When Forgotten Dreams Start Coming True
A Guide to Dream Journaling and Life Visioning
Why Dreams Matter More Than You Think
What if I told you that right now, your dreams may be trying to give you a roadmap for the next Season of your life?
I know, I know. You've probably been told that dreams are just your brain's screensaver — random images while your mind processes the day's events. And maybe somewhere along the way, you also stopped believing in the other kind of dreams… the ones you used to have for your life.
But what if that's not the whole story?
What if our sleeping minds are actually more open to receiving guidance, visions, and glimpses of what wants to emerge?
How I Started Dream Journaling (And What Happened Next)
I used to dismiss my dreams too.
In fact, I forgot most of them within minutes of waking.
But I got curious…
Did I have habits of dreaming?
Could I grow my capacity to remember my dreams?
What would I discover?
So in the late summer of 2024, I started journaling my dreams as soon as I woke. Then, something happened that completely shifted my perspective.
I was sitting in bed early in the morning. I'd just finished my morning dream journal practice. I knew the Autumn equinox was happening in a few days. So, I decided to look back at the time last year.
I was shocked when I read an entry about a dream I had that I titled “Triple-Sister Retreat.”
You see, I've been meeting with two women every Friday for a few months to heartstorm and host a one-day retreat called Root & Resonance. And just the day before, we wrapped up the final mapping of what the day would include, how it would feel, and the arch of the flow. The retreat includes somatic movement, herbal love, Human Design, and sound healing.
Now, I want to stress that I had no recollection of the journal entry or the dream until I read it.
From My Dream Journal…
Triple-Sister Retreat
…We just completed a soulful retreat. There were three of us holding circle. I was standing outside and could feel the breeze on my flesh… the crisp air of Autumn. The Earth tender was walking toward me; all I could see was her hand caressing the tall Autumn grasses and wildflowers as she slowly moved toward me. I could hear the medicine bowls singing… bellowing out from the retreat room behind me. We were being called in.
The Power of the Imaginal Realm
I felt like this dream was a seed planted in the fertile darkness, quietly growing and taking root. It wasn’t an idea I clung to and tried to make happen. It unfolded organically. It made me appreciate how the imaginal realm can work its magic while we’re busy living our lives.
And here’s what I’m wondering now…
If the imaginal can plant seeds for retreats I didn’t even know I was dreaming of, what else might it be trying to show us? What else might be available if I were to start tuning into my dreams with a different quality of attention? What would shift if I tuned into them as a guide inward or forward? Honestly, at this point, I don’t know what that would look like. But I’m willing to play with it.
And…
Reconnecting With Your Life Dreams
What if this season of fertile darkness is inviting us to pay attention not just to our sleeping dreams, but to the forgotten life dreams we’ve tucked away? The ones we’ve convinced ourselves are too late, too impractical, too much?
And here’s another thing that inspired wonder…
One of the things we lean into during the Autumn months in the Embodied Well Membership is settling into the unknown. One way to do that is to explore the imaginal. It isn't a formal practice — simply an invitation to tune in and notice your dreams, explore art journaling, or any form of engaging with the imaginal. Somehow, having this all happen during Autumn added an extra layer of awe.
How to Start Your Own Dream Practice
First, check in with yourself.
What are your beliefs about dreams? What value do you see in tending to your nightly dreams? And while you’re at it… what dreams for your life have you let fade away?
Then, try this simple dream journaling practice:
Keep a journal next to your bed and start writing first thing in the morning. Sometimes it might feel like you don’t remember your dreams, but allowing stream of consciousness writing can often help dream recall flow back in.
What If You Don’t Remember Your Dreams?
Excluding any medical conditions or medications that interfere with your sleep and dreaming, poor dream recall is often due to poor sleep hygiene.
Play with any or all of the following natural sleep optimization techniques:
Cut out evening alcohol
Stop eating 2-3 hours before bed
Reduce or eliminate blue light and screen time at night
Release unprocessed stress through nervous system regulation
When we quiet the biological noise and tend to our whole body's rhythms, our dream life naturally becomes more accessible.
The Connection Between Somatic Movement and Dream Recall
Dreaming more, or at least remembering your dreams, is one of the subtle side effects of doing regular somatic movement. When we quiet the nervous system and tend to our whole body’s rhythms, our dream life naturally becomes more accessible.
Here’s what’s happening beneath the surface:
Your nervous system holds the key to accessing your dreams. When we’re chronically stressed or overstimulated, our bodies prioritize survival over the deeper restorative processes that support rich dream life. Gentle somatic practices help shift us out of that hypervigilant state and into the parasympathetic nervous system—the “rest and digest” mode, where dreams can flourish.
Movement releases what the day has stored. Throughout our waking hours, we accumulate tension, emotions, and experiences in our tissues. This physical “noise” can interfere with the subtle awareness needed for dream recall. When we move somatically—with attention and gentleness—we’re literally clearing space for dreams to emerge into consciousness.
Body awareness translates to dream awareness. The same quality of attention you develop when you notice how your ribs soften during a Feldenkrais session is the same awareness that helps you catch those fleeting dream images before they disappear. It’s all connected - the more sensitive you become to your body’s subtle communications during the day, the more receptive you become to your psyche’s nighttime messages.
Rhythm regulation supports natural sleep cycles. Somatic movement helps restore your body’s natural circadian rhythms. When your nervous system knows how to truly rest, your sleep becomes deeper and your REM cycles more robust, which is exactly when the most vivid and memorable dreams occur.
This is why so many of my clients in the Embodied Well Membership report unexpected improvements in their dream life. They come for the movement, the stress relief, the better sleep - and then discover this whole other layer of inner wisdom opening up.
Key Takeaways: Awakening to Your Dreams
Dreams can provide guidance and glimpses of what wants to emerge in your life
Dream journaling helps strengthen the connection between sleeping and waking wisdom
Poor sleep hygiene often blocks dream recall
Somatic movement quiets nervous system “noise” and enhances natural dream cycles
Body awareness during the day translates to dream awareness at night
Forgotten life dreams may be ready to resurface and guide your next chapter
The imaginal realm works through us even when we’re not consciously planning
Ready to Wake Up to Your Dreams?
So if you want to start quieting that biological noise so you can wake up to your dreams — both the nighttime ones and the life ones you’ve tucked away — then consider this your invitation to join us in the Embodied Well Membership.
What becomes possible when you give yourself permission to dream again? When you honor both your sleeping visions and those life dreams you’ve been told to abandon?
Maybe you’ll discover, like I did, that the imaginal has been quietly planting seeds all along - seeds that are ready to sprout into experiences more beautiful than you could have consciously planned.
Join the Embodied Well Membership and start listening to what your dreams - all of them - are trying to tell you.
