The moment we commit to dreamwork, it seems, we become more aware of our dreams.  Even when we used to remember our dreams but have failed to for a while, the moment we consider engaging with dreamwork, we begin to remember again.  We are ready to pay attention, and the unconscious responds generously, so we get comfortable with the regularity of our dream recall.  That is, until one day, and then two, three, four—and feels like forever—we cannot seem to remember our dreams at all.

Upon waking, we know we have been dreaming all night.  We sense it; we feel it in our bodies.  We can tell the tail end of our dream is within reach, and yet we just can’t seem to pull it through into our waking consciousness.  Or maybe we don’t feel anything, and yet we know that if we could only catch one image, surely the rest of the dream or series of dreams would follow.  On a good day, we may spend an hour laying still in bed, softly shifting from sleep position to sleep position, gently or fiercely attempting to grasp any trace of a dream.  On a not-so-good day, we may succumb to frustration, a touch of failure, or even a fear of abandonment from dreammaker.

Dream research assures us that we all dream five to seven dreams per night, and that the question is not whether we dream but rather whether we remember our dreams.  So what gets in the way of our remembering?

Starting with the most practical, we must consider dream recall cycles.  We tend to sleep in 1.5-hour cycles, such that we are more likely to remember our dreams after each of these cycles.  Sleeping past a cycle inevitably skips our chances of sharper dream recall.  Whenever our sleep patterns change, our capacity for dream recall can be affected.  What we can do: keep track of our sleeping patterns in relation to our dream recall and become more familiar with our personal cycles.

Along those lines, our quality of sleep also goes through cycles.  Sometimes we sleep lightly, and sometimes more heavily; sometimes we need less sleep, and sometimes we feel like we can’t get enough sleep.  What we can do: keep track of our sleep quality cycles and what may influence them, and notice what conditions foment easier dream recall for us.

The quality of our waking hours affects our quality of sleep and sleep cycles.  Our attitudes, motivations, and preconceptions get in the way.  Pressure to remember dreams can also interfere.  It is important to let go of any attachment to a particular outcome upon waking, and of any expectation that dreams will speak directly to our specific waking concerns.  Our minds may have an agenda, and dreammaker has other plans. Sometimes the interference is not conscious.  We we may be unconsciously blocking what may come up in our dreams with a resistance based on fear.  What we can do: hold our intention to work with the material from our dreams, commit to releasing our resistance, and let go of expectation.  With patience and care, we can perhaps grasp sensations and draw ideas from dreams even when we cannot recall them.

Then we have a whole other world of possibility around why we are unable to remember our dreams, especially when we have committed to and have long sustained a dreamwork practice.

Some dream workers agree that the labor our of dreams is generally ahead of our ability to fully understand them, and yet dreaming continues to happen.  Most of the work that happens in dreams is, as Jeremy Taylor would say, “not yet speech-ripe.”  As our dreamwork deepens, so do our dreams’ layers of meaning.  As we release resistance and become more receptive to dream messages, dreams shift tones and take on new forms.  The more we take our dream messages seriously, the more complex the messages become.  The more we listen, the more we receive.  Sometimes, there is a great deal of learning to integrate.  Sometimes, dreammaker is just giving us a break.  And sometimes we are being asked to be patient and wait.  If indeed dreams are concurrently taking place in countless levels of consciousness beyond our limited awareness, there is only so much our human mind can grasp.  It could be the case that dreammaker’s plan is to release the new information when the work is more well-defined, more easily articulable, and when we are more ready to receive it.

Regardless of our ability to remember our dreams on any given day, we can rest assured that dreams continue to work for us and our evolution every night.  The growth and transformation toward our greater health and wholeness has already happened, and it is just a matter of time before the results come into our conscious awareness and waking life catches up with the work of our dreams.