Why we Dream

As you know from my recent Sleep post, I highly value sleep and consider it an essential part of both my physical and spiritual well-being.

I love sleep! First, when I get enough sleep, I'm just a nicer person and that feels so much better than being grumpy, irritated and impatient. But equally valuable, is what the deepest sleep cycles give us — dreams! It's so exciting when we remember our dreams and even more so when we can derive some meaning from them!

But why do we dream??

Dreams for Our Body

Just like with sleep, our bodies need to dream. There is plenty of research about how our brain cleans house while dreaming, especially during the early and lighter dream phases.

Our brains take in a constant stream of stimulation through all our senses.

Imagine walking into the grocery store— you feel the chill from the air conditioning, see thousands of colorful products, hear the buzz from the freezer cases, smell the coffee or bakery, and touch the hard handle of the cart you're pushing around—not to mention observing all the faces and clothes and of the other shoppers and workers and more!

It would be overwhelming for us to be conscious of these billions of bits of input so we're unconscious to most of it—but our brain knows; it registers everything!

But our brain is also smart! Rather than fry out, it cleans out. Our little brain says, Nah, no need to keep images of 20 types of chips and that mom in the purple sweatshirt pushing her little boy in the red cart while giving him a banana to hold. I'll just put these nonessential bits of info into the waste bin. Yep, just like that little trash icon at the bottom of your computer screen:)! 🚮

So dreams are good for our bodies, but did you know they are important for our soul as well?

Dreams for Our Soul

When we sleep, our conscious brain, with all its doubts and limiting beliefs, is turned down. With our analytical mind "off", we are more open to other realms and possibilities.

While our bodies are at rest, we leave through the crown of our head and travel on the astral plane which we experience as "dreams".

During our dreams we:

💫 reconnect with our higher source

👉🏽 receive guidance on our path and purpose

💡 can see solutions our conscious minds just can't

🧚🏽‍♀️ connect with loved ones who no longer have physical bodies

Lucid Dreams

Lucid dreaming is when we are aware that we are dreaming. While lucid, we can influence and interact with our dream experience (be careful if people say you can “control” the dream—that’s not quite true). With practice, we can even heal both physical and psychological ailments during this level of consciousness.

Lucid dreaming is so special to me, it deserves its own Journal entry!

Bridge Between Dimensions

I think of dreams as a bridge between dimensions. It's how we cross over from our physical world to our spiritual one—just for a visit.

If we pay attention, the line between what we think is reality and our dream state blurs. We start to recognize we are always spirit regardless of which side of the bridge we're on.

This is the point! When we recognize ourselves as soul, we are then able to relate to others as soul beings regardless of race, wealth, body size, sexual orientation, physical ability, religion, nationality, political party, and on and on...

This is why we do this work; ultimately, we'll not only intellectualize that we are all connected, but we'll start to embody it, too!

Dream Support*

There are lots of companies trying to entice us to spend money on their dream-enhancing products, which are usually just repackaged vitamins and minerals with fancy labels.

There are, however, a few natural dream enhancers I use regularly such as this herbal blend or mugwort (can be burned, steeped into a tea, or soaked in a bath). It's best to buy these in loose-leaf form to both reduce plastic from individual tea bags and also so you can control the dose).

I also drink a cup of cacao and reishi every day for their calming and sleep-enhancing effects (just be sure to drink it early enough in the day so the caffeine doesn't impact your ability to fall asleep.)

On special occasions, I use these lovely CBD sleep strips.

Energetic Tools to Cultivate Dreams

What’s most helpful, however, are the energetic tools and best practices we can use to help us not only recall our dreams but receive and decipher their messages, too!

We’ll be learning all about and practicing these tools and techniques in the April Practicum next Monday. If you are interested in learning about and practicing ways to cultivate dreams and decipher them, please join us!

Ascended Presence offers clairvoyant reading. A reading can help you gain insight into what’s going on in your life and with people around you. If you are interested in a clairvoyant reading, now is the time!

*I am not a medical professional and these recommendations are not meant to be substituted for medical advice. Some products contain affiliate links.