Dream Re-Membering at Samhain

I was born at Samhain. So, with this colorful Samhain Bouquet, I offer to you my gratitude. I send new year blessings during this time of inner mystery and transformation. May you allow the abundance of crown chakra to unfold.

In this harvest season, Samhain is a time of remembrance. It’s the beginning of the calendar year in the Celtic tradition. So, it’s a wonderful time to talk about re-membering your dreams and remembering them. These aspects represent distinct pathways to tap into the imaginal world of our inner wisdom.

When asked about remembering or recalling their dreams, usually dreamers will describe how they record them. They may say that they have volumes of dream journals. Or dreamers may apologetically say they “only” recollect occasional dream snippets. Or some will swear they have no dreams at all. Here’s the thing, whether they happen frequently or you only had “that one dream” from years ago, it is all precious material.

Let’s level the playing field. Our dreams come to us in the manner they are meant to. We all dream in our own way. In our own time.

Placing undue expectations on dreams – by comparing them to others, for instance – is a distraction from the main focus, which is exploring what our inner wisdom is trying to convey.

So how is re-membering dreams different from the process of recall? I believe that re-membering is a re-convergence of, or a re-integration with, hidden aspects of our inner landscape. It’s a practice of embracing our personal and inherited shadowy elements in a holistic way. That is, we utilize the intellect, our bodies and emotions, as well as our soul when walking the dreamscape. This deeper awareness informs and rebalances our waking life.

Dreams are important because they are portals to our inner wisdom. The key phrase is – our inner wisdom. So, getting to know the language of our particular dream genius is key.

The Practice of Dream Re-membering

Here are six suggestions to help you deep listen to inner wisdom as you practice re-membering.

1.    Staying Present in the Dream:  Often times our lives are like fast-moving trains. We are taught to collect data, assess quickly and move forward. And we’re good at it too. So, our thinking minds can often get in the way of our efforts to stay focused on the present moment. When engaging with a dream you can slow yourself down by an intentional practice of observation: seeing, feeling, and sensing. If judging thoughts penetrate and begin to sway you from sensory perceptions of the dreamscape, simply notice what’s happening and then return to the dream. Let your body awareness guide you.

2.    Dream Meditation: The process of staying present in the dream is like a meditation practice. It’s helpful to begin with your breath. Getting comfortable in your seat, noticing all the pressure points in your physical body so you can adjust your position and relax. With each inhale welcome the openness of the moment. With each exhale offer gratitude to your surroundings, which may include sending heart-felt blessings to the other participants in Dream Circle. Keep breathing. If / when the ego interrupts with intrusive thoughts, acknowledge its presence, ask it to take a seat, and circle back to another restful inhale.

3.    Exploring the Dreamscape: I love maps. So, the idea of mapmaking in dreams really resonates with me. Mapmaking or cartography initially requires information gathering in a particular landscape. Before you can create a map drawing you need to first sit and observe the general environment. It requires listening to the land.

When exploring your dreamscape, what is the behavior of the dream space you’re in? When you sit quietly with it for a while, you may begin to notice additional details about the dream images or figures. Now, you can see how the figures are interacting with each other; perhaps suddenly the colors of clouds are strikingly more vivid; or your hand reaches to touch the tingling feeling of the cold wind against your dream-body.

There are times that the over-thinking mind may immediately jump in and want to make connections to waking life. The mind may say, “Ah ha I know what this all means. No need to listen any further.” Consider, though, the faux pas of being in a conversation with a friend and stopping them mid-sentence. You say to your friend, “I already know what you’re going to say. You can stop talking now and I’ll tell you what you were about to say.”

The exploration of dream cartography is deep listening.

4.    Notice the Shadows: The practice of returning again and again to what is happening in the dream – not what’s being sparked in our minds – is called curiosity. Is there something that we’re not seeing? Our dream-eyes need a little time to adjust to the stillness. Imagine you are putting on your own version of night goggles, which allows the unseen to appear.

In Dream Circle the third telling of the dream offers us this google-vision  opportunity. The dreamer closes her eyes; she reenters the dream and waits. Before “telling” us the dream again, the dreamer is encouraged to look around her dreamscape. Look to the left, to the right in the dream. Look up and look down to her feet or to the ground. Is there something quietly waiting to be seen in the expanded periphery of the dream?

5.    Dream’s Seasonal Changes: In dream time just like in waking time the inner critic can be overactive. It’s no surprise then, when it comes to our dreams, we are less accepting of how the dreamscape appears to us differently in the various seasons of our lives.

Some dreamers report that their dreams used to fill volumes of journals. Now, after menopause for example, it’s not the same. Sometimes Dream Circle participants say, “I struggle with dreams now.”

What if your dreams haven’t disappeared, but rather they are in a transformative season? Despite the less energetic, lackluster seasons there are different elements to notice in the landscape. So instead of plentiful images or stories, is your inner wisdom now appearing to you as a feeling or a bodily sensation?

Even in the sparce ecosystem of a dream-desert there is beauty.

6.    Soul’s Dream Homecoming:  In dreams our Soul seeks a voice. Here’s a question I’ve learned to ask myself occasionally – Am I doing the dreaming or is my Soul dreaming?

The exploration of dreams is just one portal to our Soul wisdom. It isn’t the only pathway into this sacred space, but it is an easily missed opportunity. Within the dreamscape there are personal archetypes to meet, fears that want to do battle, ancestral energies that want to speak to us, or answers to questions from our waking life.

Finally, some dreams need the careful guidance of a caring professional. At the same time, some dreams speak the language of the universal, collective unconscious that inspire sharing. Such as a Dream Circle.

In the process of dream re-membering we are on a special kind of cartographic journey. We are observing, deep listening, and gathering. There’s a fair amount of patience and waiting needed to give whatever is hidden in the periphery a chance to step forward. Yet even then, the dream process isn’t done. It’s only when we pause in the liminal space of not knowing that the inner wisdom of our Soul speaks.

Blessings to you at Samhain, a time of remembrance.