Help with dream journal?

[TheOfficialEli]

Okay, so I'm just now starting to use a dream journal for the first time, and I was going to write in it this morning but got confused, so I have some questions. What exactly is necessary to write in it? Should I write literally everything I remember about my dreams? Or just basic ideas and key points? If I was having a conversation with someone in my dream should I just write whatever it is we were talking about? Or write the actual conversation itself and what was being said? Also, would it be better to write my dreams in present tense as if it's happening while I write it? Or past tense? And lastly, is it okay to just write in the morning, or is it necessary to wake up in the middle of the night after each dream? Just curious and I'd appreciate any tips, what are your personal preferences?

[Highlander]

Basically whatever you can remember about the dream including any emotions or feelings. Try to remember as much as possible, although if you haven't got too much time then use keywords or ideas, so when you read your notes later then you can add to them, etc. Myself: I do like to write the conversations down, but you have to be a little careful, because I noticed (in my case) sometimes I started quickly forgetting the rest of the dream. So basically, if you remember it, then yes. If you can't, then don't worry about it. Sometimes I wake up in the morning where I just remember a fragment or two, and the next night/morning I can remember about 3 or 4 dreams, etc. (Then I have to decipher the scribble, which looks like Doctor's writing, that I have made in my notes by the bedside in the morning!) I would say present tense is better, although I've got into a bad habit of writing mine in a mishmashed past/present tense out of laziness. If you do wake up after a dream then it is generally advisable to write notes on it there and then. Try not to move too much however when running the dream back through your head upon waking, or get too alert as our brain tends to try and start to 'erase' the dream to the point where it becomes fuzzy and hard to remember. We tend to dream longer in the morning, which is the point where you are more likely to get lucid if you are working towards that goal. Even if you write something down then I'm sure your overall recall will improve very quickly over time. You can even sketch a dream scene which is what I do sometimes. Regards. (P.S. You can use your journal by going over your written dreams, and looking for your common themes and dream signs.)

[Burke]

A lot of it's personal preference. It seems that the more information you put down the more it will help your recall but it isn't mandatory. Since I don't like to write a lot I just write down key points and short plot summaries/any dialogue, and add in the details afterwards on my online DJ since typing is a lot easier and faster for me. For conversations I would write down everything since it's harder to remember those, but if you went driving down a road I would just put something along the lines of "went driving on X road with Y person, saw *insert any peculiarities here*, stopped at Z location." It covers most points but doesn't go into a ton of detail and also includes any oddities you may have encountered. I find that past tense works fine since they're just memories and when talking to someone you wouldn't say "I'm on vacation" when you just got home from it. No, it's not necessary to write down after every dream but if you do wake up in the middle of the night at least write down some short notes since it'll be very easy to forget it. If you don't naturally wake up in the middle of the night then just write them down in the morning when you would normally get up. The basic rule with DJs and a lot of things LD related is you get what you give. If you put in a lot of effort (writing down every detail every time you remember something) then you will get a lot out of it (very good recall). The only downside is it's very hard to maintain a DJ with that high of standards since right when you wake up or if you do wake up in the middle of the night the last thing you'll want to do is write an essay or two about dreams. It's up to you but I would suggest putting some detail and a fair amount of plot when you first write it then expand upon it later when you're more awake and more willing.

[TheOfficialEli]

Thank you both! Really helped

[gab]

Other than the dreams itself, with details and feelings, here are some things that may help you, if you write them in DJ: • Date • Bed time • Supplements and time taken to help you figure out the best time for taking them • Mantras, RCs, awareness you did during day to see if they manifest in your dream and if there is a delay of manifestation - find out which work/don't work • Stress level of the day - does it affect your recall? • Time when you woke up from a dream and how long was it - figure out best time for WBTB • WBTB time and how long, what did you do and ease of falling asleep - do you need to get up sooner/later for shorter/longer • Dream itself • How good is your recall • Type of a dream RD, DILD, WILD, DEILD • Level of control, vividness, special features, stabilization • HH - Hallucinations, effects, sensations