A third of our lives are spent sleeping and much of our sleep involves dreaming. Do you remember what you dreamt last night? Keeping a dream journal is an excellent way to help you remember your dreams. Recording and reflecting on your dreams is a similar process to developing a spiritual journal.
Since dreams can be highly symbolic in nature, making sketches of what you saw in your dream helps you make sense of the symbols and events you see.
How to Keep a Dream Journal
- The first step to keeping a dream journal is to find a notebook which is appealing to you, speaking to your personal tastes and sensibilities. When you record your dreams within a special leather journal which feels good to use and write in, you will be far more likely to make dream journaling a habit.
- Adding to the delight of creating a leather journal specifically for your dreams, choose a special writing instrument with which to write. Fountain pens are especially useful, as they require holding the hand at a different angle from ball points. By using a special journal and pen, you are establishing simple routines which may help you better remember the dreams you’re recording.
- Keep your dream journal close by your bed every night. When you wake up, take the first few waking minutes to quickly write down what you dreamed. Write the major ideas in your dream first, as dreams often quickly evaporate.
- Use the dream journal as you would use any other style of journal. Write down the date and title your dream for better recollection. Titles are also a significant help when trying to discover recurring themes and ideas for your dreams. Don’t be concerned about spelling, punctuation or grammar. The only consideration that needs to be made is whether it is legible.
- Writing dreams down in present tense helps put your mind in the moment and can make dream recall easier.
- Add sketches or drawings of what you see in your dream. Drawings can further help you to remember your dreams.
- Repetition is key. By developing a pattern of writing down and recalling your dreams, you make it easier to remember those dreams while you are awake.
Dreaming helps us to make choices in our lives through a language that makes sense specifically to us. It helps us navigate in ways we might not have thought of whilst awake. “Whatever situation we are in, we always have a choice,” says Robert Moss, author of many books on dreaming and dream journaling. “We choose to stop running away from the monster in our dreams who may turn out to be our own power hunting us.”
The dreams we have at night often and can often lead us just to what we need to create in our own lives.
Keeping a dream journal is one way to find out exactly what our needs are and help us in leading more fulfilling lives.