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We spend a third of our lives asleep and a fair proportion of that time dreaming. Dreamworking can help you understand your deepest desires, work out tricky problems and relationships and even make you happier and healthier.

Some people insist they never dream but, even though you may not remember your dreams we all, without exception, dream each and every night. Every ninety minutes or so we shift into Rapid Eye Movement or REM sleep. Our eyes move rapidly under our closed eyelids and our brainwaves become highly active, almost as though we were awake. In the early part of the night, when we sleep the deepest, our dreams are quite short (lasting only a few minutes at most) but as we move towards morning, our sleep becomes lighter and some dreams can last nearly an hour.  Our Peaceful Slumber blend is designed to promote all aspects of healthy sleep, including REM sleep.

Why Work With Dreams?

Our unconscious minds often know exactly what we need. Learn to listen to your dreams and they could help make your waking life much more fulfilling: your relationships should improve; your career could change for the better.

Dreams often take us back to the past, giving us an opportunity to look back at our mistakes, our traumas and hurts - and reassess them in the bright light of the present.   Many psychotherapists and hypnotherapists will use dreamwork in this way. Interestingly, it is not only emotional or mental relief that comes from working with dreams. Often physical symptoms will disappear. There have also been instances of dreams giving an early warning of physical problems. In many cases a vivid dream will lead a person to seek medical help – and the dream diagnosis often proves uncannily accurate.

Night School: Working With Your Dreams

You can train yourself to remember and interpret your dreams – all it takes is a little time and effort. Start by keeping a dream diary.

In order to work with your dreams, you need to be able to remember them in the first place.   Develop the dreaming habit with these tips.

1. Keep a special notebook and pen by the side of your bed.  If you aren’t a good sleeper, use some Peaceful Slumber. If you already sleep well and just want to boost your dreaming, anoint yourself with our DIY Dream Dynamo blend.
2. As you start dozing off, tell yourself ‘Tonight I shall dream and I shall remember it.’
3. When you wake from a dream, lie still in the position in which you woke. Repeat the dream out loud or run through it in your head.
4. When you have it in full, write it down in your journal. Don’t be tempted to wait until morning - you’ll forget it.
5. What happened in your dream? Who are the main characters? People (and animals and even monsters) in dreams tend to represent parts of our selves.
6. What was most noticeable in your dream? The setting? The situation? Any object or characteristic that seemed meaningful? What did it mean to you?
7. Try drawing or painting key characters or symbols from your dream. Or paint the feeling, or the colours that come to mind. Don’t censor yourself – daub freely.

Dream Dynamo

This blend is designed to help boost your capacity to remember your dreams. It uses oils that have been associated with vivid and prophetic dreaming since the time of the Egyptians and ancient Greeks. Anoint your pulses points with it before you sleep. You can also use it in a diffuser (providing it’s safe to leave on at night).

• 15 drops Lavender angustifolia
• 10 drops Patchouli
• 10 drops Roman Chamomile
• 10 drops Helichrysum italicum
• 1 drop Nutmeg*

Directions: Add 18 drops to 1 ounce of Jojoba to make a body massage oil. For a diffuser, add 6 drops.

*Some sources suggest avoiding the use of Nutmeg oil during pregnancy.