This week’s challenge is to dream. Technically, every time a human sleeps (at night, I don’t think naps count for this), that human dreams. Dreaming is one of our brain’s mechanisms to relax and rejuvenate. So while you’re asleep, your brain is still firing. These firings are what we call “dreams”. Whether or not you remember your dreams when you wake is another matter, but everyone has dreams.

Culturally, dreams have played a significant role in just about every culture one can dream up (har har, couldn’t resist). Joseph (from the Bible, Torah, & Qu’ran) interpreted the dreams of a pharaoh, there are native American dream/vision quests, and popular in the west right now are dream journals & lucid dreaming.

Many psychologists have debated the meaning of dreams, or their function (in terms of their content, rather than just the physical firing of synapses). Jung said that each “person” in a dream was another aspect of you, and so your feelings in “real life” toward that person could help you understand what your dream meant. Some believe that dreams can give us glimpses into the future. My personal belief is that understanding any part of yourself will bring one to better happiness. Dreams are one part.

The challenge for this week is not just to dream, but to remember the dream (something I have trouble with), to write it down (or type it up) and to interact with it on some level: discuss it with a good friend or spouse, if you feel so inclined; analyze it from a Jungian perspective, asking each character what it has to teach you; or look up some of the major componants of the dream on Google (common elements such as teeth, running, nakedness, and parents are generally held to have similar meanings despite who dreams them).

If you have trouble remembering your dreams the next morning (as I do), there are many ways of convincing yourself to remember them. One is practice. The more you have remembered your dreams, the more you will remember them. I find that gin gives me incredibly realistic dreams that I remember, but is probably not a good solution for many people. And I don’t often administer gin for dreaming… Another is tisanes (you knew this was coming, right?). Trader Joe’s Night Time (I think) isn’t bad, Celestial Seasonings’ Sleepytime is a classic, but all of them combine, generally, chamomile & mint. The problem is, chamomile is a downer & mint an upper. I’m still trying to come up with my perfect combination (lemon verbena & lemon grass are also popular additions to nighttime teas, but have the same issues as mint) and fear not! as soon as I do, I shall tell you (on the Friday following its success). Teavana has “Tranquil Dream” which may be good; and my favorite herbalist, Susun Weed, has recipes for “Sweet Dreams”, “Strong Dreams”, and “Psychedelic Dreams”, none of which I have tried as of yet. The final recommendation I shall give you for remembering your dreams is to go to sleep with the intent of remembering them.

If you wish to share your experiences & dreams in the comments, please do so, but this is not a challenge that I expect everyone to spill on: dreams are often a very private experience.