What do your stress dreams look like? Are you back in high school standing in front of your locker with no clue what the combination is? Did you forget to drop the class you never went to and now you have to sit for the exam? Did you show up for work au naturel?
Years ago, I thought I could outsmart the dream about being naked in public. I’m a semi-lucid dreamer and when I realize that I forgot to get dressed before leaving the house, I decide (in the dream) that I’m going to roll with it. I’m going to act like that’s exactly the way I wanted to look. If anyone points it out, I will ask them if they have a problem with the human form.
I still have the dream. And I still feel exposed. I’m just pretending I don’t. Which mirrors real life more accurately anyway.
There are a few theories on why we dream.
- To aid memory. They help you store and remember things, especially new things
- To stimulate our creativity. Our logic centers are muted when we dream.
- To prepare us for emergencies. The amygdala, the part of the brain associated with the flight-or-flight response, is more active when you sleep. This may be to get us ready to deal with threats to our safety.
- To comfort emotional drama. Kind of like a therapist, dreams help us work things out emotionally in ways we wouldn’t when we’re awake.
But dreams have their own language, and that language is typically unique to each of us. There are some universal themes—the locker combination you’ve forgotten, the test you’re not prepared for, a tooth falling out, driving an out-of-control car, flying. But even within these tropes, the meaning varies with each individual. This is why I don’t put much stock in dream dictionaries.
Keeping a dream journal can help you crack the code. Write down as much of the dream as you remember as soon as you wake up. Then write what is going on in your life.
You may not be able to see the relationship immediately, but if you go back a few weeks later, you will understand the parallels.
The back of the dream journal is a good place to keep a record of symbols and recuring characters. I have two logs, one of celebrities and one of people I know who are frequent nocturnal visitors. Over time you should be able to recognize what traits they posses that you need to nurture in yourself. They’re like the gods on Olympus in modern form. The Greeks had Aphrodite for love, sex and beauty. You may have young Isabella Rossellini in that role. Ares was the god of bloodlust. Perhaps in your dream world that’s Gordon Ramsay or Simon Cowell or Mel Gibson. You get the picture.
Studying our dreams can accelerate our personal and spiritual growth. But what if you don’t remember your dreams?
- Practice good sleep hygiene. Go to sleep consistently at the same time, “power down” about a half hour before bedtime, keep your bedroom dark and cool.
- Drink a big glass of water before bed. You should wake up to use the bathroom just after a REM cycle. Go over the dream or jot it down when you do.
- Set an intention to remember your dreams. “I remember my dreams in complete detail” or “I remember all my dreams when I wake up.”
- When you wake in the morning, don’t hit the ground running. Lie there and drift in and out a bit. Then record what you remember in your journal.
What are your recurring stress dreams? What celebrities visit you while you sleep? Let us know in the comments.