Why should you keep a dream journal? The reason is simple. For many of us interpreting meaning or decoding messaging from our dreams remains a complete mystery. The vast majority of people either don’t remember their dreams or find that the fragments they do recall make little sense and are confusing. Our journal helps resolve that!
Sleep And Dreaming.
We are all aware of the importance of restful sleep and the many benefits for our mind and body. Sleep provides us the chance to recharge both physically and mentally. It provides us a retreat, allowing us to take a break from the stress of the world and enables our mind to wander and imagine.
Throughout the centuries every civilization has been fascinated with the dreaming state. Many of these cultures developed detailed theories about the reason we dream as well as detailed guidance in relation to interpreting meaning.
Recently we have seen a great deal of interest stemming from the scientific community, with a number of research projects being carried out. The results of these scientific studies are fascinating and seem to support the fact that dreaming can make us smarter, spark our creativity, help our memory recall, and also make us more curious.
The downside is that to gain these benefits, we need to be aware of what occurs within our nighttime escapades. Sadly most of us forget them almost instantly upon wakening and before we have had a chance to truly explore them.
Journaling can help us document our night time experiences and potentially help us dream more often.
Keep A Dream Journal – 50 pages of interpretation dictionary and 150 pages of interpretation guides
Why Keep A Dream Journal? Unlock the Secrets.
Your dreams may be luxurious, living in great golden palaces, flying above the clouds or visiting exotic, distant lands. Perhaps they are more terrifying in nature? Being stalked by lions, swimming in shark infested waters or the mother-in-law coming to stay.
Dreams have long fascinated humanity, offering a glimpse into the workings of our subconscious mind. Whether your dreams are vivid and luxurious or dark and terrifying, they hold valuable insights into your waking life, emotions, and mental well-being. As the voice of your unconscious mind, dreams are packed with meaning and important messages, waiting to be deciphered.
Theories abound regarding the purpose of dreaming, but one aspect that experts agree on is the importance of keeping a dream journal. This simple yet powerful tool is the first step in gaining a deeper understanding of your innermost thoughts and desires. By committing your dreams to paper, you’ll gain valuable insights into what truly matters to you and uncover recurring patterns that may be hiding in plain sight.
As you begin to recognize trends in your dreams, such as similar concepts, images, or symbols, you’ll start to unravel the mysteries of your subconscious. This process is not unlike learning a new skill or hobby, where practice makes perfect. The more you focus on remembering details, the more detail you’ll recall, and the better equipped you’ll be to interpret the hidden meanings within your dreams.
By paying attention to your dreams and journaling regularly, you’ll develop a greater understanding of your emotions, stresses, and victories. You’ll gain a deeper appreciation for your mental well-being and be better positioned to make positive changes in your life. The details you uncover will point you toward areas that require further attention, empowering you to take control of your life and make informed decisions.
Incorporating a dream journal into your daily routine is a simple yet powerful way to tap into the wisdom of your subconscious. By doing so, you’ll unlock a deeper understanding of yourself and your place in the world. So, take the first step on this journey of self-discovery and start journaling your dreams today. With practice and patience, you’ll uncover the hidden meanings within your dreams and unlock a brighter, more fulfilling future.
Remember, your dreams are a valuable resource, waiting to be tapped. By embracing this practice, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of yourself and the world around you. So, it time to keep a dream journal at hand and start documenting your dreams today!
7 Simple Steps To Keep A Dream Journal.
Step 1 – Remembering The Day.
Before you retire for sleep spend a few minutes reminding yourself of what occurred in your day.
Make some simple notes about the keys aspects that you remember. Who are the people that you saw and spoke too? What did you do and where were you?
Try to recall any moments that caused your emotions to spike. It is important to note both positive and negative.
Step 2 – Setting Intent.
Setting of intent is where you programme your subconscious and energetic bodies to remember your dreams.
This is especially important if you are someone who finds it difficult to remember them when you wake.
This step establishes your desired intention. It helps you convince your subconscious that you do want to recall and remember them.
In your journal write your intention and then spend a few moments reading it . Ensure your intent is stated as fact.
An example is: “I will dream tonight. When I wake I will remember all details and will retain them long enough to record them all in my journal.”
Once this is done place your journal beside your bed. You will want it close for when you wake.
Step 3 – Waking Recall.
At the moment you wake up stay perfectly still, don’t even open your eyes, and spend time on your waking recall. This may take a little practice!
Ask yourself “What was the last thing in my mind?” Give a moment and if nothing comes, keep gently requesting. “What was the last thing i pictured happening in my mind?”
When you remember something, regardless of how significant you may think it is, focus on it. Now start to work in reverse. Give yourself some prompts such, “And what was happening before that?”
When you remember the next detail ask the same question. “What was happening before that?”
Keep doing this until you have remembered as much of the detail as possible. When you believe you have all the recall available go over the remembered details in your head one more time to see if anything further arises.
Step 4 – Keep A Dream Journal Close To Record.
Now get your journal and start noting down this recall. I suggest doing this as memorable words rather than sentences.
Even if believe you have remembered each event in the recall step it is very easy to forget. Once your conscious mind starts requiring you to focus your thinking on other detail you can lose the rest of your recalled memory.
By using words rather than sentences you are more likely to retain everything recalled, and be able to get it on paper. Note down the key pictures as words such as “house”, “Eric”, “Flying”, “Painting”, “Anger”, “Several Butterflies“, “Dropping.”
Step 5 – Expand Upon The Words.
Now that you have your sequence and your key words you can begin recording the detail. You can spend time exploring and expanding upon each of the words in the sequence.
You are less likely to forget other aspects of your recall because of the words you developed in Step 4. They trigger your subconscious recall. What you have done is enable a mental hook so that your mind can easily return to the memory through word association.
When you begin recording the dream details it is best if you use first person present tense. This ensures you gather the information that is important to you. For example write the detail as: “I am… (what are you doing)”, “I see…”, “I feel…” etc.
You also need to ensure you note the setting, the people or animals involved, your actions, other peoples or animals actions and any emotions you experienced.
What is also important is to note how you felt when you woke up. When you keep a dream journal record of being happy, tired, sad, fearful etc. it allows you to go beyond just that one day. You can review a period of time, a week, a month a year and look for meaning within the patterns that may emerge.
Give each journal entry its own title and ensure your record the date and if possible the time.
Step 6 – Keep A Dream Journal To Find Day Residue.
Spend some time focusing on what occurred the day before and read the notes you recorded the night before.
Do you see any themes emerging? Do the emotions or actions relate to events that have recently occurred in your waking life?
This is known as “Day Residue”. It is the dreaming of someone you know, or something you saw or actions you took. Recognizing day residue is important because your subconscious mind is linking events, people or actions to stored memories.
You need to focus on this residue and ask what is the reason for that event, that person, or that object appearing in your dreams at this point of time?
Step 7 – Non Related Links.
Once you have linked aspects of your dream to day residue you need to focus on those words, thoughts and feelings that remain.
You need to list the emotions, thoughts, people, events that occur in your dream that cannot easily be linked to aspects of your daily life.
Over time patterns, trends and pictures will appear. It may be that your subconscious is sending you messaging and reminding you of something important for your life.
Your subconscious may be urging you to end associations that are unhealthy, or to follow a new path. Messages and meanings may be as simple as beginning a new hobby, or finding new interests.
Likewise you may be receiving messaging that is crucial for your future happiness and well being.
When you keep a dream journal and use it regularly you start to see patterns and recurring themes. These may be emotions, or people, or taking part in specific activities.
Whether day residue or non related, if patterns emerge you can be sure they are pointing too aspects of your life that need your attention.
Handy Templates To Record Your Dreams
These dream journal templates from Sleep Advisor were created to help you get you started. Each template serves a different purpose, from simply recording them to interpreting them.
For ambitious souls, use the templates to acknowledge your fears and set intentional goals for your nightly slumber.
If you’re a vivid dreamer, you’ve probably encountered some magical experiences that have you asking a lot of questions.
While there are many different interpretations, one thing for certain is that they reflect memories and experiences of our everyday lives.
If we accept that our dreams reflect our past, and of happenings in the present, then surely they can also be used to set focus for our future.
Keep A Dream Journal – Our Recommendation.
Dream Analysis Guidebooks and Journals.
