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How to Recall Your Dreams, by Theresa Cheung

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Poor dream recall is one of the biggest stumbling blocks when it comes to using your dreams to heal and empower your life.

Immediately on waking, you are in that twilight stage between sleep and wakefulness. Sometimes it can be hard to know the di?erence between your dreams and reality in this stage. The reason for this is that your brainwaves are in theta. Delta is the stage when you are fast asleep. Theta is when you are relaxed just before sleeping or just after waking. (Alpha is when you are calm and awake; beta is when you are fully awake and active, with gamma being a state of intense concentration and alertness.)

Theta brainwaves are the optimum state for recalling dreams and reprogramming your mind. When you are fully awake and your brain becomes more alert in alpha, beta, and gamma, your brain is just not as receptive to dream recall. So, what you think about on waking can be potentially life changing. It's also why this time—when you are as close as possible to your dreams—is the perfect time to gently reach for them.

Although a dream can pop into your mind later in the day when something you see, think about, or sense triggers a dream memory, dream recall tends to occur within the first thirty minutes after waking, with the first two minutes being the most likely time.

What you may not realize is that everything you are currently doing in those first thirty minutes on waking might be the enemy of dream recall. But there is something you can do to significantly increase your chances of better dream recall. You just need to keep calm and still.

Don't Blink
If you are practicing good sleep hygiene, you will ideally be waking up around the same time each day without an alarm. That's the optimum way to wake up for dream recall, because an alarm of any kind thrusts you rudely into the land of waking and doesn't give you any transition time to gently recall your dreams.

Your dreaming mind struggles to make its presence felt when your conscious mind takes over, with all the logic and endless "to dos" that come with waking awareness. Also, movement increases your level of alertness and moves you right out of theta. It also signals to your brain that it is time to rise and get busy. So, what you need to do is stay a little longer in the shadows with your dreams.

Keeping your eyes closed fools your brain into thinking you are still asleep and dreaming. Opening your eyes and blinking will decrease your chances of dream recall. A fascinating study has shown that every time you blink, your brain redirects its attention. You want to focus your brain's attention on your dreams as long as possible, so try to avoid blinking and follow this sequence on waking:

• Keep your eyes closed and aim to stay exactly in the position you woke up in for around ninety seconds.
• As you lie there, just let your thoughts take you back to the land of your dreams.
• Ask for dream memories, or focus on one question (only): What can I remember from my dreams?
• Notice whatever images, symbols or sensations come up. See them on the backs of your eyelids if you can.
• If nothing comes through, check in with your feelings, as these will also be symptoms of a dream.
• Do a body scan to see if there is any tension in your body, as your intuition will often speak to you that way.
• Then, when images come flooding in, just let them come alive. Don't try to analyze or interpret or make sense of them at this stage, simply relish and relive the memories for a moment or two before sitting up and writing them down immediately in a journal.

Note: You might wake up bursting to go to the bathroom. If nature is calling you, of course you need to answer it. You can return to bed after you have used the bathroom and close your eyes to see if any dreams and reflections come to you.

Optimizing Your Dream Recall Time
It's easy to forget to keep still in the first few minutes of waking, but don't despair if this doesn't work for you. Dream recall is also likely in the first thirty minutes or after you awake, so optimize that time, too. Whatever your morning routine, try to ensure that in those first thirty minutes you don't reach for your phone. As soon as you do that, you shift your focus from your own needs to the needs of others or to your newsfeed. Checking your phone will put a damper on the mood of your whole day. It will also drive any dream recall away.

Instead of worrying about your phone, do a glorious whole-body stretch and yawn when you first get out of bed. Not only is this energizing, but it may also encourage more expansive thinking. And wherever your waking thinking is expansive, your dreams aren't far behind. Yes, your mind influences your body, but your body also influences your mind. It's amazing how many of us minimize ourselves physically when we get out of bed in the morning, and our mind will follow suit.

So, in those precious early morning moments that set the tone for your day, focus on your needs, on who you are, on your dreams.

It really is crucial, both for your dream recall and for your life in general, that you put yourself centre stage in what many highly successful people call their "power hour." Acknowledging your own needs first and foremost isn't selfish. In fact, it's the most unselfish thing you can do, because you can't give to others what you don't have yourself.

Eureka!
You may well find as you go about your usual morning routine, especially when you wash or shower, that dream memories suddenly break through like a rainbow after rain.

Your conscious awareness is on autopilot when you perform routine activities such as walking, driving, or sitting on a train, and this offers your dreams a chance to take center stage.

If dream memories bubble through when you wake up or during in your morning routine or anytime later in the day, write them down instantly or they will fly away. Don't worry at this stage about understanding or decoding them. Don't try to make any sense of them, either. They won't make sense just yet. Save your dream decoding for later in the day. Right now, your focus should just be on catching those dreams and savoring them.

Your Dream Works
What you have learned: The threads connecting you to your dreams are strongest when you wake. So, stay still for a minute or two in bed with your eyes closed and recall whatever images, stories, feelings, sensations and symbols that you can. Any activity that focuses on the busy day ahead will push your dreams into the background, where they are easily forgotten.

Take Note: Notice how staying calm first thing contributes to better dream recall and/or early morning inspirations. When dream memories bubble to the surface sit up, reach for your dream journal or a blank notebook and immediately write down whatever you recall or whatever is on your mind as it will have been inspired by a vision in your dreams.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2025. All rights reserved.

I have a pretty strange question. My husband passed away a couple of years ago, and nine months later my daughter had a baby girl. Much to our surprise, this little girl has shown many signs that she could be my departed husband reincarnated. They look very much alike, have similar personality traits, and they have the exact same birth spot in the exact same place! Here's the really strange part: I had contact with my husband after he died, and this continued for some time after this baby was born. Lately, however, it's been much harder to connect with him. Is it possible for a soul to reincarnate and still communicate with us as the spirit of the person they were in their last life? I'm so confused. Thank you!

- Denise

Astrea:

It's normal to want to have our loved ones come back - to be reincarnated to be with us - because we grieve so when they are gone. While your granddaughter's similarities to your husband are very pronounced, she is NOT your husband reincarnated.

Our Ka-Tet or Karmic Family rests in the Celestial until the members gather together to be born again as a group. This Celestial Incarnation may last hundreds or thousands of years, but people who die are not reborn to us in our current lifetimes.

Part of her DNA comes from your husband, however, so it makes sense that she would have part of him come through her in her appearance and demeanor.

While she isn't your deceased husband, it is possible that she is communicating with him, and that could account for a lot of what she's doing that makes you think of him. If he is a guardian watching over her, it would make sense that she would pick up on his mannerisms, gestures and expressions.

She could be dramatically affected by his Spiritual presence, right down to her facial expressions. She's learning to make faces now, and if she sees him, she may copy him just like she does the rest of the family.

Little kids can access Spirit a whole lot easier than we can because they haven't learned or been taught to close themselves off from such experiences. It's a good idea to let her know that's fine with you, because that way she'll be able to connect with him longer.

As she gets older, you'll be able to tell her not to talk to just anyone who is in Spirit, and teach her to protect herself from any kind of bad or unpleasant Entity who might try to come through her.

To be so like your husband she must have some kind of Spirit connection with him, and this could open up for other spirits as time goes by. (No doubt she's inherited this psychic sensitivity from YOU.)

Finally, I don't see how she could be your husband because your communication with him continued after she was born. A person is in Life or a person is in Spirit, and not caught or split between the two. Because she is so like him, you just get caught up in the feeling of his essence.

He may also be trying to come to you through her at times, so be vigilant about observing her. Soon she'll begin to talk TO him, if she's not doing that already. Also, as she learns how to talk, you'll be able to ask her how he's doing or if there is something he needs you to know.

While I know you would love to have him back again as this baby, that's not what happened. He lives THROUGH her, but he can't BE her. I'm sure you'll enjoy her as herself just as much as you loved him.

*****

Susyn:

What you describe is quite possible. In fact, I've seen and experienced this phenomenon myself.

You're fortunate to recognize the similarities and signs of your husband that your granddaughter is exhibiting. Most people don't realize how quickly a loved one can return to us in human form, or how very near they can be when they do.

As we transition from one plane to another, there are still many unknowns as to how, when and in what context spirits can communicate. Some can speak with you or leave signs, others can manifest in a ghostly form, and still others can cause physical objects to move.

The idea that spirits could be in more than one place at the same time is mystifying, isn't it? However, the more we learn about the other side, the more we come to realize that the possibilities are endless and often far beyond our understanding.

I will say that as your granddaughter grows, starts talking and formulating her own thoughts more, you may experience less and less contact with your husband. In the same timeframe however, you'll notice more and more of his traits coming out through her spirit, especially in the words she says and her special knowing smile.

It may seem confusing that your husband's spirit is operating in two different places virtually at the same time. It may help to ponder that just as our bodies are left behind on earth after death, for a time our spirits are moving to another plane, so during that period, we appear to be in two different places at the same time.

Your granddaughter will soon start speaking to you, and as she does, many of the things she says will confirm her soul's identity. This will be especially true between the ages of one and five, when young children still have memories or a sense of who they were in a previous life.

You'll also notice her being drawn to objects of her grandfather's or showing interest in some of his favorite hobbies or pastimes. She may share his favorite flavor of ice cream, and even display some of his physical habits such as nail biting or frowning in a certain way.

You'll also share looks and secrets with each other that no one else will seem to be in on because the loving bond you formed with your husband and his spirit will now reside in her.

How wonderful to be awake and aware enough to witness this phenomenon, Denise! You can watch the process of birth and rebirth and see how, despite your loss, there is lots of evidence that your husband has never truly left your side.

He's found a wonderful way of continuing to share your lives and remain close to you, your daughter, and the rest of his loved ones.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.