Hello fellow newbies! [and others, too]

Straight to the point- I was reading through my dream journal last night, as I've made a habit of doing that rather frequently, almost daily. I began to wonder how I can really use my Dream Journaling to it's fullest extent- how can I get the most out of this process? I feel like we dreamers spend a LOT of time writing down our dreams, generally for the purpose of improving dream recall and for the recognition of dreamsigns - but couldn't the DJ be utilized for other effective purposes too?

Last night I spontaneously decided to note in commentary after different recorded dream segments, kind of as a reflected one-on-one, a call and answer with my own self. As I was doing this, it made me more open, and really embedded in the back of my mind ways to practice focusing my intention in waking life and an intention for focusing in my dream work. Ex of yesterday's DJ entry [dream in blue]:

Massive tree, spiraling out just like at my old house, big walking path down the middle, in forest on a slope, a bit isolated. Where does it lead, and how did I arrive there? Fascination of beauty of the place reminds me of forest I visited earlier today

Fragment where somebody says "If you make it yourself, it'll heal fast." Who said this? Record basic DC features and key words of context in the future.


So here I would underline parts of the dream that jut out and resonate with me, as things that are characteristic of myself in daily life, or common dreamsigns, or things that I don't usually focus on or recognize in dreams. The more I keep these things in my awareness, the more familiar I become with my dream navigating, the more enriched my dreams and lucid experiences will become!


So my question for everyone is this- what do you do with your dream journal? Do you just look over it every few months to catalogue dreamsigns? Do you read it every day just before bed? Do you visualize yourself in recent dreams as an aid for other techniques, like MILD?

I feel like I could be doing a lot more with the journal, and would love some creative stimulus and fresh ideas on the topic.