How To Keep a Dream Journal
Our dreams are more than strange little stories that play out when we sleep. They can be sources of inspiration, or little nuggets of wisdom from your subconscious to help us in our daily life. The problem is that dreams can too often slip from our mind soon after we wake.
One way to get better at remembering - and deciphering - your dreams is by keeping a dream journal. A dream journal offers you a chance to record your dreams every morning. As you make a habit of this, your ability to retain your dreams will grow stronger - and then you can enjoy all the gifts that your dreams have to offer!
So how do you keep a dream journal? Here are the top tips:
Write Your Dreams Down First Thing In the Morning
The sooner you write your dreams down, the more you'll be able to remember. Keep your dream journal on your nightstand or under your pillow. As soon as you wake up, while the dream is still fresh in your mind, take out your dream journal and start writing. You might take your journal over to your desk or you might write in bed. You can write as you're making breakfast if that's the first thing you do. But the longer you let time pass, the more time the dream has to slip through your hands.
Write Down Every Detail
Dreams rarely make sense in the waking world on the surface. This is because your subconscious is unburdened by inhibitions on your imagination. Of course it makes sense to ride on top of a plane like a giant bird or to live in a house made of branches.
But rather than trying to change your dreams into something that makes narrative sense, simply write down every detail you remember as it was. By writing down everything you remember, you're stretching your memory muscles and flexing that attention to detail.
Leave Room For Interpretation
After you've written down what happened in your dream, leave at least half a page for interpretation. Think about everything that happened in your dream and how that might reflect your life. Were there any emotions that occurred in your dreams that might mirror your real life emotions? Any relationships or jobs that might tell you about your real life wishes?
Sometimes the meaning behind your dream will be obvious. Other times you might have to dig a little deeper and do some self-reflection. This can be an incredibly rewarding habit. It will help you understand not only your dreams but yourself better.
Make It Part of Your Daily Routine
Science tells us that people dream every night, whether they remember it or not. Most people only remember their dreams a couple or a few times per week. However, when you make a habit of recording your dreams in the morning, it trains your mind to remember those details. Sit down with your dream journal even on the days when you don't remember. Even if all you write down is "I can't remember my dream," it still helps you practice.
And Motivation Depot is here to help, too! Our dream journal is perfectly laid out with space for impressions of your dream and interpretations, as well as the emotions you felt upon waking and the hours you slept. This journal can even help you track your sleep habits as well as your dreams!
