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Writer's pictureJoanne Chang

How to Harness your Dreams for Inner Growth + Wisdom

Dreams come up a lot in my practice.  In part because I love them for their ability to bring the unconscious into form, and in part because every one of us dreams every night.  We may not always remember them, but our dreams come to us every night when we sleep, carrying symbols and messages in service of our inner growth and well being.


In today’s modern world, we don’t often carve out time to commune with the dream world.  In contrast, many indigenous cultures believed that the dream world was a place to commune with the great spirits, to connect more deeply with internal and external forces.  Dreams were sacred, and the having and sharing of dreams was practiced as a ritual to grow closer to the source of one’s truth and divinity.  


Thankfully, Carl Jung’s work on the unconscious, including archetypes, dreams, and active imagination has given us valuable tools and information to work at the level of the unconscious.  While the cognitive conscious mind dominates nearly every corner of Western culture, the unconscious makes up such an enormous part of our being that ignoring or denying its presence can lead to mental and emotional strife, spiritual illness, and physical disease.  You don’t have to look far to see and feel the effects. 


But how do we use dreams to connect to the unconscious?  What if we can’t remember our dreams?  And if we do remember, how do we decode the often strange and obscure language that dreams use to communicate with us?  In the world of dreamwork, there are many methods and ways of working with dreams, but there are a few basic principles that you can use to get started.



Remembering Dreams


Sometimes dreams work really hard to get your attention; other times, you have to make it known that you are ready and waiting for the messages to come through.  If you rarely or never remember your dreams, here are some suggestions to call your dreams forth:


  • Get a dream journal and put it next to your bed with a pen.  This signals that you are ready to write down any dream messages you receive upon waking.  

  • In your dream journal, you might write down a question that you would like guidance on from your dreams.  Or you might simply ask to be shown whatever information is ready to be revealed.

  • As you drift to sleep, be aware of your passage from the waking world to the dream world.  Imagine yourself opening the door to another reality where your dreams await.  Enter sleep with the intention of dreaming.

  • Try not to get discouraged if you wake up and do not remember your dreams.  You are still having them, and that is valuable in itself.  Thankfully, we have many opportunities to keep trying.  I sometimes go weeks or months without remembering my dreams, but with persistent intention I am always able to reconnect.



Choosing a Dream


Dreams that have a strong emotional charge or are particularly vivid and detailed can be good ones to work with.  Recurring dreams are also excellent – their repeated nature tells us that a message really wants to come through, and will persist until we begin to work with the dream.  Almost always, once we begin to work with a recurring dream, the dream begins to transform knowing that we are ready to receive the next piece of information.  



Decoding Dreams


Dreams love to speak in metaphor, using symbols and archetypes to communicate messages from the unconscious.  Dreams can be literal at times, but more often than not there is some process of decoding and interpretation that needs to take place in order to fully understand and integrate the dream.  Below are some basic steps you can take to begin working with dreams.  I recommend setting aside 30 - 60 minutes at a time and using a dream journal to record and facilitate the process.


  1. Create Associations.  Choose a few images from your dream that are particularly vivid or emotionally charged.  For each image, spend ~10 minutes writing down any associations you might have with that image, either within the dreamworld or your waking life.  See which associations “click” by recognizing the shift of energy in your body – these are the ones to pay attention to.  Circle these associations in your journal.


  1. Connect the images and associations to your inner or outer life.  What do you have in common with the image?  What does the image say about your beliefs, values, and attitudes?  Where in your life do these images and associations appear?  Is this dream about an inner dynamic (where dream figures are symbolic of inner parts), or an outer dynamic, or both?  Also consider the emotional tone of the dream.  What emotions did you experience as the dreamer?  Where in your life do you experience those same emotions?


  1. Interpret the dream.  What is the dream trying to say?  Don’t force an answer.  Sit back and see what comes, what “clicks” in your body.  If an interpretation generates emotion, excitement, or energy, you’re on the right track.  A solid interpretation will often offer new insights, uncover information that was previously hidden, or unlock something within us that can be used for our highest good.



Creating a Ritual


Finally, bring the dream into your life by creating a ritual, bringing the unconscious into the physical realm.  What is one thing that you can do, to honor your dream?  Even a simple act like lighting a candle or taking a walk can serve as a ritual (though the more connected the action is to the dream, the more powerful it will be).  The point is to communicate your reception of the dream to the unconscious so that the flow of information continues. 



If you try these dream work practices and want to share your experience, I’d love to hear about it.  Email me at joanne@bravelifeacupuncture.com.

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