Dream Pillows for sleep, manifestation of dreams and desires, for peace and love, remembrance, and much more……

JUST SLEEP ON IT!

Dream pillows have been used for ages for everything from helping with headaches and night terrors to bringing in love and peace and attracting a soul mate, to aiding sleep and remembering dreams.

Dream pillows have a long history to them. Stone head cradles carved with protective animals were found in ancient tombs. Lions and tigers were popular totems to protect the vulnerable sleeper; the Chinese used tapirs to eat bad dreams; the Japanese used “baku”, a hybrid creature made-up of parts of bear, elephant, rhino, ox and tiger for consuming nightmares. The hard pillows were believed to help create a connection with ancestors and aid in dream work; soft pillows were thought to steal energy, or chi, while one slept. The ancient cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome believed that dreams were signs from gods. More modern thinking points to dreams being expressions of our own passions, emotions and experiences — what we are ingesting (or not) of our food and media, for example.

The first dream book was recorded in Mesopotamia in 5,000 BC. In Greek history, Aristotle said that human beings are capable of achieving a pure form of wisdom only during sleep when our minds are liberated (335BC), and Hippocrates saw dreams as important indicators of physical and mental health. Romans and Egyptians also have records of believing in the prophetic nature of dreams.

Dreams can be very powerful. There are rituals, dream catchers and other ways to work with negative or bad dreams–the anxiety, fear, panic and paralysis that can occur with these terrors, but knowing how to mindfully and ritualistically call on dreams for problem solving, healing or renewal of our life force, we too can have dreams that can inspire our days. Intention is so important and so is preparing your space both physically and energetically.

Clean

First, ensure that your room is clear of clutter, sheets are clean and the space feels good. The air should be clean–smudged or with some fresh flowers because it is said that bad smells can increase the likelihood of negative emotions in dreams.

“De-electrify”

Unplug, Unplug, Unplug. The bed should be far away from any electrical outlets, phones and other devices. Sacred objects for protection around the room of by your bed is helpful–maybe a black stone in the corner to absorb any negative energy or sprinkling a little salt in the corners of the room? Is the room dark and free of disturbing noises? If not, maybe a fan on or some white noise, making sure the room is dark and on the slightly cooler side so that the brain can release those sleep inducing hormones.

Wind Down

Begin by turning off any screen time activity an hour or two before bed and dress comfortably for sleep. Both these things will help signal to your body the intention of sleep. Consider a relaxing epsom salt bath, lighting a candle and listening to gentle music.

Protect

Next, call on powerful sleep and dreamtime herbal allies:

• Lavender is relaxing and can help our nervous system to let go and receive.
• Rosemary is an herb of remembrance
• Skullcap is used to help us drop into a deeper state of sleep
• Hops is a sedative
• Roses are used for self love, strength and vitality, overcoming fear
• Mugwort are used to induce dreams of the future
• Passionflower is also commonly used for dreaming.

(Please, use organic herbs and any extra herbs can be returned to the earth)

Record

Have a journal nearby to record your thoughts and mood upon waking or to capture some of the more vivid images in artistic expression.

We can take a more active role when we turn ourselves over to the nighttime and can meet what is streaming towards us and access information that opens our world to an amazing support system of angelic beings and unseen helpers and guides in “the invisible world”. We can start with the right kind of sleep where relaxation and mindfulness come together. Then we can open to the incubation (from the Latin word “in cubare” which means to “lie down upon”) and welcome our dreams as part of our waking and sleeping worlds.

Want to make your own dream pillows? You can gather some of the calming and dream time herbs and with intention place them in a little piece of cloth and wrap it up with string and stick it in your pillow or on your bedside table. Have some fun and make more elaborate ones too. Check out the Blair’s Herbals online store for more information and contact me for upcoming class dates.

I look forward to seeing you soon. In the meantime, sweet dreaming!

This blog is not meant to diagnose or treat any sleep or dream issues. For sleep issues, please seek medical advise or see your healthcare professional. If you experience a reaction to the herbs, discontinue immediately.