I am a Dreamer, in every sense of the word - no surprise with my ascendant in Pisces- since childhood I would recall my dreams, often as clear downloads and share with my mother as she would curiously inquire, place value on them and ultimately knew that with our night-travels come messages and meaning. So as a cultural practice - I learnt to honour these nocturnal journeys and learnt ways to recall them with more and more clarity, much like Ancient Egyptians would do.

As a child growing up in Sydney -Eora in Aboriginal - I was mesmerised and profoundly affected by the Dreamtime stories, their artworks, symbology and meanings that were almost lost but still so alive in the land and in the people. Only now am I realising how much of the Aboriginal Dreamtime stories were weaved into my psyche and soma as a quiet little child with a deep love of books.

As a teenager I wanted to transcend and elevate so I learnt about Out of Body Experiences (OBE’s) and to astral travel in my dreams. I still clearly remember the first time I was conscious of being awake in my dreams. When I ‘woke’ to go the toilet one night, I found myself reaching DOWN to turn off my light switch - which was normally at eye level- when I realised I was actually hovering under the ceiling I freaked out and zapped back into my body. Needless to say, learning to not be overcome by fear took a very long time..

Fast forward to 2018, learning Lucid Dreaming through Charlie Morley at his London weekend workshop in Bermondsey Buddhist centre where he lived with his wife Jade; I learnt the missing link to training the brain to stay in the dream, once I realise I'm awake.. Awareness.

Which is an imperative part of being and teaching yoga - Awareness is Everything.

Buddhists have a beautiful practice called Dream Yoga, which is as blissful as it sounds. From my own humble understanding of this wise philosophical religion; is that when you learn to be more aware in waking life, you can be more aware in sleeping life and ultimately be aware through your own death.

Which IS the end goal in Buddhism as it means that you no longer incur Karma and therefore have no need to re-incarnate. SO awareness, mindfulness, lucidity practices and dreaming are absolutely necessary in becoming your purest and highest self. And of course to truly Know Thyself.

Creating a dialogue with my Dreams has really fast tracked my own healing through many traumas in this life and journaling is the best way to start as it’s the simplest way into the Unconscious.

4 EASY WAYS TO START TO REMEMBER YOUR DREAMS

1. ONE WORD— Begin by starting a dream journaling practice, start with just one word that clearly reminds you of the dream or the feeling that you have upon waking.

You can also think of this as a way to name or title the dream. Write down your word, name or title in your journal or as I prefer to do these days is voice-note it on my phone as I find the dreams fade faster when you turn the light on, grab pen etc. Start with one word as we often remember backwards from dreamspace, that one word can often help recall a lot!

Recommended for the dreamer that wants to begin a journal practice though may feel overwhelmed, the dreamer that doesn’t remember lots of detail, or the curious dreamer who’s ready to start small.

2. THE STORY OR NARRATIVE—pretty straightforward—writing down your dreams or recording on your phone.

Remember to release, sequential order, and to add a title to your dreams.

Perfect for the dreamer that remembers in a story form, likes to recall patterns, or return to their dreams in a more structured and linear way.

3. THE MOSAIC or Dream Fragments— Receive and honour the tiniest part of the dream. Add it to your journal like a collage, mind map or puzzle. Allow the fragments to arise naturally. As an alternative use the Mosaic technique when there is no dream recall; include your feelings, thoughts, ideas, memories as you reemerge from sleeping and dreaming to waking.

Perfect for the dreamer who remembers just a glimpse of a dream, or whose dream recall is minimal or the dreamer who finds it hard to remember their dreams,

4. ASEMIC WRITING are marks and gestures that look and feel like writing, which help to release that which is more challenging to express. This is especially helpful when one cannot recall a dream, the act of writing can help bring forward a dream fragments. Take your time. You can have a different kind / color of pen ready, for this kind of dream release, use both hands and practice in the dark.

Recommended for: the dreamer who feels they have little to no dream recall. Those that share sleep space and don’t want to turn light on to journal. Asemic writing can also be helpful as a bridge to drawing and as a way to releasing difficult, negative dreams or nightmares.

Remember like everything in life, this is a Practice! So it will take time and commitment to start to remember your dreams, though it’s so worth it as we spend on average - if we get the 8 hours required- a third of our days / lives asleep, so don’t you want to know where you’ve been, with who and what you’ve been up to?!?

Ultimately remembering and understanding your dreams leads you to Knowing yourself on a deeper level as it bridges the divide between conscious and unconscious minds; where ALL the answers live.

Enjoy your night travels and do keep me updated on your progress!

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