Why are dreams difficult to remember?
Astral experiences shape fleeting dreams.
What Are Dreams and Why Are They Difficult to Remember?
How often do you wake up with the memory of a bizarre dream, only for it to slip away as you try to recall it? If you’ve wondered about this, insights from theosophical literature might provide an interesting perspective.
What Are Dreams?
Are dreams just random visual images and stories created by the mind? Or are they reflections of our day-to-day life? Perhaps they’re emotional, sensory, or cognitive experiences that occur during sleep.
From a common perspective, dreams are often seen as a blend of real-life experiences, subconscious thoughts, and deep desires. They usually occur during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of sleep, during which the eyes move rapidly, muscles temporarily freeze, and heart rate and blood pressure rise. After waking from REM sleep, people often describe strange, irrational visions and stories that they label as dreams.
The Theosophical Perspective on Dreams
According to the School of Theosophy, while we sleep, the astral body separates from the physical body and returns just before waking up. This re-entry can create an impact on the etheric double and physical consciousness.
Meanwhile, the mental body is also engaged during sleep, leaving its imprint on the physical brain. What we remember as a “dream” is a combination of these experiences, sometimes even influenced by the causal body.
Dreams can appear dramatic because the etheric body organizes the contents of the physical brain in a way that makes them vivid, rearranging them according to its own whims. In this view, dreams are a result of the mental/astral/ etheric experiences interacting with the physical brain during sleep.
Why Are Dreams Hard to Remember?
You may have noticed that when you’re in light sleep, you can sometimes recall your dream, but the memory quickly fades once you’re fully awake.
This happens because, during sleep, the “atomic web” plays a role in blocking the memory of sleep from entering our conscious awareness. Even though our astral and mental bodies are active, the physical brain’s signals tend to overpower these subtler impressions when we wake up. The more we try to forcefully recall a dream, the faster it tends to disappear from memory.
How to Improve Dream Recall?
One effective way to recall dreams is to keep a calm mind and meditate on what little you remember. Writing down fragments of your dream and practicing guided meditation can also help in recollection. A steady mind is key.
A simple yet powerful technique for achieving calmness and stillness is the “Meditation on Twin Hearts.” This meditation not only helps with inner peace and dream recollection but also generates positive karma and attracts good fortune.
