Why Do I Not Remember My Dreams?
Over the course of my life I’ve forgotten more dreams than I remember. I was completely baffled when I’d wake up with a clear memory of certain dreams and have no memory of others. This was one of the questions I most wanted an answer to when I began studying dreams one of my first deep dives into answering the questions of my own dreams was to find out why I forget my dreams. I quickly found out there was much more to this topic that I initially realized.
Many of you are asking Why Do I Not Remember My Dreams? just like I did all those years ago. The answer to that question is multifaceted so let’s start at the very beginning.
You don’t remember your dreams because you probably made a habit of entering sleep before you’ve fostered peace. When you fall asleep with your mind actively hashing over the day’s problems, the worry and stress you produce cause you to forget what you’ve dreamed. Additionally, you neglect to ask to remember the dream you’ve about to have.
These are only two of the many things I discovered in my deep dive on this topic. There’s so much more we dreamers need to consider, such as honoring dreams. This idea may seem counter intuitive at first, because we in Western society aren’t taught dreams are something we need to honor. If you continue on the same path you’ve always traveled on, you’ll continue to forget dreams. The good news is you’re about to learn everything I know about why you forget dreams and what to do about it.
What Does it Mean if You Don’t Remember Your Dreams?
In addition to stress and not asking to remember your dreams, there are many other reasons you’re not remembering dreams, but what does it actually mean if you don’t remember your dreams?
It’s actually quite normal for you to forget your dreams for a season. These seasons last different amounts of time for every individual. If you’re currently in this season I can’t tell you when you’ll begin remembering dreams again. Simply knowing we all have short seasons where we don’t remember dreams can help dispel the myth there’s something wrong with you if you don’t remember dreams.
Another meaning behind not remembering dreams is that you were never taught the ancient principles of remembering dreams. Still another, is that you weren’t taught to think of dreams as valuable. How many of you reading this blog had the thought that your dreams are so valuable that you’ve just got to find out what it means because when you do, you’ll have an answer you’ve been seeking. The answer may be something small, or it may be a key issue in your life. Either way, if you think of dreams as treasure chest you have yet to open. This is just one ancient principle you can put into practice, so you remember more dreams.
Ignoring Ancient Principles Causes You to Forget Dreams
Dreamers in the ancient world expected answers to life’s problems to be given to them within their dreams. Whether the dreamer was a commoner or king dreamers were treated with respect and honor and treated as valuable.
Honoring dreams be intentionally asking for a dream, asking to remember the dream when you wake up, and keeping your dream alive by making a record of it in your waking life, are among steps you can take today to break the cycle of forgetting your dreams. Being consistent every morning to rehearse and record your nightly dreams can revolutionize your dream life. The key is being consistent every day.
I’d encourage you to begin the ancient practice of honoring dreams by following the steps above for 90 days and test whether or not they make any difference in remembering dreams. I’m certain you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.
Why Do I Forget My Dreams but Remember My Nightmares?
Nightmares are often memorable because they connect with the dreamer on a primal level — fear. They are also often recurring. Dreamers remember them by the sheer number of times they experience the nightmare. When you experience a nightmare over and over again it leaves an inner impression of the dreamer. Inner imprints can also occur inside dreams. Sensational imprints are often less frequent with dreams because they don’t use the same strategy to forge a connection with the dreamer. Dreams connect with the dreamer on a much deeper level, and are spirit to spirit communication
Why Do I Remember Dreams from Years Ago?
A very common occurrence in the realm of dreams is that dreamers will often forget what they dreamed last night but will remember a dream they had years ago. The mere fact that you remember a dream you had months, even years ago, is an indication the dream is not like all your other dreams. Dreamers remember important dreams. It’s all about connection on a deeper level. Why are the remembered dreams more important than the forgotten dreams? Well, that all depends on the individual dreamer. In my case the dream I had when I was eight years old and never forgot was an important confirmation to the purpose dreams have in my life today.
I never forgot the dream because I needed to have access to it when I was in the first few weeks of dream study. This unforgotten dream was one of the convincing factors of my new dream study that helped propel me forward.
How Can I Stop Forgetting My Dreams?
If you don’t have a history of remembering dreams all is not lost! How can you stop forgetting your dreams? You can begin to take steps right this moment and begin remembering your dreams. The act of dreaming and remembering dreams is so subjective, I cannot guarantee you’ll remember any dreams tonight. What I can tell you is following the tips below will make a big difference in helping you remember more dreams.
| Meditate on dreams right before you go to sleep. |
| Ask to have more dreams and to remember those dreams. |
| Get a restful night’s sleep. |
| When you wake up from the dream immediately record it — even if it’s 3 am! |
| When you’re walking through your day ruminate on the events of your dream and ask for understanding. |
| The key to success is consistency — Follow these steps for at least the next 90 days. |
These tips have worked for me as well as every dreamer who has tried it! In order to cultivate a lifestyle of remembering and recording dreams, you must begin to think about dreams differently. You must begin to honor your dream.
How Can I Remember My Dream Last Night?
As a whole, you can remember the dreams you’ve just woken up from by implementing a couple of key principles. One principle is to rehearse your dream as you’re waking up. In other words, try to bring some key elements of the dream with you as you transition to waking life. If you dream about walking through your High School where Danica Patrick is dressed as a clown and trains dolphins, focus on the setting– your High School, an important action — training dolphins, and something out of the ordinary — Danica Patrick.
Another key principle is to get a record of your dream before it disappears.
Every dreamer’s woken up with the vivid details of a dream playing back in their memory. The dream was detailed and sharp. As soon as you transition from the dream state to being awake, your dream begins to fade. You may think you’re never going to forget the experience you’ve just had in a dream, but within a short amount of time you could be wondering if you even had a dream at all.
Dreams are short stories written in disappearing ink.
Equitis Bic
If you can immediately capture your dream on a voice recorder or the written page, you make a permanent dream record that can’t be forgotten. But why are dreams so elusive?
Dreams use such memorable detail in order to capture your attention and cause you to want to remember them. They are beckoning you to gain understanding. This is built into every dream you have because you can’t understand any dream you don’t remember.
Be Intentional About Your Dream Life
In a perfect world every dreamer would have plenty of time to record every dream every morning. However, life dictates otherwise. Dreamers often get frustrated because they have so little time in the mornings, but there is a little trick you can do to record the dream. The trick is to record the main elements of the dream much like I demonstrated a few paragraphs ago; High School, Dolphin training, Danica Patrick.
Yet another principle to help you remember your dreams is to ask to remember your dream as you’re falling asleep. There’s an ancient dream principle of intentionality. By being intentional about your dream life and asking to remember your dreams, you’re making more room to remember dreams as you wake up. However, this principle works hand in hand with honor.
Honoring dreams is a foreign concept to most people in Westen Culture. In other parts of the world dreams are seen as valuable and worth exploring. A common habit in those dream honoring cultures is to write dreams down as soon as possible after waking up. Whenever you immediately wake up after having a dream the dream is fresh in your memory. If you make it a priority to record your dream immediately, even if it’s 3 am, you’re making a habit of honoring your dream and you’ll set into motion the principle and begin remembering more dreams.
EB