Dreams for personal growth work because the way we feel about others (and their habits) is a potent mirror for how we feel about parts of ourselves. Dreaming is an instinctual process for humans, and by working with it, we can strengthen our relationship with ourselves and with the world around us. Here are six ways you can bring dream work into your waking life to deepen your awareness.
6 Ways to Use Dreams for Personal Growth
1. Dreams Show You Your Disowned Parts
In dreams, we often interact with disowned parts of ourselves: qualities we view as inappropriate or dangerous, or even parts we don’t think we have, like power and beauty. We can use our dreams as teachers to show us these rejected parts and practice getting to know them from curiosity instead of fear or hatred.
2. Dreams Strengthen Compassion for Self and Others
In shamanic cultures, everyone and everything is seen as part of the self. In this way, the tree, the ocean, the friends, and the villains can all be seen with a sort of reverence. The same is true of our dream life, so cultivating a relationship with our dream parts creates pathways for the same practices in waking life.
When we see something scary in a dream, we tend to run or push it away. Instead, get curious. What does this represent for me? What is it about this figure that I don’t like? What if I could befriend it? If you feel like you need some protection to get closer, give that to yourself and take a closer look.
3. Dreams Improve Mindfulness
Think of your dreams throughout the day. Write them down and share them with others. Ask yourself throughout the day, “Am I in a dream?” By making a habit of thinking about your dreams while you’re awake, you’ll make a habit of thinking about your waking self while you’re dreaming. This gives you the opportunity to become aware inside a dream so you can interact with the dream itself.
The practice also strengthens mindfulness in general. We begin to train our brain to take a step back, evaluate whether something is true, and look for deeper meaning instead of taking things at surface value.
4. Dreams Improve Your Relationship With Spirits
We’re often visited in dreams by spirits, animals, ancestors, and loved ones. Sometimes we even get direct messages or prophecy dreams. This is because during dreaming we’re already in the “in-between” realm, so communication pathways with other realms are open and available.
When we make a point to remember our dreams and dream figures, we’re telling the universe that we’re paying attention and listening. When spirits know we’re listening, they’re more willing to talk to us. Once we begin to notice spirits appearing in our dreams, it becomes easier to notice when they’re present in our waking life too.
5. Dreams Increase Right Brain Function
It turns out we have a whole bunch of capacities for knowing beyond linear thinking. A dreaming practice allows you to bring these other functions into your life (and why wouldn’t we want to improve ALL ways of knowing?).
Just the practice of recording your dreams usually requires a kind of “sideways thinking” in order to recall the dream. Ever notice how something will happen during the day and all of a sudden you remember a part of your dream? Recalling dreams requires you to step back and allow your left brain to get a little foggy in order to track the dream memory. This increases pathways to your intuition, your higher self, and your psychic abilities. It gives your analytical mind a break and helps balance left and right brain functions.
6. Dreams Deepen Your Manifesting Power
Once you have a solid dream practice and can remember some of your dreams, you can start practicing manifesting in your sleep! By focusing on an intention before you go to sleep (or writing it down and placing it under your pillow), you can work toward your manifesting goals at night too. With the intention in mind, your dreams will form around it, revealing tips, desires, clues, or blocks that might be holding you back. Plus, why not make it easy on yourself and do your work while you’re sleeping?
Start Using Dreams for Personal Growth
Whichever way you begin, using dreams for personal growth is one of the simplest and most natural practices available to you. Start by writing down just one dream tomorrow morning.
When Dreamwork Deepens Your Practice
If you’re a practitioner, dreams can help you meet the disowned parts of yourself and your clients with curiosity instead of fear. The Way of the Hollow Bone Master Healer Certification is a nine-month path for healers ready to work with dreams, spirit messages, and shadow with skill and compassion, and bring this kind of depth into the sessions they offer. Apply now if you’re ready to let the dreamworld guide your work.