Have you ever thought about journaling your dreams?
Dreams are so crazy, it’s hard to understand what dreams really are. But, what we do know for sure is that we dream for a reason. Dreams are our way of handling everything that’s going on in our lives, but on a subconscious level.
For those of you who don’t know what a dream diary is… let’s start from scratch.
A dream diary is a diary or notebook in which you record most of your dreams as soon as you wake up. Believe it or not, dreams often reflect what we are thinking in our subconscious & they are completely different from person to person. This makes dream journaling the perfect opportunity to see what’s going on in your brain.
So, let’s go over the many benefits of dream journaling and how to get started.
Benefits of Dream Journal
♡ Improve dream recall.
Do you ever wake up and immediately forget your dream? Most people do. Keeping a dream journal can help train your brain to remember dreams for longer and help you better remember the small details of your dreams.
♡ Helps you process your emotions.
Because our dreams are a reflection of what’s going on around us and in our subconscious, dream journaling can certainly help you better process your emotions. Dreams can help us to better understand our feelings and emotions towards certain events, people, etc and help us change our perspective on the problems we face during the day.
♡ Promotes creativity.
When we dream, our creative sources run free; There is no limit to the wonders and fantasies that can happen in our sleeping mind. By writing down these crazy and creative dreams, you can bring that creative energy into the real world. In fact, some of the most amazing and creative ideas come from dreams.
♡ Reduce stress and anxiety.
Like we mentioned earlier, recording your dreams can help you process your emotions more effectively.. Just as journaling during the day can help get rid of those feelings and help you process them, dream journaling can do the same. Record your recurring dreams and stressors you face in the dream world… what do they represent in your waking life? Can you make a connection between dreams and everyday stressors? Now that you know about these stressors, can you eliminate them from your waking life?
♡ Increase self-awareness.
As you record and reflect on your dreams, you will gradually begin to learn more about yourself. You will start to see trends & patterns in your dreams that are directly related to your daily life. And, with this information, you can start making life changes to reduce stress, worrysymptoms of Depressionand more.
♡ Learn to dream lucidly.
Dynamic dreaming is a dream state in which you are aware that you are dreaming. In some cases, with practice and determination, you can even learn to use your dreams. How great would it be to have control over the actions of your dreams? Just journaling your dreams won’t teach your brain to dream completely lucidly, but it is an important part of the process. If lucid dreaming is what you hope to achieve, then journaling your dreams is the perfect way to start.
How to start a dream diary
♡ Write a diary.
First thing, get a diary or notebook & keep it by your bed. This way it’s ready for your first journaling in the morning. If you’d rather type or use technology than actually write, there are also apps you can use to journal and track your dreams. Including Somnio: Dream Magazine, Dreams: Your Dream Journaland Awoken: Lucid Dreaming Tool.
♡ Slowly wake yourself up.
For most of us, when the alarm goes off, we literally get out of bed. Jumping out of bed can make you forget about your dream almost instantly. When keeping a dream diary, it’s best to try to wake yourself up slowly and immediately try to remember as many details about your dream as possible. Try setting your alarm a little earlier and hit the snooze button once. This will give you a few more minutes to reflect on what you dreamed and try to recall as much as possible. Many phones also have a gradual wake-up option in the alarm settings.
♡ Write as much detail as possible.
Journaling doesn’t always mean writing in full and complete sentences. Feel free to experiment with different types of text. You can make lists, write random sentences, or just scribble some words. If you are an artist, feel free to draw what you have seen in your dreams. The main point here is you Write what you can and as much as possible. Try to write every morning, or after every dream, that you can remember piece by piece. If you wake up in the middle of the night after a dream – remember to write it down. You don’t yes to wait until morning.
♡ Reflect on your dream.
Okay – this part is super important. To make a connection between your dream and the real world, you need to spend some time reflecting on your dream diary entries. Take a few minutes each day to re-read your journal entries and try to really think about what these dreams might be subconsciously telling you. Don’t be afraid to read the same items over and over again – your brain will make new connections the more you repeat the process.
♡ Share your perceptions (Only when you want).
And finally, share your insights with those around you. By sharing your facts with friends and family and telling everyone about the real results you are seeing, you can only inspire others to start journaling their dreams. And so they are better, too. But, of course, only if you want to.
Your dreams can tell you a lot – so listen to them.
All in all, daily reflection is extremely important for mental health. Reflection can help you better process your emotions, find clarity in difficult situations, and learn to avoid stressors. When you think about your dreams, more and more will be brought to light.
Plus, how nice is it to remember your dreams? Isn’t it very frustrating when you forget the details of a great dream? Once you start this process, your dream recall will only get better and better over time, which means more exciting, crazy, and creative dreams to remember and reflect on.
Okay guys – that’s dream journaling now. If you try this, please let us know. Or if you’ve been journaling dreams for a while, let us know what differences you’ve noticed. Would love to hear.
x, Skinny’s Secret group
+ if you need a pen for journaling, you must get it Lauryn’s favorite, specific pen.
++ for you to have a more productive day, stay tuned this post on The Morning Pages.
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