Why Do I Never Dream?

[PinealisGlandia]

Thank you for your reply, I have saved some pictures on my phone of Artemisia Vulgaris so that I source the correct variant. I am going out again this afternoon to see if I can find some. My intention is to make it into tea. I will indeed try the notebook by the bed and see if that helps with any recall.
It is all so frustrating as I want to do some shadow work and everything says - "dream analysis" and "record your dreams"! I would if I could ever recall them. I want to unblock whatever is causing my issue and I need to get to my subconscious without taking illegal drugs as they are quite hot on that in the UK.

This thread is bringing a lot of memories back to me from when I did my heavy dreamwork. I just remembered my "13th floor recipe", which was mugwort tea, plus valerian, plus melatonin. You see, the mugwort gives you the vividity and presence for recall, but the valerian helps you get deeper to experience those dreams in the first place, and the melatonin helps you get under to begin with. I will disclaim that I have since learned that if you take OTC melatonin supplements too often, your brain can stop producing natural melatonin, making sleep very difficult. So I do suggest just the valerian and mugwort, leave the melatonin out except maybe once a week maximum.

I think I saw you mention you're in Wales, so I'm not sure about availability, but at least in the US there's a brand of tea called Celestial Seasonings and their "Sleepytime EXTRA" blend has valerian in it. I always just drank a cup of it and a cup of mugwort tea about 30 minutes before bed.

If valerian + mugwort fails to produce results after a few tries, I'd definitely consider that most shadowwork advice is geared towards dreamers and just doesn't apply to you. Keep in mind I'm not positive about this, it's just a bit of a hypothesis after working with a lot of stuck dreamers, but I do wonder if this "how to dream better" advice is like an owner's manual for a car. For 99% of people, it's just fine, but 1% of people need cars with those special hand-pedals because their legs don't work. Maybe stuck dreamers are like those people, and they just need a different setup, like those hand-pedals but for shadowwork. An idea I'd have would be to take unusual aspects of your day-to-day life and run them through a dream interpretation filter as though your waking life were a dream, and see how that works out.

 

[priestess-jocasta]

could be you are dreaming but repressing it because the dream content troubles you?

 

[solxyz]

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but regular cannabis use suppresses dreaming. I don't know if that is a factor for you, but something to keep in mind.

 

[priestess-jocasta]

some freudian psychology might help here. he made great study of dreams and their power. freud made great importance of repression and its effects. we all have instinctive drives that are socially unacceptable and repressed as dream content. for example freud pointed out that adult males often have a strong sexual desire towards their own mother, so they surpress the drive however it wasnt always so, in ancient egypt sexual intercourse between mothers and adult sons was revered and adult sons often married their own mother if the father died at a young age. that was normal back then and ancient egyptian texts describe mother/adult son lovemaking as being 'the greatest of pleasures'

 

[reverendsteveii]

glad to see marijuana mentioned here. i've found it has a significant impact on my ability to recall dreams. i don't typically recall dreams when i'm smoking regularly, quitting causes tons of really intense dreams, and when i play with the wake back to sleep method of astral projection/oobe or just doze after waking up in the morning, that's when i actually have dreams that i can recall upon waking. it all seems to come down to the amount of thc active in my system.

I can also echo the effectiveness of both mugwort and damiana leaf in enhancing dreams.

 

[ewiz]

glad to see marijuana mentioned here. i've found it has a significant impact on my ability to recall dreams. i don't typically recall dreams when i'm smoking regularly, quitting causes tons of really intense dreams, and when i play with the wake back to sleep method of astral projection/oobe or just doze after waking up in the morning, that's when i actually have dreams that i can recall upon waking. it all seems to come down to the amount of thc active in my system.

I can also echo the effectiveness of both mugwort and damiana leaf in enhancing dreams.

I was about to mention the wake back to bed method for lucid dreaming, as that would definitely be worth a try for the OP. It's been my experience that WBTB has the highest success rates in the most people for inducing lucidity, and in turn recall.

 

[Firetree]

You need to get oxygen in order to get into a deep sleep where dreaming occurs. When you quit smoking, you were getting more oxygen.

Get your heart checked. You're not processing the air you need to dream.

They can happen in light sleep too ( 'REM' ) .... my most vivid ones occur then .

Post automatically merged: Monday at 11:53 PM

Morgana , maybe you are in that rare 1% ?

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Post automatically merged: Monday at 11:57 PM

I am not sure about this ^ ? I have never seen it come up before , it is supposed to be link to a National Library of medicine paper on Non - Dreamers ... when I click on it , it does send me there however .

 

[Thebes]

Practical advice on Mugwort and other tea herbs is try things carefully since some things have additional issues. Mugwort is a diuretic, so some people make smaller volumes of stronger teas to get an effect and avoid having to wake up multiple times during the night to use the bathroom. I do agree mugwort is a safe start. Blue lotus is also pretty mild, though it is illegal in Louisiana and for active service members.

Some of the other Oneirogens have other side effects and issues. Calea Zacatechichi (Mexican Dream Herb) is incredibly bitter and pretty toxic I believe. Make sure you look up any potential issues with whatever you try. Use the full name, since for the African Dream Root Powder someone mentioned, I believe there are two types Silene Capensis and Synaptolepsis Kirkii. Synaptolepsis Kirkii is also refered to as a vine and can cause digestive distress, and some historical uses actually make use of that for ritual vomiting.

There are also some books in the library that go into other plants and medications that can help, but just be careful.

 

[Ziran]

Well I am slim healthy and recently passed a full wellness check. No heart issues. I eat healthily, I walk daily, swim regularly without issues and I sleep with my windows open onto the countryside. I am not oxygen depleted in any way.

Fair enough.

 

[querent k]

Some people experiment with setting an alarm for about 4.5 or 6 or 7.5 hours after they fall asleep (when they fall asleep, not just when they go to bed) so they wake up during REM sleep. If you are woken while you're dreaming you are more likely to remember the dream. Give it a try, maybe

 

[pf3ix85fe Pandora]

What is it you are trying to achieve by remembering your dreams?
If you just find it weird that you don't recall them, start with the suggestions Lurker and Ewiz made.
Make it okay and a part of your morning routine to try to recall anything. For me, it took active dreamwork and about 2 months to remember more of my dreams.

As far as health goes, good that you do the wellness check. But how much sleep are you getting per night? are you a light sleeper? If so, that can make it so your don't get into the deep sleep required for dreaming. Rather than drugs or tea, start with white noise or something to help you sleep more deeply. Also-sleep apnia can affect things-not sure if you have ever had a sleep study done by a doc, but that might point you to something that needs to be addressed.

If you are feeling totally rested, don't sport panda eyes, and still don't remember dreams, then perhaps that's just the way of it.
Dreams aren't going to make or break your magical practice unless perhaps there is something specific you are trying to achieve?

 

[sahgwa]

People have said some good things, I reccommend some OTC chemicals, most particularly, melatonin (5mg) and valerian root capsules.
Also maybe a Sleepy Time tea with valerian in it.
That may help too!

It is really bothering me now that I never dream. Regardless of how much or how little sleep I get, it appears I do not dream - OR that I have absolutely no recall of any dreams whatsoever. This has gone on for most of my life. The last time I remember regularly dreaming was back in 2004 when I was trying to give up smoking and was using nicotine patches - wild dreams. Still smoking (8 a day).
So if anyone has any ideas what I can do to get dreaming/dream recall working again I would be very pleased to hear them.

Post automatically merged: Today at 8:42 PM

People have said some good things, I reccommend some OTC chemicals, most particularly, melatonin (5mg) and valerian root capsules.
Also maybe a Sleepy Time tea with valerian in it.
That may help too!

It is really bothering me now that I never dream. Regardless of how much or how little sleep I get, it appears I do not dream - OR that I have absolutely no recall of any dreams whatsoever. This has gone on for most of my life. The last time I remember regularly dreaming was back in 2004 when I was trying to give up smoking and was using nicotine patches - wild dreams. Still smoking (8 a day).
So if anyone has any ideas what I can do to get dreaming/dream recall working again I would be very pleased to hear them.

Post automatically merged: Today at 8:43 PM

I think my most vivid dreams are before waking. Like between 3 and 6am

 

[FraterFraxinus]

I had never heard of this before! I put the latter part of your final sentence into AI and basically it tells me in order to restructure itself, my brain requires psychodelics! Lsd, Ketamine, Psilocybin and DMT are the recommended substances. Repairs synaptic connections apparently. Not really a choice for me as I like to have and need my driver's licence.

Whats the problem with your drivers license?
Just dont drive while under the influence.
Shrooms and Acid are basically not traceable in tests after a few days so no problem for driving.
As far as i know shrooms are actually proven to be neuroregenerative.

But besides I think dream rememberment(is that a thing? you get what i mean) can be learned.
Dreamjournal but also just recalling dream just after you woke up help.