Originally Posted by Sageous
Sadly, I suppose, the best way I've found to record my dreams is to write them down, pen to paper, in as much detail as I can.
There is something about the action of writing that seems to send the dream straight to (accessible) long-term memory in a way that no other method does. And that is where you want it to wind up, isn't it? I think that "someting" is an actual physiological process and not just my opinion, BTW, though I can't back that up with anything.
I have found that, for me, just writing down dream cues (keywords) doesn't seem to do the trick, memory-wise: I journaled this way for a about a year back in the 1980's, and now I am left with a stack of journals from that era filled, essentially, with gibberish (yet "full narrative" journal entries from years before that instantly spark vivid memories). I think I did the keyword thing for two reasons: I was overly confident in my dream recalling ability, and I was profoundly lazy.
Because typing and dictating apparently do not have the same connection to memory processing as manually writing, you would do well I think to record as many details as you possibly can, should you choose such a method, as the electronic record you create may be all you will have of that dream.
So: from my experience, Blaed, by writing out your dreams in a narrative manner, you might already be journalling in the most effective way; perhaps also the most annoying, painstaking, and time-consuming manner as well, given the electronic options available these days, but the most effective So if you can manage to simply write down everything you remember as soon as possible (I rarely write down dreams in the middle of the night, BTW, as the good ones -- especially LD's -- tend to linger in my mind until morning), you will likely reap the greatest long-term rewards from your dream journal.
I know that might sound depressing and tedious, but it's what I got. But don't worry, as I'm sure someone will
post shortly to disagree with me and list handy shortcuts!
You're not alone, I too write my dreams, pen to paper, since the beginning of my journey in lucid dreaming. You're right, writing something down facilitates memory consolidation. Besides, I find it actually pleasing to have my dreams written down on a sheet of paper than on the computer. That it is tedious and requires strong dedication, no question about it, but in the end it's definitely worth the effort. Recalling dreams is vastly improved with this, to the point that my mind gets so used to the practice that it's always a guarantee that I remember at least a dream, every single night.
And again I have to agree with you about writing in a narrative manner, with the focus being in the little details of your dream experience. It simply is the most effective way to dream journal. I've seen my dreams not only increase in frequency, but also in quality, in how vivid the dream is.
Sometimes the old ways can be more useful than the new ways we have nowadays. The practicality of these practices are still of great value.
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