The moment I awaken...
There is magic in the moment you awaken, while you are neither completely in this world, nor completely gone from the quiet and dark world of the unconscious mind. This mind is always watching, gathering, assessing even when you are fast asleep and it can offer its own unique wisdom.
Gather any felt sensations or memories from the night.
Often, dreams are quickly forgotten with waking. In your writing practice, recall any sensations that are lingering in your awareness. Don't worry about recalling your dreams, just go with what is appearing and notice emotions, sensations and snippets of your sleep. If you feel like writing more than one minute, feel free to elaborate.
What Karl Jung said about dreams.
The material that propels your writing is your emotions, initial thoughts and remnant memories of your slumber. That is why writing upon waking is key. Jung asserted that awareness of the unconscious mind promotes wholeness, integration, balance and it drives growth and development. Though this writing exercise is not exclusively a dream recollection practice, it is a good place to start since when we awaken, our dreams and feelings are prominent.
- Start your day with a one minute writing as soon as you can after waking and before the busy-ness of life envelops your thoughts. This is when the mind is most clean and clear of all the observations, thoughts and to-do lists it is already beginning to create. Set your timer and begin with: "This morning when I woke...". You may never re-read your notes, but just bringing awareness to the clean and less occupied mind, you might be able to maintain that clear space longer and longer.
- Finish your day with a one minute writing that notes one thing you noticed about yourself today. It does not need to be some spectacular insight, just a noticing.