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9 Ways to Work with Waking Dreams as Intuitive Dream Medicine

Waking dreams are just as important as sleeping dreams when creating a dream practice.

Looking for synchronicities, dreamlike circumstances, and other signs while awake adds another dimension to dreamwork that hones your intuitive skills.

Here’s an example that happened to me this weekend.

Before going on a hike, I stepped into a Porta Potty. On the floor was a very small, purple feather. Since it was a Porta Potty, I wasn’t eager to pick the feather up, but I wondered if there was any way the feather came from a hummingbird (it was about the size of my index finger from the tip to the first joint).

I quickly dismissed this idea: I didn’t know of any local hummingbirds, let alone other local birds, with purple feathers. It looked natural; not like something someone would have in a boa. But I decided it couldn’t be a hummingbird feather.

Later that day, while sitting on a friend’s porch, a hummingbird came and hovered about a foot away from me.

Two nights later, I had this dream:

I am in the backyard of my childhood home. I see a hummingbird flying. Then I see someone holding a small purple feather (like the one I saw in the Porta Potty). I make the connection: I did see a hummingbird feather in there! Later in the dream I am given a hummingbird feather.

When I awoke from the dream, I felt certain that hummingbird medicine is coming into my life, especially because I was gifted a hummingbird feather in the dream.

My story shows how the waking life circumstances combined with dream work to give me more detailed and rich information about the energy coming into my life right now.

So what is a waking dream?

It is a combination of unusual circumstances, synchronicities, coincidences, overheard conversations, encounters with people or animals, messages on billboards or license plates, and things you read in books or magazines or your friend’s Facebook post that stand out.

When three or more of these things combine, that is something to really pay attention to. It’s a rule Carl Jung created when he first coined the term synchronicity to describe the occurrence of meaningful , but seemingly unrelated, events.

Another way waking dreams happen is to see a vision while you’re awake. This can happen in hypnagogia (the state you’re in as you fall asleep), hypnapompia (the state you’re in as you wake up), or in a shamanic trance.

You can also have spontaneous visions that occur without being in an altered state. This is what happened to Amy when she met Blue Elk in the woods, a waking dream she mentioned in last week’s post.

A waking dream can also be an unusual occurrence.

Once, after a powerful dream featuring a cat-hawk chimera, I took a walk in the woods at dusk and saw a screech owl. Although I often hike at dusk, it was the first time I’d seen a wild owl. The owl let me walk within two feet of it and we stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Then it flew off silently into the darkening woods.

I came home and looked up owls in Ted Andrews’ Animal Speak. I nearly dropped the book when I read that owls are often called “cats with wings.” The screech owl was a waking-life representation of my dream animal.

How can you create a waking dream practice?

    1) Start by asking a question you’d like answered. Much like incubating a dream, think about information you’d like to get, and ask to receive guidance. You can imagine asking your inner wisdom, your Higher Self, Spirit, the Universe, your power animal … whatever feels right.
    2) Let go of the idea that there is a barrier between waking and sleeping. In truth, waking life events bleed into the dream and vice versa. Allow this flow to happen. This will prompt the waking dream.
    3) Look for a pattern or things in threes, like the hummingbird example above.
    4) Watch for the messages that are all around you. Pay close attention to signs and billboards you see, things you’re reading, what catches your attention when you’re out in the world.
    5) Leave the house. Although you can still have waking dreams when you’re cooped up inside, there is the potential for a lot more to happen when you engage with the world.
    6) Take time for quiet centering or meditation as much as possible. This helps you get into the flow.
    7) Relax and be patient. It may take a while for your question to be answered. Don’t force anything; just allow the information to come in its own time.
    8) Once a waking dream comes, look at it like it is a dream. See what information you can glean. Do any dreamwork technique you like to decipher the message.
    9) Take action on what the dream is telling you to do.

Working with waking dreams is exciting because it opens up so many more possibilities! It is not only your sleeping dreams that are sending you guidance; the world around you is also giving you information.

This practice can help you feel less isolated and alone because it helps you open to the idea that everything is truly connected.

It is also a great way to develop your intuition. The more you work with waking dreams (and sleeping dreams) the sharper your intuitive skills will become.

After a few experiences with the waking dream, I have a feeling you’ll be hooked.

Have you had an interesting or life-changing waking dream experience? Share it with us!

About the Author:

Katrina's work involves illuminating the soul and reconnecting with nature through her artistry with a camera, talent with words, expertise in dreamwork, compassionate teaching style, and ability as a clairvoyant. Visit her here: KatrinaDreamer.com

Activate Your Dreams to Connect More Deeply with Spirit Guidance

Many years ago, I was hanging out with active dreamer Robert Moss at Esalen when I noticed that his sleeping dreams, shamanic journeys, and waking life experiences all seemed to work together as one big dream.

I also noticed that he was in a constant, creative flow and deeply connected to life around him.

Witnessing his day-to-day “dream” state helped me realize something about myself: I had a disjointed dream life.

Sure, I had powerful sleeping dreams …

I did shamanic journeys …

And I had unusual waking life experiences …

But until I met Robert, I’d never consciously integrated these three ways of “dreaming” into one big living dream.

The prospects intrigued me, though, and I knew I had to try it out.

I also knew I couldn’t force it to happen. Instead, I was going to follow what I call the “Dream Medicine” path.

Dream Medicine integrates various dreaming states to evoke guidance for life direction and healing.

The results of my experiment were exciting and life changing. I met a man named Blue Elk in three different realms, experiencing the dream realm like I’d never experienced it before.

Meeting Blue Elk in the Woods

One afternoon, while on a hike through the woods, a man jumped out from behind the trees and startled me. I took an involuntary step backward before I realized he wasn’t physical; he was a spirit.

As I adjusted to this experience, I noticed he had dark, long hair and wore a few blue feathers and beads. He was clearly American Indian.

His demeanor was serious and I felt a bit nervous around him. Even so, he beckoned me into the woods and I followed.

A second later, I stepped into a clearing and found a field full of deer. This was a relevant and significant experience for me, especially during that period in my life.

A few weeks later, this spirit came to me in a vivid shamanic journey. He told me his name was Blue Elk. During the journey he taught me a powerful healing technique I later used to remove stagnant energy from a client. The process was so potent, my client felt a dramatic shift in her energy after the clearing.

I continued to meet Blue Elk in shamanic journeys and on the hill where I first met him, but several years later, something even more magical happened. Blue Elk visited me yet again, but this time in a sleeping dream. In the dream, Blue Elk took me on a vision quest, sat me down in the fog, and gave me instructions. The results were a powerful vision.

After this dream, I realized I had successfully integrated my waking, shamanic and sleeping dreams into one big dream experience.

I used several distinct steps to help me connect more deeply with the dream realm.

3 Powerful Ways to Access Your Dream Medicine

When you want to access your own Dream Medicine, the most important thing to remember that you can use this process to gather insight into any situation in life: health, wealth, relationships, and life in general. Here’s what you do:

Step 1: Open your inner and outer senses

This is the most important step, and for many Westerners, it is completely foreign. As a result, it’s easy to invalidate or dismiss the significance.

Part of the challenge is that this step involves invisible, subjective information and we Westerners like our facts.

But Dream Medicine is way beyond facts. It’s not a linear approach to life. It’s holistic, symbolic and multi-dimensional. And in order to access this way of gathering information, you need to be aware of more than your physical senses. You need to access your inner senses.

So to be clear, your outer or physical senses are, of course, seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling, smelling.

Your inner senses are similar, but they are part of your psychic, intuitive system, not your physical system. They are intricately connected to the dream realm. They are:

  • clairvoyance (clear seeing)
  • clairaudience (clear hearing)
  • clairsentience (clear feeling and empathy)
  • claircognizance (clear knowing)
  • clairalience (clear smelling)
  • clairgustance (clear tasting)

By the way, I’m not suggesting you need to learn how to predict the future.

I am suggesting that you already have these senses and that developing them can help you navigate your life. These senses go way beyond your five physical senses, and when you know how to work with them, life changes in a big way.

Some people’s inner senses are so acute, the information they perceive – images, smells, sounds, feeling type sensations – seem to come from an external source.

When I saw Blue Elk, for instance, I thought he was a physical human. He appeared that solid to me.

Once I realized he wasn’t solid, though, he started to fade. From that moment on I could only see him when I looked with my third eye or inner sight.  This type of seeing is sort of like dreaming with your eyes wide open.

If you haven’t already developed your inner senses, here’s an exercise to help you get started:

Find a friend and go for a walk.

Look at everything around you, but use your inner senses. Remember, this can be like dreaming with your eyes open. Look beyond the obvious.

Notice the power lines and trees. What is surrounding them? Are there any colors? Sounds? Textures? Can you feel the electricity?

Do not try to see things with your physical eyes. Use your imagination.

Give yourself time to observe, then share your inner images with your friend.

Do you see the same thing? Different things?

Seeing the same thing can be a great confirmation that you’re using your inner senses.

But seeing different things doesn’t necessarily mean you aren’t using your inner senses.

Since your inner senses are part of your psychic senses you may receive symbolic imagery instead of literal information. You may perceive different symbols (e.g. colors, textures) than your friend. If this happens, compare notes and explore the possible meaning of the information you receive.

Using your inner senses is “day dreaming” at its best. It can provide useful information in and of itself. When you walk into a room full of people, for instance, you can observe with your inner senses and determine what’s going on behind the obvious. As you do, you might start to experience a whole different world.

Of course, the more you practice, the easier it becomes. Before you know it, spirit beings might be jumping out at you from behind trees. (However, if you have too much fear, you will not perceive them, so don’t worry!)

Step 2: Set intentions, let go of expectations and pay attention

In order to reap the benefits of Dream Medicine, it’s necessary to set clear intentions. You also need to let go of expectations.

If you wait anxiously for information to come, it won’t. The more anxious you feel, the more you become closed off from your inner senses.

Instead, set a clear intention, open your senses and wait patiently for your waking and sleeping dreams to reveal information and give you guidance.

To set an intention, first determine the exact outcome you want, then create an intention that is a positive reflection of that outcome. Do not say, “My intention is to not get lost on my way home.” If you do that, you’re still focusing on getting lost! Instead, say, “My intention is to easily find my way home.”

Here’s another examples:

If your intention is to connect with spirit guides, you might say, “My intention is to meet a spirit guide who has my highest interest at heart.”

Once you have your intention, you’re set for the next step.

Step 3: Work consistently with all forms of dreaming

Waking “Dreams”

Set an intention during the day and tune in with your inner and outer senses. Then reflect on waking life as though it is a dream.

It’s easier to notice your outer senses, so start there. Pay attention to song lyrics, unexpected encounters with people, and books that cross your path. See if you can find insight and information related to your intention.

Use your inner senses. Pay attention to the images and thoughts that spontaneously appear in your mind. You receive these messages all the time, but you may be used to ignoring them. If that’s the case, they can be slippery and difficult to grasp, just like a dream fragment that slips away in the morning.

To grasp these flashes of insight, you have to pay attention and notice. When you get a sudden image or knowing, tune in to it. Tell the image to amplify itself. (Just say, “Amplify yourself.”)

Then practice, practice, practice.

Sleeping Dreams

Before you go to sleep, use your intention to incubate a dream. Simply say, “In my dream tonight, I will ____ (state your intention.)

Example: In my dream tonight, I will meet a new spirit guide.

When you wake up, record your dreams. You may not actually remember meeting a spirit guide, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t. (And a spirit guide can show up as an animal, person, mineral or plant.)

Sometimes it takes weeks for these dreams to unfold. Set your intention and keep the same intention for several nights. Track your dreams and look for patterns.

Hint: If you use your intention to incubate dreams, still pay attention to your waking life experiences. Your spirit guide may appear in your inner vision instead of your sleeping dreams.

Shamanic Dream Journeys

You can also do a shamanic dream journey to find information about your intention. Since this process is complex, I will not go into details in this post. If you’d like to try it out, I recommend Sandra Ingerman’s book, “Shamanic Journeying.”

But basically, you state your intention, close your eyes and go on a journey — in your imagination — to find information.

Remember to record what you discover.

Now here’s what I want you to do.

If you found this article helpful, share it with your friends.

I want to help as many people as I can with free content, and I need you to help me spread the word. So, thank you!

Now onto the details of how to put this work together for you:

First you’ll need to decide what you most want to learn or experience right now and turn that into an intention.

Here are some things to consider:

1. Keep your intention simple, but clear. Focus on the positive outcome you want to receive.

2. Start small, with one step. If your ultimate intention is to create a spiritual community that teaches a variety of programs, break this larger intention into small intentions.

3. Ask some friends to do this process with you. You can help each other develop your inner senses, explore your dreams and look for patterns.

Then start with step one above and go through all three steps. Before you know it, you’ll be integrating your Dream Medicine into your life and dreaming like a seasoned dreamer.

About the Author:

Amy Brucker helps people heal their ancestral wounds so they can free their purpose, passion, and inner power. She offers a one-on-one, private healing/mentoring program Healing the Ancestral Wound. See link "Work with Me" on main menu for details.