Dream journal idea.

[Kei Kawazu]

Normal dreams I notice I recall more and they become more vivid after keeping a dream journal and reading through it occassionally.

Out of maybe 300 dreams I produced with help from the journal, two were lucid.

So, I figure its time to try and change the journal type.

I got some ideas, like drawing a picture for a journal entry, and also to provide a sort of criticization of the dreams on how I could have handled my options choices and decisions and etc differently, and about what the dream could have been like to promote those things and such, and I also commented to provide more vividity by bringing up other senses as well.

What are your thoughts on this? I've started it today, so can't give feedback on the idea yet.

Also if you have any ideas similar to this let me know.

I started this because I wanted a passive aproach to lucidly dream, rather than trying a MILD or something to force one.

[Lovingvixen]

Not looking at this from a wiccan standpoint, (because I don't really know anything about lucid dreaming) I think that keeping a dream journal is a great idea. It's a great way to find out about what's going on in your subconscious mind. I do believe that some dreams are meant to be signs or warnings, but not all of them are. I think that thinking about your dreams critically is a good way to find out more about why you make the choices you do and how to make better ones.

I would start a dream journal, but I don't really remember a lot of my dreams.
(Sorry I couldn't really be of much help or anything. :/ It happens.)

Do you have any tips on how to remember the dreams I have? I normally forget them by the time I open my eyes. (Not always, mind you, but normally.)

[Kei Kawazu]

Well when you wake up stay in bed eyes shut but dont fall asleep and sort of try to remember any detail then after you have that one detail its usually easier to remember some more details fo the dreams, but to remember dreams in general I would write down a sentence or two to for each of your dreams you can remember in an hour or so period. Because Ive done that, first half hour ro so I only remember 4 dreams (make sure what you write would bring back your memories from the dream instantly, rather than telling a story of how it happened you could use key words to help trigger your memory) then I took a break and then later over the course of maybe 2 hours I recalled 90 dreams I wrote a sentence of trigger/association words for each of them. Maybe one sentence for keywords and another sentence for a dream summary, just in case because sometimes the words just seem like gibberish.

But when I had a journal I would reveiw and try to recall each dream daily, and I ended up with about 500 dreams in my journal with a sentence or more for each. Longest one was like 4 small journal pages about. But then I stopped and if I recall a dream its usually only part of it. But when I was using the journal I had on average about 2 dreams a day, once I had 5 dreams because I slept in twice, and had three dreams over the night to write down, and most people enter REM three times a night. Rapid-eye-movement, its when people dream.

[Lovingvixen]

What you said about writing down a sentence or two instead of paragraphs at a time is a really great idea. i used to try to get everything out before i lost it, but i never really thought about the fact that i might be able to remember the key things and then, in turn, the dream itself.
Hey! question: do you dream with color? I've heard some people don't, but I can't imagine dreaming in black & white.

[Kei Kawazu]

I do dream in color but sometimes if you forget the colors in a dream it might have been black and white without you realizing it. I more often dream with less sounds and touches and no tastes and smells.

[Lovingvixen]

I don't normally have tastes in my dreams unless I'm eating something in the dream. Have you ever (or are you aware if you've ever) had a dreaming OBE? It's kind of related, but I've realized that I've had those, & I'm thinking that I can learn to have lucid dreams if I just have regular OBEs.

[Kei Kawazu]

As far as I know I have not had any OBEs, some people say flying dreams are dream OBEs but I wouldn't know, they still seem like dreams to me.