When people find out I run a dream website, I often hear: “That sounds really interesting! I’d love to learn more about my dreams…but I never remember them.”

In American culture, this is an all too common statement. As children, we’re generally not programmed to pay attention to our own inner voice and this includes our nightly dreams. Most folks have only passing interest in their dreams, and may remember a mere handful of them in a whole lifetime.

For those of us who have decided to take our dreams more seriously, recalling them can still be a challenge. I’ve been writing down my nightly adventures for years (thousands of them) and still run into dry periods where I can’t remember anything. Why is that?

Blame it on today’s lifestyle.

From the minute we wake up in the morning our attention is constantly pulled toward external influences, a long string of tasks and events that leave little room for inner reflection. Whatever is left at the end of the day is usually reserved for TV, video games (or other hobby), reading, eating and if you’re lucky…sex. There’s nothing wrong with any of those activities they’re great, but we need to balance it with a little internal focus as well.

Daily meditation (guided is fine), prayer, spending time in nature, or writing thoughts in a journal are all examples of internal time well spent, and as a result you will most likely develop a higher interest in your dreams.

In addition to this if you want to increase your dream recall, you need to make the effort to program yourself to do so, even if you’ve been doing some kind of internal work for years.

Persistent attention is the key. Every night before falling asleep, tell yourself you will remember your dream…remember my dream…remember my dream. Repeat it ten times. If you do remember your dream when you awaken, go over it in your head before get up. You are more likely to recall the details when you write it down later.

Unless you are drinking alcohol right before sleep or taking heavy prescription drugs, these simple efforts will definitely help to increase your dream recall.

Good Luck and Sweet Dreams!