The Scribes of Sleep

For centuries, dreams were explained within religious and metaphysical belief systems and often viewed as supernatural experiences that presaged future events. Building on the intellectual traditions of Aristotle and Descartes, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century philosophers started to examine dreams in an increasingly rational, secularized fashion

dreams played a key role in the establishment of all major religions, in our conceptualization of the cosmos, the nature of death, and the ways in which the secular world can intersect that of the sacred and divine. In a very real sense, dreams have shaped our conception of the world, including our place within it.

Recording dreams also gives us a chance to work with them in a more creative way, rather than just noting them down in a journal. I quite often use my dreams as a basis for poetry. To me, the two things seem to be a good match.