When I was growing up all I remembered were nightmares. Terrible, recurring nightmares, where I would be locked in a room or stuck underground unable to get out, and where I would hear voices that I thought would drive me crazy if I had to listen to them too long. I even taught myself how to wake up out of nightmares by throwing my body sideways they were so frequent.
For some reason it was always obvious that I was asleep in the nightmares, unlike regular dreams I have now, where the strangest things can happen and I don’t even question that I’m dreaming.
Apart from nightmares there was only one other dream I could remember the whole time from when I was quite young to when I was 18 or so. So it was a bit of a surprise when I first came across Belsebuub’s work on dreams and particularly the mantra RAOM GAOM that I began to remember dreams at all. Also, over time from taking Belsebuub’s courses I was able to stop having nightmares. This has been a big thing for me as I used to be pretty afraid of everything including the dark, and a large part of that could have stemmed from my paralyzing nightmares.
Belsebuub’s Technique for Remembering Dreams
I had some really interesting experiences with RAOM GAOM. After I woke up I would lie there, often with total blackness in place of dream memories. At other times I would have a feeling like I had dreamt but I couldn’t bring back the memory, like the feeling you get when you’re trying to remember a word, and it’s right on the tip of your tongue, but you just can’t bring it back.
Sometimes the mantra could be challenging as often I’d fall back asleep while trying to focus on it. If I did though I’d often wake up shortly after, and it seemed in those circumstances it was easier to remember my dreams and they tended to be more symbolic.
The coolest experiences though were when I would use the mantra and all of a sudden a moment from the dream would pop into my head as if out of nowhere. It felt kind of like a curtain was drawn back, or a door was unlocked in my mind and thrown open and the dream memory was accessible where I couldn’t reach to it at all prior.
I practised the RAOM GAOM mantra I had learnt from Belsebuub dream course as frequently as I remembered to in the mornings. Sometimes when I did dream memories would pop back into my mind of their own accord sometime later during the day.
Interestingly I found if I moved I would lose my grasp on the dreams, even if the mantra had helped bring them back. It would feel like they were slipping out of my fingers, and then I would be back in the position of knowing that I had dreamt and often even feeling the “flavor” of what the dream was about and the people, situations or symbols I had seen in them, but just not being able to bring it to the top of my mind.
To avoid this it helped to create anchors on certain obvious words related to what I had seen in the dreams. If I had to move to go to the bathroom or to get a drink et cetera I could still then remember something about them. With the anchors I could sit down again at a later point in time, focus on the anchor and the feeling or flavor of the dream – like a sense of what had been happening in it.
If I kept focusing, and kept using the RAOM GAOM mantra I could sometimes keep digging deeper and deeper into my mind, searching backwards into dreams. Then I could often bring back more and more details. Sometimes I would even bring back an astral experience that had ended with me falling into a dream which I would have totally forgotten without using the RAOM GAOM mantra.
The Discovery of Meaningful Dreams
This was a pretty fun thing to learn how to do for someone who thought they didn’t dream. It seemed that as I tried to remember them more my dreams also started to have greater and greater importance in helping me live well. At first they were crazy and chaotic and I had trouble understanding anything about them, because the situations I found myself in changed so quickly and seemed to be so scattered and unrelated to my life.
Later I did Belsebuub’s Searching Within course, and as I started to learn about my emotions I found I started to see things about emotions and internal states in my dreams too. Sometimes it was stuff I had seen during the day come up, but in the dream it was more exaggerated, like I was being shown what that emotion could lead to if I kept indulging it.
Alternatively I would see the way my emotions and actions could affect people if I let myself act in certain ways. I would wake up after some dreams like this with a deep feeling of not wanting to live in the way I had seen myself behaving in my dream.
I would also sometimes see things about myself that I woke up feeling quite disgusted by. Then often the next day or shortly after I would see myself act in ways that related to what I had seen in the dream, even subtly. It seemed again that these dreams showed me what I could end up like if I wasn’t careful and I let my stronger emotions carry me down the wrong track.
Sometimes if I’d try and change an aspect of myself that I had seen in my dreams during the following day or days, the dreams would change at night, and then I would be shown a different aspect of the emotion that I was looking into, which would then also come up somehow in my day so I could see how it was affecting me. Getting into this flow was really exciting, I looked forward to going to sleep as I felt like I was going on an adventure, never quite sure what I would find or see next!
Receiving Guidance in Dreams
If I needed an answer or guidance on something like a problem in my life if I asked sincerely for guidance inwardly before going to sleep the answer would eventually come (sometimes I would need to ask over a series of nights before getting an answer). Often dreams where I would receive guidance would have a very different feel to the regular type of dreams. I would either wake up immediately after them, or they would have a clarity to them which was more like a clear lucid dream that I just wasn’t aware that I was in.
I felt that there was a freedom knowing we’re not alone like this and that we don’t have to come up with all the answers ourselves, that whoever it is that puts symbols and answers in our dreams is watching out for us. I relied heavily on guidance from my dreams to make decisions in my life, especially in tricky situations in life or relationships where a decision either way could have both positive and negative ramifications and in my daily life I couldn’t see a clear indication of which choice was the right one to make.
The most interesting dream guidance has been the type which has come unexpectedly. On a number of occasions I have been guided in regards to relationships. Often these dreams are quite clear, clearer than others and have a different feel about them. Like there is a force behind them that helps them to be remembered and helps me to act on them, even if that’s hard to do. This makes sense as relationships with friends and family are some of the most important aspects of life it seems.
As an example, in one dream I saw myself with a person who I regularly spoke to. They were acting in a certain way and I responded in an unusual fashion that diffused a situation that could have otherwise led to some negativity. It was unusual because usually I would have just let the person talk out of fear of causing a conflict, even though I didn’t agree with what they were saying. The next time I saw this person and the same situation played out. I interrupted as I had in the dream and the situation diffused. I felt a bit giddy and wanted to laugh – it was amazing to see the same situation in my dream come true physically, and to know how to act in advance to improve the situation!
In another dream where I was guided in a similar way I knew a person, but not very well. I had not seen them for a long time, and had not expected to see them either as they lived far away. One night I had a dream where I saw them and had a strong emotion come up that made me not want to talk to them. Despite this feeling, in the dream I had a strong feeling I needed to talk to them anyway. I woke up feeling like the dream was important but I was pretty confused. I haven’t seen this person in ages. What did it mean?
In the next couple of days with the dream still strong in my mind I was going to a barbeque at a friend’s house. As I walked in to the backyard I wondered if the person I had dreamt about would be there, although I wouldn’t have expected them to be. Sure enough as soon as I went into the backyard the person was there, the same emotion from the dream came up making me not want to talk to them, but I knew I had to push through and talk to them anyway.
And I’m glad I did as after that we became good friends and the person helped me to get through some difficult situations in my life. Without having learned how to remember my dreams from Belsebuub, and without the guidance from that dream that told me I needed to speak to that person no matter what my life might have turned out quite differently.
Looking back it really shows me just how important dreams are to remember, as the decisions that can be made as a result of the guidance in them can greatly affect the course of our lives.
Thanks David for inspiring us to remember our dreams. There is definitely a magic to them that is possible to tap into, and it’s really inspiring to be able to user the learning that they give in daily life. I’ve had many experiences of that.
Thank you for the tips on dream recall. It is definitely a struggle for me too. Some days ago I was doing Raom Gaom in the early morning hours and like you described it seems to open doors for dream images to come back. I prefer to do Raom Gaom sitting up. I find that if I sit up in a calm way and without stretching then it is still possible to remember dreams and the position helps me not to fall asleep again.
What also caught me from your experience is the lack of expectation and the gratitude for remembering something. This is a regular obstacle for me and I think your attitude is a good one.
It sounds you had some very useful guidance in your dreams David. I think it is very important to work on remembering our dreams as they seem to be very useful in guiding and directing our lives. I can imagine how my life would be different if I have remembered all of the dreams that I had in the past few months. I am trying to renew my efforts in this area and hopefully tap into some much needed guidance at this time.
Thanks for sharing your experiences of investigating dreams David. It must have come as quite a relief to not only stop having those persistent nightmares, but to also start remembering meaningful dreams and using them for self-knowledge.
Hi David, it was nice to read about your journey with dreams and dream recall. I think it is a testament that anybody can learn this skill, to remember and gain knowledge from his dreams.
I especially liked how you took an active and enthusiastic approach and explored how things worked, and didn’t just try one thing (for example mantra Raom Gaom) mechanically. For example the anchors you mentioned – remembering just one thing/word from a dream to serve as an anchor to remember more later. I found the same thing, and often use it when I wake up from a dream at night. I just somehow “write down in my mind” the main character/scene or object from a dream, and then in the morning that thing serves as an anchor to bring out all the dream (or much of it), in order to write it down into my dream journal.
I also liked how you were able to act upon the relationship hints from your dreams, very useful indeed!
Thanks Dave I understand what your saying the information that can be gained in our dreams is so important, I have also seen this as well seeing things within my dreams that I would not even imagine I would have within me but then later seeing it manifest in daily life.
I know what you mean about feeling that excitement about going to bed and seeing it as a adventure ; )
Nice to read about your experiences David! I can relate a lot to that period of not being able to remember any dreams. While growing up and during my teens, I off and on placed importance on them. During the times I didn’t, I would almost always wake up with a blank mind or rarely with that feeling you describe, that something happened, but it’s out of reach. RAOM GAOM was a big help to get my dreams back again too. Now outdated but I still have one of Belsebuub’s first books, Astral Travel and Dreams where I read about it for the first time.
Once I did start to get back into dreams again, it was amazing how much help is out there especially when I was asking for it. I found that doing prayers before sleeping to be quite helpful in understanding certain circumstances in life or my dreams.
That brings back a memory from quite a while back 🙂 When I was quite young, one of my older cousins mentioned that when I would ask (myself) to remember my dreams and I would do it with this strong longing for it to happen, it will work. So I tried very enthusiastically that same night, and went on for a little longer to make sure, I did ask enough. That morning I woke up to a very vivid and long dream. It was almost like, OK, you asked for it, here you go!
Nice to hear about such ‘non-mainstream’ advice from your cousin to still find its way around. Sometimes it can be easy to get used to people not really understanding or being interested in spiritual things and find then yourself not talking about it very often, but then someone might also miss that one person who is interested. It’s so cool to hear such advice, albeit perhaps a bit imperfect, is still making its way round in some way.
Hi Dave,
I got the feeling from reading the article that if we just persist with efforts then the results will come and I think that your experience shows that no matter what we may think regarding aspects of the inner work if keep going then experiences do happen, which then leads to greater understanding, which then leads into a sort of magical experience where the teachings become alive! which is really amazing where the guidance can be so acurate and percise that it’s mind boggling is some respects.
It was really interesting reading that the guidance and relationship developed from the dreams gave you a lot of strenght to do things in the physical which normally you may have shied away from, I found that very inspiring because of the belief you had with the inner being guiding you, you knew you had to do things! which in the end turned out for the better. I feel that shows in a lot of way just how much strenght can be gained from these experiences.
Hi David,
It’s really incredible that you’ve managed to leave those nightmares behind you. And also that you’ve gone from not being able to remember dreams at all (bar that one) to knowing how to tease them back from ‘behind the veil’ and get premonitions and guidance from them. I hope your testimony gives inspiration to anyone who thinks that because they don’t remember dreams that they can’t have this kind of spiritual contact through them.
I also had nightmares as a kid and knew I could wake myself up and get out of them somehow. But only after being terrified for a while. I had naturally good recall when I was younger but it faded as I started to rush out of bed and into the world, or got into unnatural sleeping patterns. Then using Raom Gaom really helped – it is amazing how images just pop back out of seeming nothingness. From that first image or scene though, I’ve noticed I really need to be able to pick up the thread and pull the dream back and for that I’ve found retrospection the best help. At one point I was finding it really hard to recall anything and heard Belsebuub mention retrospection for dream recall and memory training in a talk. I tried it over a few days and was blown away by the difference in the amount I could remember.
Something that I’ve found curious is that often before bed I start to remember my dreams from the night before. It’s as though I’m leaving this world and picking up from where I left off … or I am entering that in-between place where recall can be easier – like when you don’t move your body.
It’s such an inspiration to work on dream recall when you start to remember more, get into a ‘flow’ like you say, and know that with persistence, patience and an open heart you can receive guidance on the most difficult life decisions. It’s an incredible feeling being woken up from a dream, knowing that you’re being spoken to, guided and also helped to pay attention and remember.
Wishing you much more dream guidance!
I agree! That is an incredible feeling and knowledge. Knowing you’ve been given a dream with a message (and sometimes even feeling and knowing who gave it), and even being woken up straight after so to help you remember it. And you can still feel this presence or energy lingering. I’ve also had times where I would wake up and just be like “wauw, I can’t believe I’m really living this magical life.”
Thanks, David, for your experiences and tips on remembering dreams. I find that those anchor words are super helpful, too!
I can really relate to that feeling like you’re going on an adventure. When self-discovery is going well, and I’m using my dreams for learning, I am excited to go to sleep and to remember my dreams in the morning, just to see what will be revealed next.
I really liked your precognitive dreams, in diffusing an otherwise tense situation and having to talk to someone you didn’t want to speak with. You received such clear and practical guidance in those dreams!
Btw. those nightmares you had sound horrible David. That’s not nice you had to go through that. One nightmare I remember from childhood is being chased through corridors from some sort of lobster, as if I was a tiny creature. But I just couldn’t escape and when I would find a place to hide I knew it would be coming closer again, and again I’d be on the run for my life. All the time I knew it would get me in the end. I’ve had similar dreams in the astral. But the experience in the nightmare had a completely different feeling to it, much more extreme, like the whole frequency of the place was an eerie infra-note on a violin and there was an incredibly tense atmosphere, and everything was (barely) lit in infrared light. It was like the emotions I felt in the physical world, and also in the astral, were only a damper-ed, subtler, more superficial form of experiencing those emotions. Whereas in that nightmare it was like feeling it full-blown at their source.
It was interesting for me later in life to learn how Belsebuub explains what nightmares are and where they take place. And in general how other experiences I’d had throughout my life fitted in the bigger scheme of things.
Some very useful insights in your story there David.
I know that pop-up feeling when dreams pop back into your head after doing Raom Gaom for a while. I experienced a similar thing when trying it very early on 🙂 I had learned about that mantra and when waking up one morning I thought I’d give it a try. I didn’t disbelieve it could work, in fact I might’ve just accepted that it worked as a belief. However when doing it for a while, even when I didn’t remember an inkling of anything, to my surprise this memory or image of a dream literally popped into vision. I found it very surprising actually, because I thought it be more like aiding the remembrance that’s already there, which the mantra can also do, however in this case it as if this whole memory popped up out of nowhere.
In general I found I could relate to the different things you describe a lot. Such as feeling the dream memories ‘slip out of your fingers.’ Sometimes when recalling them while not having good concentration can make it take a long time and then my body (which might be in an uncomfortable waking up position) gets agitated and wants to move.
It was nice to read about that ‘rhythm’ where you’re connected to your dreams, through studying during the day, remembering the night, learning from it etc. So that it made you look forward to go to sleep 🙂
I have also made it a habit to create these anchors from dreams in the morning, so funny! Sometimes when being able to remember many different dreams I would even make anchors of those anchors by reducing them to one letter and just remember the sequence of letters.
That feeling of being a ‘player’ in a scenario that is acting out of which we have foreknowledge can be really strange, in a nice way, indeed. Sometimes quite funny as you say
Anyway thanks for sharing your experiences related to this topic. Your last point sums it up really well!