that intriguing character a part of you or lacking in you in your daily life?

Then, move on to review any patterns that may be present. You do this by checking if there is anything familiar in the dream. Is there a pattern within this dream, e.g., a way you are or experience the world that is emphasized in the dream? All parts of the dream are aspects of your unconscious coming into your awareness for a purpose. Reflect on what the purpose might be.

Develop a relationship with this dream by keeping its presence active within your waking life. Ponder it throughout the day, allowing resonances, amplifications, and new perspectives to emerge spontaneously around its feelings, symbols, and patterns. Try speaking the dream narrative out loud, giving voice to different characters, and noticing where your body or breath responds.

Because the dream is issued from the creative recesses of your very being, it must be symbolically reinstated through your conscious engagement. It wants to reveal more of its mysteries to catalyze new stages of your psycho-spiritual growth.

Most importantly, stay willing to receive the messages or callings embedded within the dream. The unconscious speaks poetically and metaphorically. It can only be integrated into your being with curiosity and humility for the unknown parts of you.

In the depths of your daily life, a hidden language is spoken - one that whispers through symbols, images, and the intricate web of your relationships. To the untrained eye, these messages go unnoticed, drowned out by the noise of the modern world. But for those who dare to listen, they offer a gateway into the shadow realms of the psyche.

"In sleep, fantasy takes the form of dreams. But in waking life, too, we continue to dream beneath the threshold of consciousness, especially when under the influence of repressed or other unconscious complexes."
Carl Jung

My waking dream analysis sessions are not for the faint of heart. They require a willingness to venture beyond the comfort of the known to confront the darker aspects of your being that have long been exiled to the periphery of awareness. By engaging with the living symbols surrounding you, you will begin to decipher the coded language of your unconscious mind.

Through our work, you will learn to recognize the archetypal patterns that shape your perceptions, emotions, and behaviors. You will grapple with the shadow elements that sabotage your relationships and stifle your potential. By integrating these disowned parts of yourself, you will reclaim the energy and authenticity lost to repression.

This journey is not about achieving a state of perpetual positivity or spiritual bliss. It is about coming to terms with the full spectrum of your humanity - the light and the dark, the beautiful and the grotesque. As you learn to embrace the paradoxes within, you will find that your capacity for depth, creativity, and self-understanding expands exponentially.

Waking dream analysis is a powerful tool for anyone who suspects there is more to life than meets the eye. Whether recurring patterns haunt you, stuck in cycles of self-sabotage, or simply longing for a more enchanted existence, this work will challenge you to confront the deeper truths of your being.

If you are ready to descend into the labyrinth of your psyche to excavate the hidden treasures in the shadow, I invite you to embark on this transformative journey. Together, we will decode your soul's messages, unveil the illusions that keep you confined, and see you creating a life of authenticity and purpose.

Get in contact through my Healing and Dreamwork Sessions