In order to remember dreams, working with an affirmation such as, "I will remember my dreams" before going to sleep helps train the subconscious mind to be alert and aware at all times.
Keeping a dream notebook at bedside, and writing the dream immediately upon waking are also essential for remembering dreams accurately. A dream diary will provide documentation for later referral, especially if there is not enough time to go into dream interpretation immediately upon waking.
Jung and Symbols in Dreams
A good source for learning dream interpretation is Swami Sivananda’s Realities of the Dreaming Mind.
Swami Radha, a spiritual teacher who founded Yasodhara Ashram in British Columbia, Canada, studied her own dreams and dream interpretation over many years.
In terms of psychology, her approach is similar to Carl Jung's; they both work with symbols to extrapolate the hidden messages of the unconscious dreaming state. Radha's 'yoga of dreaming’ draws upon this wisdom and experience for a practical approach that demystifies the realm of dreaming and the unconscious.
Dream Yoga
"Dream yoga" is called as such because yoga (meaning ‘union’) can be achieved through dream study, and communication with the subconscious mind. The insights gained through dream yoga provide the reminder that all is connected, all is one.
Radha’s approach is methodical and stresses studying dreams as one would a foreign language. She encourages the dream seeker to develop his/her own vocabulary of dream symbols, emphasizing that symbols in one’s dreams can have very many meanings.
Like Jung, Radha agreed that no one can tell you what a dream symbol represents, as everyone has different associations based on life’s circumstances, personal/cultural background, and what is going on a person's life at the time of the dream.
Characters and Personality in Dream Interpretation
Another aspect to consider in dream interpretation are the characters in your dream.
Radha suggests that characters are representative of different aspect of one's personality, and should not be taken literally as being the actual people you know in your life. She suggests rewriting the dream from the perspective of the first person, substituting "I" for the names of characters in the dream.
This exercise helps to show how characters represent the personality, and helps to distinguish the dream itself from the symbolic message underneath.
Radha’s dream yoga approach is summarized below:
Dream record: Write your dream quickly and honestly.
Signature: Put the date on it and your signature underneath.
Commentary: Add any detail you may have missed. Describe your feelings.
Initial Interpretation: What is your immediate impression of the dream's meaning?
Conscious concerns: Briefly note events that could have led to the dream.
Key words/symbols: Select the main words from the dream and write down associations and meanings to you.
Interpretation: See how the symbolic meanings fit together to give messages on several levels.
Application: Apply the dream's message to your life.
Radha also suggested working with others in a dream group as a means to find new perspectives.
Yasodhara ashram offers courses in Swami Radha’s dream yoga approach, and the book is available from Timeless Books. www.yasodhara.org
References: Realities of the Dreaming Mind, Swami Sivananda Radha.
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