I hate dream journals

[SEBSTER]

i have been in a dryspell for almost 3 weeks now. I have been looking for an answer to why i am in one but i just cant find one. When i went to read The Lucid Dreaming Manual i encountered a section in the book where it said that lack of use of Dream Journals usually ends up in no LDs! well it has been about five days since my last entry but i have great recall, i always have (i naturally have good dream recall) but im worried i wont have any LDs until i start writing things down every day again. To honest i hate writing things down in my journal, i mean i love recalling my dreams in the morning and meditating on them befor school or whatever but i cant write them down cuz i just have no friggin time! what should i do?????

[Mes Tarrant]

Do you have a laptop that you can quickly type things into? Someone here also talked about using a voice recorder. I do understand though.. sometimes I'm just too lazy to sit there and write or I don't have time.

[Adam]

I don't think not recording dreams in a journal can be 100% attributed to you not having LDs. I don't have a journal and have a couple of LDs a week... I think, you thinking it is might have an effect though..

[SEBSTER]

yeah i 've thought that too. I just dont know man, i am a noob ya know? i dont know anything i have too many questions about LDs but if a Journal is the only thing holding me back then WHY????!!!! i just dont know wether to keep spending my time writing and being late for things or just wait for summer to have time. i just dont know what to do

[Marvo]

I say try and start writing in any way. If you have time to make this thread, complaining about dream-journals, then you also have time to write in your dream-journal. Try and start an online version. It feels a bit more rewarding, when other people are reading it We have a dream-journal subforum, if you haven't noticed hehe. edit: DSR, I disagree. Without all (or as many as possible) dreams written down, it's difficult to find a dreamsign, since you often forget the small details after a few days, unless you write it down. Everytime you write a dream into your dream-journal, you get to know your dreams better, and the better you can recognize them, while deaming, the more lucid-dreams you get.

[dsr]

Marvo, I don't believe that that extra sleep would really raise his frequency of LDs, but the dream journal is detrimental to his health if he doesn't get enough sleep (and it is evident that he does not because he feels exhausted when he wakes up to record his dreams). Besides, even if you value recreation over health, he would only be getting one benefit of the dream journal -- help with recognizing dream signs -- since his dream recall is naturally good. Would recognizing his dream signs cause his frequency of DILDs to increase? Probably. However, if the journal conflicts with his sleep requirements, SEBSTER has plenty of other options. He could just allow himself to have DILDs when they occur (maybe once a week), or he could master one of the more difficult induction techniques, such as WBTB+MILD or WILD. Granted, he would have to go to bed earlier to make up for the loss of sleep in either case, but WILDs are much more rewarding than DILDs. With all that being said, if SEBSTER uses daily critical state testing as his means to induce LDs, I agree that a dream journal would be beneficial. Perhaps, the solution for him is just to go to bed a half hour earlier.

[SEBSTER]

well i have been thinking about getting off the journal until summer, i mean its not that i dont like to write down for 15 minutes its just that waking up and thinking "oh man i gotta write this shit down" is kinda hard to get used to. I love sacrifice for something i want but that whole early journal thing is kinda bothering school times and stuff..... I mean haven't you guys ever thought of it this way?

[dsr]

SEBSTER, a dream journal helps for certain things, predominately improving dream recall and recognizing dream signs in order to increase your frequency of DILDs, but it is not strictly necessary. Your health comes before recreation, so I don't recommend practicing aspects of lucid dreaming that interfere with your sleep (and ultimately your concentration during the day). If your dream recall is naturally good, a dream journal doesn't seem necessary. Besides, the fifteen minutes or so that you would spend filling in your dream journal might be better spent sleeping. The longer you sleep, the greater the chance for a lucid dream ... you thinking it is might have an effect though.. So true. The placebo effect really applies to lucid dreaming. If you think you won't have an LD, it will most likely be a self-fulfilling prophesy.