To dream journal or not to dream journal, that is the question

About 2 months ago, I started lucid dreaming and keeping a dream journal. It was fine when it was summer, as I didn't have school. But on school days, I wake up at 5:45 and have only 45 minutes to prepare for school. I don't really have the time to lay in my bed remembering the dream, and even less time to write it all down in my journal.

Even on weekends, when I have the time to do all that, I still feel like writing in my journal is a chore. I like staying in my bed for 5-30 minutes to remember my dreams, but I don't like dream journaling at all.

Here is my question : Should I keep dream journaling even if I feel like it's a chore ? Or should I completely stop, or only write on weekends ?

You should keep a dream journal all the time. It is essential to lucid dreaming, heck, I have natural recall but I still keep a dream journal. I have noticed a significant drop in amounts of lucid dreams when I stop lucid dreaming. Dream journals help because they help you find more dream signs, also it adds importance to your dreams because you are willing to write them down. Also, dream journals are always not the most fun thing to do. I bet the pros on this site would tell you dream journaling isn't the most enjoyable thing to do but it definitely helps you out. So just keep at it, it is definitely worth it.

Hope this helps, good luck!

I agree, it's definitely worth keeping a Dream Journal.
If you have problems remembering your dreams later on in the day, then try noting them down when you wake up, keep a pad and pen next to your bed when you head to sleep, and when you wake up bullet point your dream down so you can type it up later.
Obviously you don't have to if you don't want to, dreams should be an enjoyable experience which you should love to write down, so if you don't like doing it, then you could only type up the best dreams you have, and then just note down the rest. That way your recall will still be good enough to remember the awesome ones.
Apparently just recalling it when you wake up can help on it's own, so your doing something right there.
To summarise it's up to you.
Good luck and if you have any more questions just ask!

I would at least write a few points down if you can't. That way you won't lose your recall. However, it is definitely worth keeping a proper dream journal.

Keeping a proper journal is good but you can have awesome recall even without a proper one. I tend to only remember a few words per dream if I wake up in the night, then in the morning I pin them down and decide if I'd want to write the dreams down completely. But I can do it days later with just those words, and if you can do that, chances are as long as you keep any journal at all your dream recall won't suffer just because you don't pin down every dream.

StaySharp and Quantiq, your avatars look so identical that at first glance, I keep thinking one of you has double-posted! :P

I definitely agree that journaling can sometimes feel like a chore. But, it's like cleaning the dishes or making your bed: you don't have to do it, but it makes life easier (and a bit less gross, in terms of dirty dishes). If I stop dream journaling, my recall dips quite a bit, so I always make sure that I keep doing it.

If DJing is a pain and has become unbearably annoying, you could try stopping or reducing the amount of dream content you record. You're risking a loss of recall though, which may take a little while to build up again.

Puffin has the right idea. Journaling can be a chore, and sometimes I want nothing more than to drop the pen and go back to sleep. But it's all a matter of priorities and dedication. The best advice I can give is that like any discipline, anything of value is bought with time and pain/discomfort. Yes, it takes a "long" time to journal every detail of your dreams. And it sure as hell can be a pain if you're tired and have to pee and your shoulder is killing you from propping yourself up in bed. But when things get tough, you have to remind yourself why you're doing all this in the first place and make a decision. How badly do you want to LD on a regular basis? How important are your dreams to you? Is lucidity just a neato idea or is it a burning passion inside you? Only you can answer those questions. If you decide that it's just not worth the pain, time, and effort to journal, then you can certainly continue trying to LD, but without a strong recall fostered by consistent journaling you're only playing with half a deck. lol But if you decide that LDing is something that is truly important to you, then you should view journaling in the same context as brushing your teeth, doing homework, going to work everyday even if you don't feel like it, and paying your bills on time. It's not fun or enjoyable sometimes, but it'll get you where you want to go every single time. You get back what you put in. Always.

Having said all that, I understand that life isn't simple. Sometimes we have to temper our desires against the demands of reality. If you can't find time during the week to journal, then make sure you make quality entries on the weekends and vacation days. Also remember, writing isn't the only form of journaling. Try drawing scenes from your dreams, or humming a song describing your dream to yourself throughout the day. I'm positive that if you brainstorm on solutions to your problem, you'll find the perfect way to negate your "chore" feelings and start to really enjoy journaling.

to dream journal, no question

It is needed. If you really cannot wake up a tad earlier to write down your dreams, just get a recording device and record yourself narrating it as you do your morning chores. Then when you get back, write it down. This isn't ideal, but it is better than doing nothing.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I think I will only write my dreams on weekends, when I have to time for it. Still, I will try to write a few words everyday, even if I often can't really remember my dreams on week days.

If you don't got time to write, turn on a recorder while you get dressed. It's always a viable option ;) Then when you got time write them down.

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Originally Posted by Kona

I have noticed a significant drop in amounts of lucid dreams when I stop lucid dreaming.

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I wonder why that is.

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Originally Posted by Stirred

I wonder why that is.

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Whatever... We all have brain farts, you know what I meant:P

I'm not sure, but I think that DJ isn't necessary. Of course only if you remember some dreams without journalling. As I understand, DJ is for those who practices things like dream sign recognizing, etc. WILDs are not caused by dream signs, and also spontaneous DILDs aren't. So it depends on technique. In one life period I could remember about 7 dreams per night, but still hadn't LDs. In a LD brain works much better than in a normal dream, so it isn't hard to remember what you've seen.

StaySharp's method is very good. To remember dream you should just describe it in a few words, then it stays in memory for longer.

Eleggua, I disagree. I think that journaling should be and is the cornerstone of LD success. Finding dream signs is only one aspect of journaling. The main reason for journaling is that it drastically improves recall because you replay dreams over and over again as you write them down. Doing so familiarizes your waking mind with your dreaming mind. It tears down the barrier between waking and dreaming and creates a continuity of consciousness. You stop seeing sleeping and non-LDing as "unconscious" time, and start seeing it as a different mode of experience. When you remember your dreams and can see them laid out one after the other in a written format, patterns emerge, not just dream signs. I've learned valuable information about myself and how my mind works by reading past entries in my DJ. I notice shifts in dream content as time goes by and have seen my real-life relationships reflected in my dream-life. I'd say that overall, journaling is what you make of it. If you only want to find dream signs, then that's fine. I personally value my dream journal as much as I would a waking-life journal.

Personally, I hate them. I feel like I usually remember what is "important" to remember.

That being said, I am sad that I can't keep up with a dj. I am sure I have forgotten a lot of things that were once important to me. AND it does help your recall over a long time, and as we have seen, it is supposed to help the overall lucid experience.

While I am always on the side of getting as much sleep as possible, because not enough is just unhealthy, I think you should make it a goal to document at least three dreams a week. Just give yourself a limit, but don't overdo it.

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If you don't got time to write, turn on a recorder while you get dressed. It's always a viable option Then when you got time write them down.

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I have done this, and I must say this is the best method i know of. Recording dreams by voice helps me tremendously. Since in the morning I am often groggy and my handwriting isn't the best i prefer to quickly voice record my memories. Then during the day i write down my dream. But a funny thing often occurs, the fact that I say my dream out loud in the voice recorder makes me remember it. Nearly 90% of the time during the day I don't even have to listen to the recorded dream to be able to rewrite it.

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Originally Posted by speedbasssux

Eleggua, I disagree. I think that journaling should be and is the cornerstone of LD success. Finding dream signs is only one aspect of journaling. The main reason for journaling is that it drastically improves recall because you replay dreams over and over again as you write them down. Doing so familiarizes your waking mind with your dreaming mind. It tears down the barrier between waking and dreaming and creates a continuity of consciousness. You stop seeing sleeping and non-LDing as "unconscious" time, and start seeing it as a different mode of experience. When you remember your dreams and can see them laid out one after the other in a written format, patterns emerge, not just dream signs. I've learned valuable information about myself and how my mind works by reading past entries in my DJ. I notice shifts in dream content as time goes by and have seen my real-life relationships reflected in my dream-life. I'd say that overall, journaling is what you make of it. If you only want to find dream signs, then that's fine. I personally value my dream journal as much as I would a waking-life journal.

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Hm, maybe you're right. It is really very important to understand what is dreaming.

I would recommend you to keep a dream journal, it's much easier to become aware in a dream if you do.

Imagine that you are on a bus and that you see a girl.

If you write down the details of what you remember you might recognise her the next time you see here, because you put your awareness on her.
But if you don't chances are that you might not recognise her or even remember that you saw here at all.

It's the same with dreams, I know that it can be a little frustrating to write a Dream Journal, but have a pen and paper near your bed and when you remember something from a dream write it down.
And when you have the time you can write it down in your Dream Journal, you will remember it if you write good keywords, because the power of association is remarkable.
And even if you don't you have still put some attention to the dream.

But the corner stone of lucid dreaming isn't a dream journal, a dream journal is just a tool to the real corner stone, understanding of awareness.

You should keep a dream journal, definitely.

I agree with the others. When you wakes up, then write some notes down about the dream, and it will come to you later in the day.

I have the same problem, but I'm writing when I'm not in the bed too, like while eating breakfast. :) And if I'm in the bus, or in school and remember a dream, I write notes down and then I write it over to my DJ later.

Hope this helped. Sweet dreams!

To dream journal or not to dream journal

Is exact same as

To lucid or not to lucid

..

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Originally Posted by ShadowOfSelf

To dream journal or not to dream journal

Is exact same as

To lucid or not to lucid

..

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Very clever.

Hmm, this is a tough one. The first rule about LDing-- it shouldn't be a chore, it should be something you enjoy and are passionate about. HAving said that, I think there are some compromises you could make regarding journaling. What I do in the morning is jot down some notes and then write up stuff in detail later. But I almost never write all the dreams I remember. Just the lucids, usually, and nightmares or interesting nonlucids. :P

When I first started, I didn't know to keep a dream journal. My progress was way slower than it would have been with a DJ, but after a few years or so, I was able to LD every night. However, my main method was essentially MILD (the same one I use today; it's in my sig). So I didn't need to DJ for dreamsigns and all that. When I started to DJ, I'd just jot notes to remind me what happened, and not the full dreams. And after a couple more years, I was lucid dreaming 100% of the time. I didn't start writing everything in detail until I came to DV a few years ago. So if you're doing MILD or WILD, a DJ isn't totally necessary. You can just write your favorite lucids down or whatever. :)