Dream Journal

dream journal - sweet dreamsWhat is a Dream Journal ? It is a book/notebook in which you record your sleeping instead of your waking adventures. This helps you to practice and train yourself to recall your dreams.

This may be out of curiosity - you may think that you don't have dreams, but we all do, it is just that on waking we cannot easily recall them. You may feel that your dreams offer you some insight into your waking life. You may choose to analyse them or go on to develop the skill of lucid dreaming.

You can think of lucid dreaming as being conscious while dreaming. Lucid dreaming is when, during a dream, it suddenly dawns on you that you are dreaming. With practice you can go on to control aspects of when, where, and what you dream.

Keeping a dream journal is another simple tool towards achieving and maintaining happiness. It will improve your awareness of the dreamstate and your subconscious thoughts and images.

The best time to write your dream diary is first thing in the morning. Why? Dreams occur in a period of sleep known as REM sleep, and whilst this occurs throughout the night, longer periods of REM sleep happen in the couple of hours before waking.

How to keep a Dream Journal

As with other journal writing it is not difficult, but requires some common-sense measures and a little discipline.

  • Keep a book especially for your dreams. Keep it beside your bed within easy reach without leaving your bed. Of course you will also need a favourite pen, pencil, gel pen etc. of your choice. Write your dream diary, dream journal as the very first thing you do on waking.
    Reach out ...and write. Dreams are notorious at evaporating into thin air!
  • Be sure to note the date (include the year). Now write in the PRESENT tense, as though you are in still in the dream. Write everything you can remember. Recalling in the present tense helps you to relive and remember more details and emotions from the dream.
  • While it is tempting to analyse the dream as you go, I suggest that you continue to write, and record as accurately as you can. Of course, it's only natural that your conscious mind will be curious, otherwise you would probably not be keeping your dream journal / dream diary.
  • Particularly vivid dreams? Feel the urge to sketch - go ahead. This dream diary is for you , so think of them as aide-memoirs, not artists impressions.
  • Note anything strange—anything that wouldn’t usually happen in the waking world. If you find these strange events recur in your dreams, then they are your personal dream signs—you may be able to use these to help you.

Checkback

Does you dream have a particular theme?
Where does it take place?
Does it have a particular sense, sound, image or atmosphere attached to it.

Name each dream once written. Give it a memorable title, not just to help recall it, but to distinguish it from your other recorded dreams.

You don't need to record all your dreams, though it is good to get the habit established and confirm for yourself that you can recall those 'sleep-world adventures.'

dream journal

Return from Dream Journal to Journal Writing

Common Dream Symbols

job - being at work in your dreams may mean you feel overworked or that you need to be more productive on the job. Or possibly your subconscious feels you need to do some work on your psyche or soul.

boss - may refer to your job, but it is more likely the boss figure represents another authority figure in your life. The "boss" may even refer to your psyche - the part that makes decisions and accepts responsibility

friends - sometimes "friends" are just there to remind us that we are not alone.

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