Creating Art out of Your Dreams

The structure of dreams may seem chaotic, unbelievable, irrational and unpredictable, but dreams create their own reality and follow their own kind of logic by re-contextualizing our notion of a limited, linear world into an elastic, expansive universe. Through the simple act of recording and engaging with your dreams through writing, you can tap into the immense wisdom and creative power your nighttime visions hold. 

A dream journal can take you on an inner journey that transports you from the consensual world of your waking hours and plunges you into an interdimensional voyage within the mysterious domain of your soul.

Each dream is a puzzle created from component parts, the shards, the tesserae that make up the shimmering mosaic crystal of each dream narrative. Before trying to impress order, pattern or meaning on your dream, you may want to study the anatomy of your dream narrative by breaking it into separate building blocks:

• Begin by listing the people, animals, inanimate objects, settings, actions, emotions, sensations in your dream story. Leave room in your journal to describe and define the character traits, actions, functions and memories that come into your mind. 
• Once you have deconstructed the dream and considered the dream components, select one of the most intriguing or perplexing dream images as a writing prompt for a five-minute writing sprint. 
• Describe the image as it appears in the waking world and also as the image appears in your dream. 
• Pretend that you are an observer from another culture or another planet with no knowledge of the world we live in. Look at the image deeply, touch it, feel it, listen to it. Contemplate it with a wide-open beginner’s mind, eyes and ears. Explore associations and memories. 
• Allow a stream of consciousness to flow, let your words come on their own, without thinking or directing them with the conscious, rational mind. Riffs and Ruminations can become your stepping stones through the unfamiliar terrain of your unconscious to enhance your introspective thinking.

This work takes tenacity and courage. The journey is arduous and can be harrowing. As you continue to journal, you will sail to the edge of your known world and be asked to go beyond. Your sprints may expose your weaknesses, foibles and vanities in all their disguises. You may be confronted with aspects of yourself that you tend to hide, repress or deny. You will be required to open your heart and expose yourself to all the saints and sinners within, to engage with your fears and dance with your devils. You will also be called to acknowledge your gifts, talents and the most luminous aspects of your being with a glowing portrait of your inner beauty and wisdom. 

Your dream journal can help you to heal your relationships with your families, your community, your world and your Self. It can guide you to see the mythic dimensions of your life and show you that your stories are vastly larger than you ever thought. 

If you embark upon a dream journal practice of recording, sketching and riffing your dreams, you will establish a stronger connection to your dreams. Your vocabulary will blossom as you describe otherworldly visions, potent emotions and vivid memories. You will locate the hidden source of your creativity and your words and images will burst forth with full-throttle honesty and passion. Something magical and astonishing will begin to happen: you will find that you have set out on an endless, ever-unfolding Soul journey with a new appreciation for the depths of your own being. Your creativity will flow and life itself will become fuller. 

In this 4-part series with international DreamingArts teacher, author, and multimedia artist Victoria Rabinowe, you’ll see how a dream journal can be a place to find your soul and mend your heart through spending time with your dreams. Learn to approach the riddles of the night with curiosity, originality and confidence: enroll here!