Dreams are the subconscious mind’s playground. In dreams, our subconscious is free to express itself away from the ego and the fear that we carry in life. Though we may think we are deliberate and thoughtful, many of us are not. Many of our choices and reactions are determined not by choice, but by the thoughts and energy we carry in our subconscious.

We should learn to log our dreams so that we can uncover our psyche and discover our underlying issues and true self. These dreams play in different patterns with different visual images that ultimately create a bigger picture. With this information, you can learn to evolve and become a more powerful being, rather than one that functions in fear.

Please read “5 Reasons for Remembering Your Dreams” for a further description of the benefits. These tips below will assist you in keeping your subconscious thoughts in your conscious mind so that you can process your underlying issues and fears.

1. Have a Clean Body.

Drugs and Sugar can attribute to crazy dreams and images throughout the night. However they may produce exaggerated themes that may not come from your subconscious. Also they will affect the cycles of sleep, preventing you from either accessing the REM cycle or going too deep. Drugs will mess with natural body chemicals creating an unbalance in your brain waves.

Clean your body. Make sure you are not absorbing any toxins or additives a few hours before bedtime. Allow your brain and body to function normally so that your mind can flow with ease.

2. Have Clear Intentions Before Sleep.

Clean your mind. Try to avoid stimulating TV or reading right before bed. Allow your mind to peacefully settle down without the influx of other media. It is easy to dream of battling bad guys after watching an episode of Star Wars. Allow your mind to be clear so that your subconscious can act freely.

Go to bed, knowing you will remember your dreams in the morning. Tell yourself this. You will remember. You will fall asleep with the intention of remembering. If you continue to practice this, you will remember if you so desire.

3. Write Down Anything and Everything.

Write down everything as soon as you wake up. The dream is still fresh in your mind, not diluted with conscious thoughts. Keep a journal or laptop nearby to log your daily journal with the dreams you had.

As you do this, you will have a record of your dreams. Here you can easily analyze and look back upon your subconscious for clues and cues to your underlying issues and fears, as well as you strengths and weaknesses. There are always patterns, though the visual imagery or essence may change.

Tell yourself you will remember. More and more will come into your mind when you allow it to. If you keep practicing this, your dream memory will come easily.

4. Remember the Energy and Emotions.

Take special note of the energy and emotions that are portrayed in the dream. Our emotions and reactions to the stimuli in dreams carry significant value in identifying the meanings behind the dream. A dream about confident flying may represent a powerful soaring spirit, but a nervous shaky flight could represent an anxiety and nervousness in life.

The emotions and energy in the dream is more important that the visual image at times. “What is happening to you” in the dream is less important than “how you are feeling” when it is happening. This reveals our nature, while the imagery is just the setting.

5. Replay the Dream for Details.

Replay the dream in your mind in your day. As you are driving to work or on a lunch break, revisit your dream and try to piece it all together. See if you can remember another detail such as a color or face.

Clear your conscious mind, so that your subconscious can again explore in the dream. This will not only keep the dream fresh in your mind, it also helps you understand the dream at a more conscious level.

As you become more conscious, you can revisit the same dream to attend to unresolved issues that plague you.

There are tons of tools that help people remember dreams. Some believe in “dream-catchers” while others use hypnotic tapes. Note: Dream catchers aren’t for remembering dreams rather than transmuting them. Please check out thisWikipedia for further info.

What tips can you offer?