Dream Journal

How to Create a Dream Diary

Any dream interpretation enthusiast will tell you that the journey towards dream enlightenment begins with a dream journal. People usually keep dream journals for lucid dreaming, or the idea that one can influence his or her own dreams by becoming fully aware that he or she is dreaming. If you are new to the concept of dream interpretation and this is your first time creating a dream diary, Sleep.com is a great place to find all the information you will need.

Why Keep a Dream Journal?

Dream journals are vital to dream interpretation and lucid dreaming, helping you discover dream signs and improve your dream recall, or your ability to remember your dreams. The better you can identify and remember dream signs, the easier it will be for you to interpret and influence your dreams.

Your dream journal should be comfortable to write on and readily accessible. At times, you will need to record a dream in the middle of the night so be sure to keep it close to your bed. If you have to remove yourself from bed and walk to your desk to log a dream, for instance, you may forget the important details of your dream. Remember that dream details can slip your mind in an instant so time is always of the essence.

Using Your Dream Journal to Induce Lucid Dreaming

When you wake from a dream, write down as much as you remember. Write down bits and pieces of the dream if that is all you can recall and then review those notes. Sometimes, the words on paper can jog your memory and help you recover the entire dream. Recording the entire dream is best and the more details the better.

The next thing you will need to do is find dream signs to highlight in your dream journal. A dream sign is anything in your dream that you can identify as irrational. Examples of dream signs include a deceased relative or an impossible feat such as flying.

Once you build a collection of dream signs, focus on those dream signs deeply as you fall asleep. If you can then identify any of these dream signs while asleep and make the connection that you are dreaming, the possibilities of dream control and lucid dreaming are literally endless.