What Keeping A Dream Journal Can Do For You

I started my dream journal way back in 2014. It was a kind of a spur of the moment thing because -at the time- I actually only wrote my dreams down in order to tell it them to my sister. She'd always complained about my horrible ability to explain stuff on the fly and I figured that it was a sound solution.

Imagine my surprise when, after journaling for a few weeks, remembering my dreams became easier and the dreams that I enjoyed or could control became more frequent. After some extensive research I found out about lucid dreaming and that I had apparently already begun taking the necessary steps in order to learn how to successfully lucid dream without even knowing it.

The first step is to get into the habit of using a dream journal. I recommend keeping it near where you sleep so that if you do wake up, you can quickly jot down your dream while it's still fresh in your mind. And It's perfectly alright if your recollection of your dream is patchy at first. You'll find that -as you practice- you'll be able to remember more and more details.

I myself have been doing this for around 7 years and I have the ability to remember details of numerous different dreams for several days. What was comfortable for me (and kept me writing) was keeping my writing very informative with little to no dialogue. For example:

Instead of...

"I can't believe you would do something so stupid!" He scolded me as he checked me over for injuries, his expression rapidly flipping between anger and worry. "Then, maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do." I stated, rolling my eyes.'

I write...

'He scolded me, his tone a healthy mix of harsh and concerned as he checked me over for injuries. I rolled my eyes as he stated that he couldn't believe that I would do something so stupid. Clearly he didn't know me very well, then. Predictably, he didn't seem to appreciate it when I told him as much.'

I tend to like this method better because it gives me a little more wiggle room to use creative freedom rather than 'he said this...she replied...he said something else.' That just gets boring and uninspired, which makes me not wanna write.

But, that being said, any kind of writing style is okay. As long as its comfortable for you and keeps you using the journal. You're only writing your dreams down for yourself, so feel free to proceed however you'd like.

Also feel free to make sketches or diagrams if it helps to cement your environment in your mind. Take note of rooms, objects, people and possible exits. The focus of having a journal is to be as detailed and accurate as possible. And once your brain gets used to this behavior, it will automatically begin remembering these things without any effort.

Awesome! Now that you're confident with your journal and your ability to recount your dreams, it's time for the next step. I hope you recall me mentioning lucid dreaming?

If you don't know what lucid dreaming is, it's basically knowing that you're dreaming while asleep. This allows you the ability to have a degree of control your dreams and I've used it to avoid my fair share of nightmares or influence the dream into the direction I'd like it to go.

After going deeper into my research, I found out that -in order to better prepare to lucid dream- you usually need a specific ritual you'd use nightly before bed. For me it was saying to myself (out loud) that I would be lucid dreaming tonight, counting my fingers, then going to bed with what I would like to dream about in the forefront of my mind.

You may be asking yourself, but why? And I'll tell you.

Saying a specific statement out loud will allow your brain to realize that, hey, this is what we're doing and to get with the program. It's basically just a reminder to yourself about your goals.

Next -and this is completely optional- I usually counted my fingers out loud. I found that while asleep, there are ways to tell that you are in fact dreaming. Specifically, if you count your fingers, you will usually have more or less digits than usual no matter how many times you repeat the process.

So I use this method before bed to remind myself to use this in a dream, that way I can tell myself that I'm dreaming without waking myself up. Which is a valid concern. If you get too excited about lucid dreaming, you have the possibility of waking yourself up, so be careful to remain calm.

The last step is definitely easier in theory than practice. Empty your thoughts of anything other than what you'd like to dream about. It's going to be easy for your mind to wander with all that quiet, but you have to remain steadfast. Forgetting to do this step won't make or break the experience, but it will help you achieve your goal.

It's just that after reading several articles and through personal experience, I've found that the last thing on your mind as you fall asleep is the thing you are most likely to bring with you into your dreams. Like if you had a stressful day, then your dreams are going to reflect that.

Now the most important thing to do is to have an open mind and believe that it will work, kind of like hypnosis. If you go into this with doubts, then you're most likely not going to see much progress.

But if you're really struggling, there are a lot of great guided meditation videos on YouTube that will absolutely assist in focusing your mind and keeping you on track.

And even if you aren't struggling, I highly recommend you take a look anyways since these videos can be very informative and will help you understand the act of lucid dreaming on a deeper level. Using the advice given, you could even create your own routine that personally fits you and find faster ways of slipping into lucidity while asleep.

Hopefully this helped you in your future endeavors and I wish you the best of luck!

Sweet dreams.