Girl Writing in Journal

Your Dream Journal

What is a Dream Journal?

A record of your dreams - A dream journal simply records the details and the conditions surrounding your dreams. It can help you learn to lucid dream more frequently and effectively. It's also a chronological record to enjoy and refer back to later.

Why Should I Keep a Dream Journal?

Improve your lucid dreaming ability - For those interested in lucid dreaming, the main purpose of a dream journal is to help you learn to have lucid dreams more frequently and more effectively. To do this, you need to find what things help or hinder your ability to lucid dreams. These can be things you do before falling asleep which might influence your dreams, or things you do within a dream such as identifying dream signs or common themes.

Incentive to remember your dreams - If you prepare your dream journal each night, and go to bed with the intention of recording your dreams, this creates a strong incentive for you to remember your dreams.

Future reference - It can be fun to look back at dreams you've had in the past. You will see how your dreams have changed over time, and may have been influenced by life events, changes, or stages. You will also see how your lucid dreaming abilities have changed over time.

Record insights and inspiration - Dreams arise out of the depths of our minds, and in lucid dreams can be a direct connection between the conscious and the subconscious. A dream can reveal messages, insights, or creative inspiration which may not be readily accessible when awake.

What Should I Record in My Dream Journal?

Date and Time - Record the time you go to bed, as well as each time you wake up. You may discover certain bedtimes which improve your chances of having a lucid dream.

Pre-Sleep Physical and Mental State - Record anything that could affect your sleep, such as:

What happened in Your Dream? - Describe as much detail as you can for each scene of your dream. Dreams often have a convoluted storyline, but try to connect the scenes together.

People - Who did you see in your dream? Did you see anyone you know? People can be representations of different aspects of our own mind. The ways in which you interact with people in your dreams can be important.

Messages - Did you see any written text? Text can be difficult for our dream mind to create consistently, so write it down if you can remember it. Did you receive any messages, or have any conversations with people (or animals!) in your dreams?

Lucidity - Did you have a lucid dream? This can be a simple checkbox. If you have a calendar, mark which days you have lucid dreams to track your progress.

Dream Signs - Did you see anything strange in your dream that made you were dreaming? These are dream signs and can signal to you that you are dreaming.

Reality Checks - Did you attempt any reality checks in your dream? Did it work? Finding a reality check which works well for you means your mind will remember to try it regularly when you're dreaming and you'll be able to enter lucid dreams much more frequently.

Drawings - If something in your dream really caught your attention, draw a picture of it. Sometimes a picture can show more detail than you can describe in words. Add some color. It will make your journal a lot more fun to flip through later!

Significance - Did any part of your dream, lucid or not, have special significance to you? Did you see anyone special to you? Did your dream reveal any special messages or insights? How did the dream leave you feeling? Were you pleased by the dream, or bothered by it?

If it feels too overwhelming to record all of this every night, then simply record whatever seems important to you and whatever you feel will help you to improve your lucid dreaming experiences.

When Should I Record My Dreams?

Before you go to sleep - Record your pre-sleep conditions as described above. This gets your mind ready to dream and incentivizes you to remember your dream when you wake up.

As soon as you wake up - Every time you wake up, try to remember your dreams and record them before doing anything else. The first thing you need to do when you wake up is remember your dream. If you wake up during the middle of the night, record your dreams before falling asleep again. Don't wait until morning or else it may be difficult to recall, especially if you have more dreams. If you feel too sleepy, at least jot down a few key points that will help you remember later.

What Kind of Dream Journal Should I Use?

Notebook - A simple notebook is perfectly fine. You can use as few or as many pages as you need each day, so there's no wasted space.

Daily Planner - Daily planners are convenient because they are already divided up into days and often contain a monthly calendar on which you can mark down which days you had lucid dreams, or other significant information. Choose one which has a full page for each day so that you have plenty of space.

Dream Journal Book - There are some beautiful dream journals that have been published. Having a beautiful, dedicated dream journal can inspire you to faithfully record your dreams each night, and feel pleased every time you see it.

Computer / Tablet / Smartphone - There are a number of good Dream Journal websites and apps you may find work well for you. However, the blue light from screens can negatively affect your sleep. Devices also bring the temptation to get sidetracked by other online activities.

Whatever you decide to use, dedicate it solely to recording your dreams. Don't mix your dream record with other notes or daily tasks.