Dream Work 101
- Layshaianae
- Apr 30, 2022
- 6 min read
Updated: May 21, 2022
Intro
Dream work is a variety of different practices boiled down into one experience, both divination and inward journeying.The intentions of this practice can be summarized simply as a mindful exploration of the subconscious mind.
But it can also be intended for the makings of incubation, a more intense form of divination.Dream Work102 Incubation can be found here.
As you deepen your understanding of the subconscious, you're indeed performing shadow work. Strengthening the connection between the conscious and subconscious mind.
Every night as you lay your head to rest your body initiates into the sleep process, slipping yourself into the depths of the mind where you dream.
Your sleep architecture/ pattern can be broken down into four stages. Become familiar with these stages and the way the body and mind changes between them to assist in your dream work practice.
Over time you will be able to drift more easily into the REM sleep as you work yourself into these stages. These cycles will repeat itself over time where the first three stages become shorter with REM sleep lengthens.
Sleep Cycles
DOZING STAGE
This is the initial stage of you falling to sleep. Your mind and body start to relax but you might experience swift movements such as twitches before you move into the next stage.
SUBDUED STAGE
Your Muscles and body become even more relaxed as your breath slows and your body temperature drops. The heart steadies into a slower pace and all movement tends to stop here.
DEEP SLEEP STAGE
The body is released from all muscle tension and you fall deeper into sleep. The breath continues to slow as does the body and brain activity is fleeting. This is the stage where the body can begin to recover and restore itself. One of the most important stages of sleep for emotional and bodily health.
REM ( DREAM STAGE)
Brain activity reaches its peak here as the body experiences a temporary paralysis. This is the stage where you begin to dream.
As you continue to go through the sleep stages, Rem sleep increases in length, this is why some dreams seem longer than others. Especially where as your first dreams seem the shortest in length. This stage is important to keep your creativity flourishing and helps strengthen your memory muscles.
THINGS THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR SLEEP CYCLES
AGE
While I am sure that we would all love to be sleeping like babies, studies show that the older you get, especially past your 60's, the less time you actually spend in Rem sleep.
STRESS
Emotional distress has a huge impact on the quality of your sleep. It not only impacts your waking life but your sleep life as well.
Worry and stress can cause insomnia, making it rather difficult to go past the first and second stages of your sleep cycle. This means you have no recovery time, and no brain stimulation with dreams.
Lingering thoughts and spiraling prevent the mind and body from reaching into deep stages of sleep, keeping you tossing and turning all night.
LACK OF QUALITY SLEEP
Bad habits die hard especially when it comes to sleep. If you're not getting enough sleep consistently you sleep cycles can be thrown off.
Continued delay of quality sleep is going to make it even more difficult for your mind and body to drift into the last two stages of sleep; the most important stages for your bodily and mental health.
ALCOHOL
The potency of alcohol in your body can make it more difficult for you to drift into sleep.
Especially if you're drinking right before bed, however as you sleep throughout the night and the alcohol content decreases your body can eventually make its way to REM sleep.
Improve your Sleep Quality
Bathe in the Sunlight
Try to get daylight and physical activity in every single day to ease stress for at least 30 minutes. The sun provides so much life to the Earth, its time for you to take part in its benefits on a daily basis!
Yoga
Light yoga just before bed is going to encourage your muscles to relax, the perfect preparation for a good night's sleep.
Great Poses to get into before bed!
Cat Cow
Child's Pose
Butterfly
Deer Pose
Pigeon with a twist ( image)
Puppy Pose
Reclined Lotus
Don't exercise before bed. Abstain from doing intense exercise before bed as it will increase your heart rate making it more difficult to drift into your sleep cycle.
No Smoking before Bed
Recreational drugs such as tobacco and ganja alter the state of your brain and change the way your sleep cycle flows.
Especially if you have difficulty remembering your dreams try not to light up at least an hour before bed.
Nighttime routine
Having an established night routine will train your body that it should be getting prepared for sleep. So as soon as you start your night routine it's in the beginning stages of your sleep cycle.
For example you know it's your bedtime when you brush your teeth and slip under your covers. Gently pushing you into your sleep stages as opposed to fighting off sleep until the late hours of the night.
An hour before bed dim the lights to prepare for dozing off. And try your best to put lll electronics aside as the blue light can make falling asleep more difficult.
Before we get into the interpretations of dreams let's understand what we can do to improve our remembrance of them.
An exercise you can do that will help you strengthen the mind to have better memory is to summarize each section of a book you are reading after you have read it.
Maybe if you are reading an article, or after a singular chapter try to recall all the main points and the purpose of the text you just read. This is going to improve your cognitive function making your memory muscles stronger.
Dream Journal
First thing in the morning , start recording your dreams as soon as possible. Right after you wake up is when your dreams are the freshest and it's easier for you to recall the most details.
Keep your journal by your bedside for the easiest access along with a writing utensil.
Journal Questions
This is a list of questions that will help you get the most out of dream recall.
Do not judge your dreams, spend a moment observing your dreams before you reflect on them!
What emotions did you feel in your dreams?Pay attention to any emotions or physical feelings that come over you in dreams. This can give you insight on any repressed emotions you may have.
What characters played a role in your dreams? What do these people represent to you?
What events took place?
Where did your dream happen?
What colors and images are the most vivid? Why did they resonate with you more than other images?
What small, almost irrelevant detail can you remember? This can spark a line of inward reflection beyond its mundane explanation.
If you held a mirror to your dream how would that reflection look in your reality?
By recording your dreams every morning you are training your mind and body to believe two things. One your dreams are worthy of being recorded & that you are capable of recalling and reflecting on your dreams as a form of self discovery.
Some days it might feel like your dream has slipped through your fingers as soon as the sun has hit your skin and you see the first waves of morning light.
Try to recall as many details as possible even in a bullet list format. I find that this will help you to get into more specific events. Sometimes it's the small details that hold the most significance.
Common Dream Interpretations
Being chased in your dreams indicates that you are attempting to run away from your problems. You are not taking the initiative of looking at your issues and finding a solution for them.
You may have been pushing them off for a while. Or bottling your emotions, both of which will hold a heavy burden on the mind.
Bonus if you are able to devise what or who you are being chased by. This would be a good indication of the problem you are avoiding but it might not be a direct representation.
The subconscious is very complex so you might find yourself running from a friend for example, but the friend is going to be a representation of the conversation you are avoiding, or information you are withholding rather than the person themselves being this issue.
Take note of the emotions you have during this dream as they can provide a deeper insight to the significance of your dream.
Being Trapped or in tight quarters- This is a representation that you are boxing yourself in. Afraid to step out of your comfort zones. Truly a mark of beings inside a prison of one's own making.
Even in outstanding circumstances where others may be pushing you into this corner with words or action, it is you who is deciding to stay in this position. With dreams of entrapment it's important that you take action to liberate yourself from this conviction.
The more time we spend with ourselves the more capable we are to interpret the messages from our subconscious and beyond. Dreamwork is your key to unlocking the subconscious, by looking into our own psyche through dream evaluation.
Sweet Dreams
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