Have you ever wondered what your dreams were telling you?
Perhaps you have a reoccurring dream over and over again or you wake up feeling emotional after a dream, or maybe you do not remember your dreams at all.
Dreams are created by our mind (either the conscious or subconsciousness) while we sleep. Most often dreams occur while we are in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep when our brains are most active. While we may dream many times a night often times our brain does not remember when we wake up sometimes feeling groggy, confused, or emotional, or having no recollection at all of anything out of the ordinary.
Meow Wolf – Santa Fe, NM.
Some believe that dreams are the path into our subconsciousness, a space where we can tap into deep emotions, speak our truths, and help sort out any anguish we are feeling about a situation.
Down the Rabbit Hole Workshop
Psychotherapist Erin Amundson, owner of Natural Dream Technology, hosts a monthly workshop at the People’s House in Denver, CO inviting others to dive deeper into their dreams. Each workshop is different because each person’s experience with dreams is different.
Erin starts the workshop with a general overview on dreams, how they have positively effected her life, as well as some of the “dreamers” she’s followed along her personal and professional path such as Einstein and Walt Disney.
Participants were invited to share their experience of dreaming from those who have been tracking their dreams in a 6-week series with Erin to those who are unable to dream and curious why.
For me personally, I felt like I dream frequently, but do not always remember in detail my dreams. I wanted to learn more about how to hone in on this information to bring it to the present when I wake up from a dream.
The Experience
Down the Rabbit Hole Dream Workshop
Channeling dreams is very similar to going into a guided yoga meditation. One is asked to settle into their chair, relax the mind and body, and focus on a bright light shining towards you. The participant is asked to focus in on the light and eventually bring focus to the archetype at question.
An archetype, is a collective dream symbol that tends to come up commonly for people such as the persona (or a mask), oneself (or the ego), the divine child (seeing ourselves in child form), or a shadow. While these archetypes might not come up explicitly in this form the dream and the message is referring to an archetype as an underlying message.
For example, during our workshop a dream regarding an engagement ring not fitting came into play. The ring turned out to be a symbol for addiction for the dreamer and through guided meditation this person was able to understand the rings greater meaning.
One is asked to ponder on the question “Who are you?” a nod to Alice in Wonderland when looking for the meaning behind the dream.
By analyzing our dreams and meditating on an archetype we are able to dive deeper into the true meaning of the dream, perhaps opening up into our subconsciousness and listening to what we might already know, but do not have the courage to act upon in our daily lives.
Does anyone have experience with tracking their dreams?
Cannabis + Dreams
Cannabis has been known to suppress dreams, mostly because of the affects of THC on the brain. Frequent cannabis users will likely see a decrease in REM sleep, but an increase in deep sleep. While this is in no means bad it does decrease the active brain activity during sleeping which causes dreaming. For those with PTSD or insomnia cannabis can be a needed suppressant on our mind’s activity. Deep sleep is also associated with a more restful, higher quality of sleep.
Spending more time in the deep sleep and suddenly waking up gives us that groggy feeling like we smoked too much ganja the night before. As a result our mind is in a fog and we are unable to remember our dreams.
If you are someone who would like to dive deeper into your dreams I would recommended decreasing the intake of THC especially before bed. Switching to a higher CBD:THC ratio could allow the mind to become more active while asleep allowing one to dream more often.
**Those who use cannabis on a regular basis are known to have nightmares after stopping their regime – this is known as the “rebound effect.” Once the body has been suppressed from being in the REM state for so long the body goes into a heightened reaction allowing the dreamer to see more vivid dreams until the body regulates itself back down to a normal state.
What have been your experiences with cannabis and dreaming?
