Recalling Your Dreams
Simply deciding that you are interested in your dreams and desire to remember them is crucial in dream recall.
Decide how to record them and have your resources all arranged and close at hand, so you can use them easily without waking fully or getting up.
Focus your attention on remembering and understanding your dreams before going to sleep. These pre-sleep incubation rituals can be as simple or elaborate as you wish.
If you awaken during the night with a dream memory, jot down a few keywords or images. Most often, this will be sufficient to trigger a much fuller recall.
If you do not recall any dreams on awakening, try moving into the habitual body position you use in sleep. Often, this will trigger a dream memory.
If you still do not recall anything from your dreams, try imagining the faces of the people you have the most potent emotional response to in your waking life (positive or negative). Often, one of these faces will appear in a scene or setting; this is often a dream memory and, once grasped, can bring more of the dreams to consciousness. This is like checking our psyche out for activated complexes, always apparent by the extra emotional froth or intensity of feeling.
Consider sharing your dreams with someone you care about. Consider joining or forming a dream group. The social reinforcement of having other people with whom to share dreams most often significantly affects dream recall.
Deamworking: A Primer by Robin van Loben Sels. Used by permission.