how close was this to a lucid? / dream journal question

I had this dream last night and this one part was incredibly vivid it feels like it was a lucid dream. I think i knew i was dreaming because this like younger kid was wearing my clothes and I remember thinking "how do those clothes fit him" then it was like this cant be real..
I also have a question, are dream journals the best way to have a lucid dream? And how long will it take to have a lucid dream? I felt pretty close to haveing one and i've got like 4 entries in my dream journal, was it coincidence or does it make such a difference? OH YEA... how does the journal help, I don't really see...

It sounds like you are having a good level of dream recall and that definately helps in eventually becoming lucid. Unfortunately from my perspective i do not think it was lucid. If it was, your post would have been more like "I just had the most amazing awakening in a dream! It was soo vivid and exact to life!!" etc...:biggrin:.
You will Know more than anything else that you are having a lucid dream and when you wake up, it won't be like recalling the dream but more like moving from one reality to another.
Recording dreams in a journal seems to help a lot of people here. I personally do not use one. I find that recalling the dream in mind for the first 10 minutes of waking and then reflecting on it during the day keeps the images ingrained in my mind.
It takes more effort to keep a mental catalogue but i believe the result is a well-trained mind that can realize the lucid without reliance (some may not call a DJ reliance, perhaps they will use the word 'aid' or 'reinforcer', etc..)on any outside sources such as a paper notebook. Recalling everything within the mind where the dreams are focused seems like a much more beneficial way to aid in attaining lucidity.

Good luck!

looks like your question has been answered but i want to explain how a dream journal helps. first thing is that it gives you a better dream recall so whenever you lucid dream, you remember it. Second is that after you record some dreams in your journal, you can find out whats one thing thats always different in you dreams or one thing that you always do in you dreams. And then when it occurs, train yourself to do a reality check and become lucid

If thats confusing then i will give you an example of mine. Usually in my dreams, i play Halo 3, Drums or guitar because i do those things when im awake so i also tend to do them in my dream. So what i did was that i trained myself to do a reality check when i do those things in real life and now sometimes when i do them in my dreams, i do a reality check and become lucid.