What's the Point of a Dream Journal?

**NonyaBiznus** · 10-15-2012 02:26 AM

Because you can forget so much of a dream within just 10 minutes of waking up, its best to write it down so you the dream can be embedded into your long term memory, and so you can have a written record of it, should you forget it later on, and so you can read many of your dreams in a row and see if you can notice any trends or symbols that appear in your dreams often. It's also not that bad for your writing skills either

That said I am abysmal when it comes to writing my dreams down, and even in lucid dreaming in general, so it's probably best not to take my word for it

EDIT: Why hello down there double post! Where did you come from?

**paigeyemps** · 10-15-2012 07:00 AM

Here are my personal reasons for keeping a dream journal:

1. To improve dream recall. Just knowing that I write in a DJ helps my brain put more importance into remembering the dreams themselves.

2. To identify common elements and dream signs.I can use this info to adjust my technique and get better results.

3. To analyze and personally interpret my dreams. It helps me find out how my waking life influences the events in my dreams.

4. To break dry spells. Rereading my experiences – especially the lucid ones – really provides motivation. It reminds me of how awesome it felt, how amazing it was. And that helps me out during tough times.

5. For fun! Reading old dreams is really rewarding. Someone may have great recall, but if you don't write them down, they get lost over time. Imagine this: memories are thoughts. Everytime you try to remember it, some part or aspect of will change, little by little. In the end you'll end up with distorted and false memories. Keeping a DJ enables me to keep track of a completely different and magical world I go to whenever I sleep.

**quietness** · 10-15-2012 12:45 PM

I usually write main keywords and images before I write them on the computer, and then to my dream journal here. I still have a back log of dreams I need to upload. Saying that, my handwriting is terrible to say the least. I usually write it when it's still kinda dark, and I'm too tired to even open my eyes. Hence, the key words and key images, which will jump start my brain into remembering the rest of the details.

However, when I wait too long before I type them down on the computer, I still have a hard time reading my own script. So yeah, you're not alone with the handwriting problem