22 replies to this topic

[sapphire]

So I started a dream journal about a month ago for a number of reasons. I wanted to remember my dreams more vividly, and I wanted to have them recorded, so I could look back on everything I experienced. I can successfully say that it helps tremendously. Of course, I can't remember every single detail, but I can remember a lot better. I looked through it today, and I can tell I remember a lot more than I used to.

I also find it funny how sometimes when I first wake up, I immediately scrawl everything I remember down, and when I look at it again hours later, I can't remember to the life of me! So it's nice to see what I dreamed.

So, does anyone here keep a dream journal? How has it helped you?

[Noctourne Wonderland]

I used to keep a dream journal, and it was great. Unfortunately, life got in the way and I didn't have time. I tend to remember dreams a little after waking, so I can't just write immediately. I still have mine, and it's fun to read through. I've had to bizarre dreams...

[Nemoide]

They do require discipline to maintain. I sporadically keep it for a couple months, then slack off. Because when I wake up, writing several pages is not what I really want to be doing.

Keeping a dream journal is a great technique though. After a while I managed to go from things like "had a dream about a forest" to being able to go for page after page of more details.

[Penelopi]

Dream journals require a lot of willpower to drag yourself up out of your bed right after you wake, and even more willpower to write it all. The descriptions most people give of their dreams are so short, you wouldn't think that people could spend over an hour writing down their dream, but I often do. It's hard to keep myself awake long enough to write it all at once, so I like to do bullet-point notes and then write out the details later when I'm more awake, because part of what takes me so long to write them is that I tend to start dozing off as I'm writing. Though sometimes I find my bullet-points stretching into paragraphs and just think "Oh what the heck" and keep up the flow until I'm finished 45 minutes later.

But it's totally worth it. I remember my dreams every night because of it (as long as I haven't exhausted myself lately). I don't have to look back on the entries all the time to remember, but they do help me recall the finer details. There's a lot of more impacting dreams that I remember well without reading through, and I can often remember what I dreamed yesterday morning and the morning before without referring back. But every so often when I read through, I find things ranging from a few little details to entire scenes of my fav dreams that I had forgotten. For most of the dreams I forgot or that have become blurry, I remember them once I read their entries. So my dream diaries are more like triggers to the memories of my dreams rather than their sole containers.

[sapphire]

Strange of you to say that about the bullet lists, Penelopi, because I do the same thing, then elaborate later. And it seems like as soon as I start reading over one part of a past dream, almost the entire dream comes back to me.

I usually don't write in it EVERY night, just because when I wake up, I really don't feel like it, but I still remember dreams a lot better. And I also noticed how sloppy my handwriting is as soon as I wake up!

[Penelopi]

Oh, yes, grogginess does terrible things to handwriting, grammar, and spelling. When I reread later in the day what I wrote, I will have to glance twice at a few words and study them in-context to remember what the heck they're supposed to be. I can't remember spelling very well when I first wake up, either, which felt odd to me when that first happened 'cause I'm such a spelling nut. Some things like "neccessary" are somewhat understandable, but the worst incident I think is when I couldn't remember how to spell "spy." I thought "Well, the plural for it is 'spies,' so just remove the s and I should have it." XD "Spie." Yes, Penelopi, very good job. I left it there just so I can laugh at myself.

[MidgitLD]

I generally remember dreams that I have gone lucid and borderline lucid in (which is usually the only time I remember them).

However, for people who want to be able to look back without missing a detail, I recommend a dream journal. In fact, I kinda want to start one up myself again. Used to have one a long while back when Trippy had an open section for it, but lost all my entries when it crashed/bugged/got taken down.

There's one dream I'd love to remember again that was in that bunch.

[DiENE]

I have kept several dream journals, one was a Hello Kitty journal that came in a Mcdonalds happy mean when I worked at Mcdonalds because I had to be there at 5:30am, it helped be be able to write down everything there since it was pocket sized too lol. But generally, its always been a chore for me to wake up and be cognitive enough to jot something down, even with my intentions. Half the time the writing is so messy I can't recall the entry at all XD. I tried a digital journal (on the comp) but the screen was bright and alerting and I think it gives it this "artificial" feel but I guess when I think of it now that doesn't matter anymore, I might try an online blog again.

[iMAGiNE]

There used to be dream journals on here, right? I wonder what happened to them.

[iLLViLLAiN]

I just write my dreams down in my generic journal that I write in whenever I don't feel lazy. One day I'll probably end up with an actual book dedicated to just my dreams.

There used to be dream journals on here, right? I wonder what happened to them.

Hey, I remember what you're talking about. What did happen to them?

[iMAGiNE]

Haha, glad someone remembers them!

I used to lurk here way back when, but never posted. Better late than never, right?

[infractus]

Methinks the old dream journals on here through the forums were nothing but problems, so they were disabled.
There was a way to sign up for one through the main site, but I'm not sure if that's carried over yet or not from the old site setup.

[iMAGiNE]

Yeah, I was talking about those.

Didn't know there were journals on the forum.

[TRiPPY]

I was having major probs integrating them into our current system. I'm convinced the original install was messed up anyway. I still have the data, just constantly tinkering with it.

[Minila]

Surprisingly I actually have many many notebooks that I keep on a bookshelf in my room.
All of them filled with dreams, but there are a few that have missing pages. (heh go figure... cuz I forgot a ton of stuff when I would wake up)
But like a few months or weeks later I'll remember those missing pages and right away fill them in.
its crazy but its what I tend to do.
currently Im writing in this little journal that I made and I keep it next to my bed. since I made the journal myself it actually motivates me to write more dreams that I have in it.

[Dark Magician]

I still have my Dream Journal, but it unfortunately was destroyed so I had to transfer everything into a new notebook. But then things started getting hectic and I was forced to stop writing in it. However, I intend on trying to get back into it.

[TORiAS_the_fallen]

I started chronicling my dreams again only after I began work on 'First,' which was inspired by NiGHTS OCs. I can't tell you how inspirational it's been for getting ideas for 'First,' though this is only from a writer's prespective.

[The Exile]

I write my dreams down if they'reparticularly good, and usually tell people about them on my LJ.

[kristi]

Oh wow it's been ages since I've been to the forums, lol.

Ah, for me, I have three places that I write/draw my dreams XD I have a Wordpress, my own physical journal, and DeviantArt.

I know the original post is about a year old, but I'd like to share how I jot down dreams during the night:

I do something similar to the "bullet list" method, but it's more visual. I'll make a quick and small scribble of something from the dream and add one or two quick notes to it; just enough so that when I wake up and see it I'll remember.

Another thing I've found that helps me (again, visual) is if I'm too tired to climb out of bed to even do that, I create a "hotspot" in my room. I'll concentrate really hard on an object and tell myself "when I wake up tomorrow and see (state item here), I'll remember the dream." After I do that I try to think really hard back to what was dreamed, in the hopes that I'll at least remember some of it when I wake the next day.

[iVYRAVE]

I have only just started my dream journal to help me lucid dream (so far throughout my dreams i've only been successful for a minute), I have a ton of notebooks at home so I used my most elegant notebook which is a velvety green with a black floral pattern as it sort of reminds me of NiGHTS (well I associate anything elegant with NiGHTS)
I find it quicker to write them down in note form, writing as much as I can remember and if nothing comes up I just write 'forgotten'

[SurREAL]

I used to keep a dream journal when I was in middle school. I would get back to writing in it on and off. I wrote down dreams that I wanted to remember, and very few dreams that I didn't want to remember (such as frightening nightmares). I rarely wrote down dreams that I didn't want to remember for fear of having the same dream again if I remember it.

I don't exactly keep a separate dream journal anymore, but I have another journal that I write in that I write dreams inside every once in a while. Usually I'd have vivid dreams during a nap rather than nighttime dreaming, so I'd write them down in the middle of the day. Sometimes I write about a video game-related dream on my Blogger video game blog. I don't share all my vide game-related dreams though

Keeping a record of dreams does help with learning what kind of motifs or themes reoccur in your dreams and what issues the unconscious is trying to show you, or things you are worried about. Personally I am not going to pressure myself every morning to write in a dream journal right after waking up, but the vivid ones are definitely worth the time spent writing. As long as the dream is written down somewhere, even if not all at the same place or same notebook, it wll be worth it if you want to read back what you wrote. It also helps to write down the date and time as well as the day of the week because it can help you remember what you were going through or what mood you were in around the time you had the dream. That's what I would do, anyway.

If, however, I want to begin regularly write down my dreams in a dream journal notebook, I want to be ready if I wake up in the middle of the night. I should invest in a little LED "reading light" thingy to see where to write so that I don't have to get out of bed, turn on my light and blind myself the first two minutes of writing. And then be totally awake and forget some of the details just because I got out of bed. It would be best to keep the journal and pen under the pillow (or a side drawer if you have one next to your bed) so that if you stay in bed as you get your writing materials, your dreams' details may still be fresh in your memory. Stilll in bed, you may be able to retain your state of mind from the dream as you write it down, and I believe that would be the best-case scenario for any dream-writer.

I guess what I am also saying is for most people, a small light/lamp near the bed can make a difference in the willingness to write dreams down on paper. Or laptop, depending on how other people might liike to do it. But personally I prefer paper and pen (and a lap desk) because the handwriting can show how fast/nervously I wrote or how calmly I wrote depending on the dream and my emotion.

Okay, I wrote too much. I'l give you guys a break, ha hah hah. Maybe I'll write a part two on this later (Seriously I can write a book on this topic)...

[Duplex]

I know I'm reviving a dead topic here, but I'm interested in keeping a dream journal for the purpose of having lucid dreams in the future. Before I do so, I have a couple questions I have to ask.

 

1.) Can dream journals be digital? I ask because I can type much faster than I write. I often have things to do in the morning, so I barely have enough time to write things down.

 

2.) If I am to go digital, where would be the best place to keep a digital dream journal? I'm wondering if there's a good website for that, or if I should just create a new Word file and go from there.

[BrittneytheDreamer]

@Duplex Yes, a dream log can be digital. I have mine under the Notes section on my I-pad! I put the I-pad on this little table I have at the foot of my bed because I normally crawl out the bottom when I wake up. I think putting your log near your bed and on whatever side you get out of it is helpful. Also, be sure that whatever you use is always well charged before you go to bed. You don't want it to go dead halfway trough your dream!