A question regarding my dream diary.

[JL]

First of all hi to everybody! My first post here. Yesterday i decided to try and learn to have LD. But I have a question about my dream diary. As soon as i woke up this morning I opened it and started writing. Now my question is: do the notes have to be really detailed or not? Do i have to write down every detail that I remember? Because I had trouble at certain point of writing where I just couldn't get my dreams on paper. I had a clear picture in my head but I could not get it out. Then I tried with sketches but since I am no good at drawing that wasn't of much use. Correct me if I'm wrong but as I understand the point or the goal of the diary is to read the dreams again and find strange/ not normal things in them so that you can remember them the next time you are dreaming and be aware of them, thus be aware of your dreaming? So are the details important? Thanks in advance and a big hello from Slovenia 8)

[nina]

Hey JL!! Welcome to the forum. I personally don't keep a dream journal (except for on this forum), but yes the main point of the dream journal is to gain better dream recall and to eventually be able to find potential dream signs. If you can't get ALL the details out, it's no big deal. You can just try writing descriptive words of things or situations. It shouldn't take you long before you will begin to see some connections and be able to recognize what your dream signs should be. Feel free to PM me or ask any other Dream Guide (we're the ones in Green! ) if you have any more questions. Good luck. -nina

[JL]

Thanks! Well I have another question and I'll ask it here if nobody minds It's a question about reality checks. Do the RC's have to be the same all the time? For example can I look at the watch then as time comes to do another RC can i scratch myself? Since I don't wear a watch I try to count my fingers. I count them 3 times on my right hand. And does it matter what kind of RCs you do? I mean does it have the same effect if i scratch or count my fingers?

[nina]

Well I think you will have to figure out what RC works best for you. I don't know about the scratch thing, b/c people often say they don't feel pain in lucids. I think a great one is to try and stick your finger through your palm. I've done that one a few times just to increase the level of my lucidity and it worked really well. You don't have to use the same ones everytime, just use what's best for you. I don't wear a watch either. I also hear that holding your nose shut with your hand and trying to take a deep breath is a great RC...if you can still breath, you are dreaming...if you can't...FIRST remove your hand and continue breathing, but you might want to try another RC just to be sure. Your mind will play tricks on you occassionally so sometimes it's better to try a few RCs...especially if you sense something is up. Don't let your mind trick ya! ps. - there is ALOT of info about RCs on the forum, you might want to do a quick search for some more info -nina