Very interesting! I have had many insights from some dreams that have felt prophetic. Also deja-vu, where I'd clearly dreamt something in then it happened exactly the same way much later. I love dreaming!
That feeling is hard to ignore when it happens like that - when something lines up so closely it almost feels like you’ve been there before.
I’ve had a few moments like that too…Whether it’s the brain picking up patterns or something more subtle, it definitely makes you pay attention a bit more.
I like that you said you love dreaming - that curiosity makes a difference. It turns those moments into something you stay open to, rather than trying to explain them away too quickly.
If you like reading about dreams and intuition I recently wrote a piece with Andrea which shows how dreams actually can mean something.
The mind and suneidesis (our co-conscientious awareness) are inseparable and at peace when our thoughts are centered around the nature of our suneidesis, unconditional love in its own time frame.
The sense of now in this time frame makes past events feel like they are part of the present. Dreams are an expression of this time frame, disconnected from the time frame of physical senses.
When we are developing awareness of our unconditional love, learning how to give it to those who give it to us to those who do not, dreams guide our mind to better understand our suneidesis.
When we are ignoring such awareness, dreams warn us of the conflict between our mind and suneidesis.
That idea of dreams reflecting alignment or tension internally… I’ve noticed that in a more everyday way. Some dreams leave me feeling settled, almost clear when I wake up. Others feel more unsettled, like something is still being worked through in the background.
I like how you brought in the sense of time as well. Dreams don’t really follow the same structure as waking life, but they still carry emotional continuity somehow.
For me, I tend to see them less as direct guidance and more as signals - not always literal, but pointing toward something worth paying attention to.
Interesting way of framing it. It made me pause and think about it a bit differently.
The co- in co-conscientious awareness can be interpreted as collective conscientiousness. Some even speak of a collective unconscious or of dreams being experienced collectively.
I believe we are having a collective type waking dream. We wake up out of it when we follow our true nature and love and forgive others unconditionally, giving them a chance to wake up if they respond and choose to do the same.
I’m a dream nerd and the goal of my substack is to cultivate a joy in perceptual diversity including dreams, imagination and altered or non-ordinary states. Dreams fascinate me the most though and dream sharing is something that I found so healing personally and in community.
I love that - “perceptual diversity” is such a good way to put it.
Dreams really do open up a completely different layer of experience. I’ve had moments where sharing a dream with someone shifted how I saw it entirely - like they picked up on something I wouldn’t have noticed on my own. There’s something quietly powerful about that kind of exchange.
And I get what you mean about it being healing. Even just saying a dream out loud can make it feel less fragmented, like it settles into something you can actually sit with.
Curious how you approach dream sharing on your Substack - do you focus more on reflection, or just letting the dream exist without too much interpretation?
I do more of the reflection/meaning making for myself. I do want to share more dream stories without any context or meaning making as well when I have really interesting dreams. I’ve hosted small dream circles online with friends and we usually share the dream and then allow community reflections. After that we provide context and our own title/meaning of the dream. I agree that in community it’s so amazing to see how other people can pick up on patterns or certain things in the dream that we are blind to.
I've had a somewhat similar experience. Hit fully lucid dreams a few times, mostly by accident, but also have over the years tuned into dreams, and see how they emerge from events of the day, past conflicts or concerns, puns, and feelings. Have also noticed that the solutions from dreams sometimes seem to solve more than one issue at the same time.
Nice article. I appreciated it. Happy dreaming! :)
I like how you described that - especially the mix of things dreams pull from. It’s rarely just one source, it’s bits of the day, older stuff, emotions, even those strange little puns your mind slips in.
And that part about solutions landing across more than one issue… I’ve noticed that too. It’s almost like the mind isn’t solving things in a straight line, but finding a way to connect things that didn’t seem related when you were awake.
Also interesting that your lucid moments happened more by accident. That seems to be how it starts for a lot of people - catching that awareness for a second rather than forcing it.
Glad the piece resonated with you. And yeah - happy dreaming back :)
So interesting! A question popped up: I once read that when you’re able to remember your dream, it means that you haven’t fully processed what happened that day. Did the book say something about that?
From what I took from the book, it’s not quite that remembering a dream means something wasn’t processed. It’s a bit more nuanced. Dreams are part of how the brain processes and sorts through the day - emotions, memories, loose ends - but the ones we remember are usually the ones that had a bit more intensity or emotional charge, or just happened closer to waking.
So it’s less “this didn’t get processed” and more “this stood out enough to surface.”
I’ve noticed that myself - the dreams I remember tend to have a certain feeling to them, even if the details are strange. Not always unresolved, but definitely noticeable.
Curious if the dreams you remember tend to have that kind of emotional tone to them?
Yes, also me, I had quite ordinary days with detail-rich and weird dreams of completely different context both as to the places and things therein, as to the meaning I gave them when I woke up or later, that didn't root in those few days before or after that dream. It's like with great foresight or call to action to happen a few weeks/months afterwards. They changed the emotional tone, from getting totally lost into well that's sort of weird, why has the landscape changed, where am I, anyway but let me just do this and that to get back on track there, like, talk in English to foreigners to help me getting a taxi.
Thank you for the reminder about lucid dreaming. When I was younger I always knew when I was in a dream and could even change the scenery or tone of the dream while dreaming. However, since I became a Mom, I seem to have lost that ability. I can remember my dreams but I have not been able to control the environment if needed. I'm going to try looking at clock during the day. Thank you 😊
Yess! You are spot on "your attention gets pulled outward so much that inner awareness seeing dreams can quiet down a bit"--that makes sooo much sense. I checked in once yesterday and once today. I became a mom almost 12yrs ago so I'm sure it will take time getting back to it! I appreciate your writing 💗
That’s really interesting - and honestly, it makes a lot of sense.
I’ve heard similar things from people after big life shifts, especially something as consuming as becoming a parent. Your attention gets pulled outward so much that that inner “awareness” during dreams can quiet down a bit.
The fact that you still remember your dreams is actually a good sign though. It means that connection is still there, just maybe not as active in the same way it used to be.
I like that you’re going to try the clock habit - those small check-ins during the day can slowly carry over into dreams without forcing it. From what I’ve seen, it tends to come back gradually, not all at once.
Also, there’s something to be said for not pushing it too hard. Sometimes just being curious about your dreams again is enough to shift things over time.
Thanks for sharing this book. I'm one of those people who dreams a lot. I've always been interested in what was going on in my mind to enable a specific dream. I think This Is Why You Dream will answer some of those questions.
I get that - when you dream a lot, it’s hard not to get curious about what’s actually going on underneath it.
I’ve had periods where my dreams felt really active too, and what stood out wasn’t always the obvious meaning, but how certain themes kept repeating in slightly different ways. That’s where it started to feel less random and more like something my mind was working through in its own language.
I think you’ll find the book interesting for that reason. It doesn’t try to pin one fixed meaning on dreams, but it gives you a better sense of why they show up the way they do.
If you end up reading it, I’d be curious what patterns you start noticing in your own dreams.
What a great piece. My new religious scriptures worship sleep and so I'm also using wind down rituals to help me each night. I may have to check out this book now, napping has been a weakness of mine which you have encouraged me to approach and work at. Thank you!
I like that - “religious scriptures worship sleep”
I’ve had to relearn that part myself. For a long time I treated sleep like something to squeeze in, not something that actually supports everything else.
And I get what you mean about napping. It can feel like a weakness, especially if it turns into avoidance. But I’ve found when it’s intentional, even a short one, it can reset things in a way that pushing through never does.
Curious what kind of wind down routine you’ve been trying - I’m always interested in how other people ease into that shift at the end of the day.
This is fascinating- and how interesting it popped up on a morning where I woke from a very vivid dream (about missing trains as I travelled to India 😂)
The practice that really helps me with both lucid dreaming and liminal dreaming (being in a dream state even if we are not fully asleep) is yoga nidra. It is a really powerful way to be present with, and remember, the dreams arising for us and the messages they bring. It is also a great way of having a daytime nap that feels creative and insightful 😄
That timing is kind of perfect - those vivid, slightly chaotic travel dreams always seem to linger more than the others. Missing trains feels like one of those themes that sticks with you for a bit after you wake up… I know the feeling.
I like what you said about yoga nidra. I’ve tried it a few times and noticed that same in-between state you’re describing - not fully asleep, but not fully in your usual thinking either. It does make it easier to catch fragments of dreams instead of losing them straight away.
And I agree, it has that oddly creative feel to it. Not just rest, but something a bit more active happening under the surface.
I also found fascinating the 3rd eye meditation. Brings us into the alpha state where we are not awake but not asleep… it opens the door to intuition… it’s an amazing practice. If you are interested, I share the link where I wrote about it.
That space you’re pointing to - before we try to make sense of it - feels familiar. I’ve noticed that if I move too quickly to interpret a dream, I lose something important. But if I just sit with it for a bit, even without understanding it, it has a different kind of weight.
Almost like it’s not asking to be solved right away, just noticed.
Very interesting! I have had many insights from some dreams that have felt prophetic. Also deja-vu, where I'd clearly dreamt something in then it happened exactly the same way much later. I love dreaming!
That feeling is hard to ignore when it happens like that - when something lines up so closely it almost feels like you’ve been there before.
I’ve had a few moments like that too…Whether it’s the brain picking up patterns or something more subtle, it definitely makes you pay attention a bit more.
I like that you said you love dreaming - that curiosity makes a difference. It turns those moments into something you stay open to, rather than trying to explain them away too quickly.
If you like reading about dreams and intuition I recently wrote a piece with Andrea which shows how dreams actually can mean something.
I love dreaming too 😊
https://wisdomlibrary.substack.com/p/dreams-intuition-quiet-intelligence-within-us?r=2r3u84&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
The mind and suneidesis (our co-conscientious awareness) are inseparable and at peace when our thoughts are centered around the nature of our suneidesis, unconditional love in its own time frame.
The sense of now in this time frame makes past events feel like they are part of the present. Dreams are an expression of this time frame, disconnected from the time frame of physical senses.
When we are developing awareness of our unconditional love, learning how to give it to those who give it to us to those who do not, dreams guide our mind to better understand our suneidesis.
When we are ignoring such awareness, dreams warn us of the conflict between our mind and suneidesis.
That idea of dreams reflecting alignment or tension internally… I’ve noticed that in a more everyday way. Some dreams leave me feeling settled, almost clear when I wake up. Others feel more unsettled, like something is still being worked through in the background.
I like how you brought in the sense of time as well. Dreams don’t really follow the same structure as waking life, but they still carry emotional continuity somehow.
For me, I tend to see them less as direct guidance and more as signals - not always literal, but pointing toward something worth paying attention to.
Interesting way of framing it. It made me pause and think about it a bit differently.
Yes, signals is a good word for it.
The co- in co-conscientious awareness can be interpreted as collective conscientiousness. Some even speak of a collective unconscious or of dreams being experienced collectively.
I believe we are having a collective type waking dream. We wake up out of it when we follow our true nature and love and forgive others unconditionally, giving them a chance to wake up if they respond and choose to do the same.
Well I need to read this book!!
I’m a dream nerd and the goal of my substack is to cultivate a joy in perceptual diversity including dreams, imagination and altered or non-ordinary states. Dreams fascinate me the most though and dream sharing is something that I found so healing personally and in community.
I love that - “perceptual diversity” is such a good way to put it.
Dreams really do open up a completely different layer of experience. I’ve had moments where sharing a dream with someone shifted how I saw it entirely - like they picked up on something I wouldn’t have noticed on my own. There’s something quietly powerful about that kind of exchange.
And I get what you mean about it being healing. Even just saying a dream out loud can make it feel less fragmented, like it settles into something you can actually sit with.
Curious how you approach dream sharing on your Substack - do you focus more on reflection, or just letting the dream exist without too much interpretation?
I do more of the reflection/meaning making for myself. I do want to share more dream stories without any context or meaning making as well when I have really interesting dreams. I’ve hosted small dream circles online with friends and we usually share the dream and then allow community reflections. After that we provide context and our own title/meaning of the dream. I agree that in community it’s so amazing to see how other people can pick up on patterns or certain things in the dream that we are blind to.
I've had a somewhat similar experience. Hit fully lucid dreams a few times, mostly by accident, but also have over the years tuned into dreams, and see how they emerge from events of the day, past conflicts or concerns, puns, and feelings. Have also noticed that the solutions from dreams sometimes seem to solve more than one issue at the same time.
Nice article. I appreciated it. Happy dreaming! :)
I like how you described that - especially the mix of things dreams pull from. It’s rarely just one source, it’s bits of the day, older stuff, emotions, even those strange little puns your mind slips in.
And that part about solutions landing across more than one issue… I’ve noticed that too. It’s almost like the mind isn’t solving things in a straight line, but finding a way to connect things that didn’t seem related when you were awake.
Also interesting that your lucid moments happened more by accident. That seems to be how it starts for a lot of people - catching that awareness for a second rather than forcing it.
Glad the piece resonated with you. And yeah - happy dreaming back :)
So interesting! A question popped up: I once read that when you’re able to remember your dream, it means that you haven’t fully processed what happened that day. Did the book say something about that?
That’s a really interesting idea…
From what I took from the book, it’s not quite that remembering a dream means something wasn’t processed. It’s a bit more nuanced. Dreams are part of how the brain processes and sorts through the day - emotions, memories, loose ends - but the ones we remember are usually the ones that had a bit more intensity or emotional charge, or just happened closer to waking.
So it’s less “this didn’t get processed” and more “this stood out enough to surface.”
I’ve noticed that myself - the dreams I remember tend to have a certain feeling to them, even if the details are strange. Not always unresolved, but definitely noticeable.
Curious if the dreams you remember tend to have that kind of emotional tone to them?
Yes, also me, I had quite ordinary days with detail-rich and weird dreams of completely different context both as to the places and things therein, as to the meaning I gave them when I woke up or later, that didn't root in those few days before or after that dream. It's like with great foresight or call to action to happen a few weeks/months afterwards. They changed the emotional tone, from getting totally lost into well that's sort of weird, why has the landscape changed, where am I, anyway but let me just do this and that to get back on track there, like, talk in English to foreigners to help me getting a taxi.
Thank you for the reminder about lucid dreaming. When I was younger I always knew when I was in a dream and could even change the scenery or tone of the dream while dreaming. However, since I became a Mom, I seem to have lost that ability. I can remember my dreams but I have not been able to control the environment if needed. I'm going to try looking at clock during the day. Thank you 😊
Yess! You are spot on "your attention gets pulled outward so much that inner awareness seeing dreams can quiet down a bit"--that makes sooo much sense. I checked in once yesterday and once today. I became a mom almost 12yrs ago so I'm sure it will take time getting back to it! I appreciate your writing 💗
That’s really interesting - and honestly, it makes a lot of sense.
I’ve heard similar things from people after big life shifts, especially something as consuming as becoming a parent. Your attention gets pulled outward so much that that inner “awareness” during dreams can quiet down a bit.
The fact that you still remember your dreams is actually a good sign though. It means that connection is still there, just maybe not as active in the same way it used to be.
I like that you’re going to try the clock habit - those small check-ins during the day can slowly carry over into dreams without forcing it. From what I’ve seen, it tends to come back gradually, not all at once.
Also, there’s something to be said for not pushing it too hard. Sometimes just being curious about your dreams again is enough to shift things over time.
Thanks for sharing this book. I'm one of those people who dreams a lot. I've always been interested in what was going on in my mind to enable a specific dream. I think This Is Why You Dream will answer some of those questions.
I get that - when you dream a lot, it’s hard not to get curious about what’s actually going on underneath it.
I’ve had periods where my dreams felt really active too, and what stood out wasn’t always the obvious meaning, but how certain themes kept repeating in slightly different ways. That’s where it started to feel less random and more like something my mind was working through in its own language.
I think you’ll find the book interesting for that reason. It doesn’t try to pin one fixed meaning on dreams, but it gives you a better sense of why they show up the way they do.
If you end up reading it, I’d be curious what patterns you start noticing in your own dreams.
What a great piece. My new religious scriptures worship sleep and so I'm also using wind down rituals to help me each night. I may have to check out this book now, napping has been a weakness of mine which you have encouraged me to approach and work at. Thank you!
I like that - “religious scriptures worship sleep”
I’ve had to relearn that part myself. For a long time I treated sleep like something to squeeze in, not something that actually supports everything else.
And I get what you mean about napping. It can feel like a weakness, especially if it turns into avoidance. But I’ve found when it’s intentional, even a short one, it can reset things in a way that pushing through never does.
Curious what kind of wind down routine you’ve been trying - I’m always interested in how other people ease into that shift at the end of the day.
This is fascinating- and how interesting it popped up on a morning where I woke from a very vivid dream (about missing trains as I travelled to India 😂)
The practice that really helps me with both lucid dreaming and liminal dreaming (being in a dream state even if we are not fully asleep) is yoga nidra. It is a really powerful way to be present with, and remember, the dreams arising for us and the messages they bring. It is also a great way of having a daytime nap that feels creative and insightful 😄
That timing is kind of perfect - those vivid, slightly chaotic travel dreams always seem to linger more than the others. Missing trains feels like one of those themes that sticks with you for a bit after you wake up… I know the feeling.
I like what you said about yoga nidra. I’ve tried it a few times and noticed that same in-between state you’re describing - not fully asleep, but not fully in your usual thinking either. It does make it easier to catch fragments of dreams instead of losing them straight away.
And I agree, it has that oddly creative feel to it. Not just rest, but something a bit more active happening under the surface.
I also found fascinating the 3rd eye meditation. Brings us into the alpha state where we are not awake but not asleep… it opens the door to intuition… it’s an amazing practice. If you are interested, I share the link where I wrote about it.
https://wisdomlibrary.substack.com/p/third-eye-meditation-for-inner-stillness?r=2r3u84&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thanks you Alexandra! 🙏🏼
I like that . Never felt lectured. Felt accompanied.
Thank you
✨✨✨ love the article. 🫡🪄
Thank you so much
You’re welcome 🌹✨✨
There is a moment
before a dream becomes something to understand.
Not when it speaks,
but when it remains
without asking to be translated.
That’s where it begins.
That space you’re pointing to - before we try to make sense of it - feels familiar. I’ve noticed that if I move too quickly to interpret a dream, I lose something important. But if I just sit with it for a bit, even without understanding it, it has a different kind of weight.
Almost like it’s not asking to be solved right away, just noticed.
What you wrote captures that really well.