Help with Dream Journal (Motivation)

I need some help on motivational issues for recording a dream journal, as I recorded one for about a month or less and then it just...stopped. I'm not a morning person at all, so having to write an entry first thing when I wake up, when I can't even open my eyes properly is a real motivational struggle for me!

I know that the dream journal is the foundation if you like of building your way up to having lucid dreams, so I really need to get past this barrier to increase my dream recall rate, and ultimately having my first lucid dream.
Does anyone have some disciplinary or motivational ideas to help me?

If you want to lucid dream bad enough, you'll start doing the journal on your own. Even if someone motivated you, it'll just be temporary and then you're back where you started. You have to discipline yourself, and it's not that you don't know how, it's that you're not willing to. But you can be.

Cheers for the words bro =)

It is all you man. Make a promise for a certain amount of time and don't let it go until then, that is when you can quit, and only then. I wouldn't recommend doing that for DJing though, just LDing. DJing takes too much time when you get a lot of epics per night.

I have heard that many people use a tape recorder, so when you wake up, you just grab it and speak and then write what you have said in your dream journal later in that day.

I think it could really help you if you are not a morning dude.

Good luck!

Another thing you could do is just write down key ideas, plot points, or anything else that stands out instead of trying to write down the entire dream in one go. More is better than less of course, but less is definitely better than none. If you find it hard to write down all the details, stick with the main points of the dream. You can always fill them in later (maybe as an activity during a WBTB?). Hope this helps!

Have you tried posting your journals in the dream journal section? One thing that can help with motivation is having a group of people there to cheer you on. I know it may sound corny but just knowing that you have friends anticipating updates and willing to listen can really help with motivation (part of the reason I joined). I know from experience. What you can do is let people on here know what you are doing and appoint a time to share your dream journal. Even simpler, you can just post your entries here in the journal section every week or so and maybe let some friends on here know what it is you are trying to do. Even one word comments can be enough to keep you going (again, experience). You don't have to post all of your entries just the ones you feel comfortable sharing. I would be more than happy to oblige if that's what you want to do.

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Originally Posted by GalMutzafy

I have heard that many people use a tape recorder, so when you wake up, you just grab it and speak and then write what you have said in your dream journal later in that day.

I think it could really help you if you are not a morning dude.

Good luck!

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That's a good idea, but unfortunately it is not suited to me as I'm quite slow at explaining things verbally and don't know how to describe it through speaking, although it is different for writing.

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Originally Posted by AxioM

Another thing you could do is just write down key ideas, plot points, or anything else that stands out instead of trying to write down the entire dream in one go. More is better than less of course, but less is definitely better than none. If you find it hard to write down all the details, stick with the main points of the dream. You can always fill them in later (maybe as an activity during a WBTB?). Hope this helps!

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Yes, that seems like a logical plan of action, although I don't think I have a problem as soon as I actually start writing in my journal, it's the initial few seconds after waking up when I think to myself, "should I or shouldn't I?". If I decide on the former, I have no problem writing all I need to write.

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Originally Posted by MortalTrinity

Have you tried posting your journals in the dream journal section? One thing that can help with motivation is having a group of people there to cheer you on. I know it may sound corny but just knowing that you have friends anticipating updates and willing to listen can really help with motivation (part of the reason I joined). I know from experience. What you can do is let people on here know what you are doing and appoint a time to share your dream journal. Even simpler, you can just post your entries here in the journal section every week or so and maybe let some friends on here know what it is you are trying to do. Even one word comments can be enough to keep you going (again, experience). You don't have to post all of your entries just the ones you feel comfortable sharing. I would be more than happy to oblige if that's what you want to do.

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Hmm...I don't know about this one.
Usually my dreams are about quite personal matters/people in my life and I like to keep them private, and I would also feel extremely self-conscious about telling everyone about my really weird and sometimes messed up dreams!

I don't think I need any drastic action like the ideas you guys have given me, I just need to remember the motivation of future lucid dreams to be able to pick up the journal as soon as I wake up - as soon as I pick it up, I will always write the entry down...it's just picking it up =)

I'm not a morning person either, when I did a DJ about a year ago I wrote it down right when I woke up and got bored of it after 2 weeks even though it had good results regarding LDs. But this year I don't write them down immediatly, I dot down key-words in a journal next to my bed which takes 5 minutes usually, do my everyday bussines and then in the afternoon or sometimes evening I come here and write them in detail online. So far I haven't been demotivated and it's very good for waking yourself up if you're like me someone who likes to snooze.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GalMutzafy

I have heard that many people use a tape recorder, so when you wake up, you just grab it and speak and then write what you have said in your dream journal later in that day.

I think it could really help you if you are not a morning dude.

Good luck!

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I read that it is quite possible to fall asleep talking into your recorder. I would imagine this is harder when writing things down!

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Originally Posted by ThreeCat

I read that it is quite possible to fall asleep talking into your recorder. I would imagine this is harder when writing things down!

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I think part of keeping the DJ regularly is to take real interest in your dreams--not just the LDs. Your dreams are part of your precious life, as one might say, and often they can be much more interesting than what you do during the day. I think of each night as an adventure. The LDs are awesome, but some of my all time favorite dreams (The Giant Bear, The Hidden Stream, and A Night with Aleister Crowley) were all NLDs. So try to think of every night as something amazing happening. It is amazing. You're asleep and yet not at the same time. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by LDman

I'm not a morning person either, when I did a DJ about a year ago I wrote it down right when I woke up and got bored of it after 2 weeks even though it had good results regarding LDs. But this year I don't write them down immediatly, I dot down key-words in a journal next to my bed which takes 5 minutes usually, do my everyday bussines and then in the afternoon or sometimes evening I come here and write them in detail online. So far I haven't been demotivated and it's very good for waking yourself up if you're like me someone who likes to snooze.

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The only issue with this idea, is that my memory would fail me if I do not write down the dream in all its detail straight away - my dreams are not vivid enough to remember later on in the day which, ironically, is because I haven't been keeping a regular dream diary!

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Originally Posted by ThreeCat

I think part of keeping the DJ regularly is to take real interest in your dreams--not just the LDs. Your dreams are part of your precious life, as one might say, and often they can be much more interesting than what you do during the day. I think of each night as an adventure. The LDs are awesome, but some of my all time favorite dreams (The Giant Bear, The Hidden Stream, and A Night with Aleister Crowley) were all NLDs. So try to think of every night as something amazing happening. It is amazing. You're asleep and yet not at the same time. Good luck!

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Now THAT, sir, is motivation!
I treasure dreams so much when I come to think of it; the one thing in my life I love the most is escaping to other worlds and using my vast imagination for freedom and adventure, that's what got me interested in lucid dreaming in the first place.
The way you've just said what you said has made me remember why I want to lucid dream, and so that is what I have to remember all the time.
Also, I've just purchased a lucid dreaming "field guide" on my Kindle and will start reading it as soon as I finish my current book which will be in the next few days. I know that reading this book will help to keep me reminded of why I'm doing this and will motivate me to uphold the self-discipline required.