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For those who are in-tune with their dreams know that there is a message behind their dreamlike vision, thought, or emotion. A dream journal is an insight to your inner world and allows a person to analyze recurrent patterns or aspects of life that require interpretation. Maintaining a dream journal requires discipline, but is worth it in the long run and actually helps you remember dreams. Reveal your subconscious world with these simple and easy to follow steps on dream journaling.
Find a Note-able Journal
Journals come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Sift through various journals to see what styles you enjoy best. Dream journals work best with lined pages, allowing the writer to create columns if needed. Although most people use regular blue or black pens, find colored pens to dictate either specific emotions or dedicate a color toward a theme or reoccurring dream.
Find an Ideal Journal Space
Journaling is best completed upon waking, since the thoughts and feelings are fresh in mind. It is even more ideal to do this before going to the bathroom if possible. Keep the journal in a space where you’ll make it a habit to write. Next to the bed on a nightstand or in a basket is the most ideal space.
Prepare Your Mind for Dreaming
Before you go to bed, think about dreams. Think about details such as objects, scenarios, feelings and people, and intend on remembering them. This starts to develop the pattern to remember and write your dreams. A good way to prepare the journal is to write the next morning’s date on the page; therefore, upon waking all you have to do is write without looking at your phone’s calendar to figure out the day or date.
Write Your Dream
Upon waking, write down everything or anything you remember. Don’t worry if you only remember a snippet, this will improve overtime. Try to write as much detail as possible including significant colors, objects, textures, feelings, actions, interactions or anything else important. You can enhance your journal with drawings or figures.
Interpret Your Dream
After writing your dream, write your interpretation of the dream. This may relate to your present life moment or something you may fear in the future. It is important to be honest, but not judge yourself through this process. All the answers are located within our minds and dream interpretation helps us resolve our life path. Remember to note when it is time to stop. Our busy culture is hectic and there is so much going on these days, the interpretation doesn’t need to be pages long to get the point across. Some interpretations maybe summed in several words such as “Fear of change.”
Label Your Dream
Once the ball gets rolling to journaling, start to name your dreams. Use a descriptive word or adjective to label the dream such as strange, love, adventurous, or traveling. If your dream was about mountains or whales, write that as the header. This is to help analyze what type of dreams you are having throughout your life situations.
Review Your Progress
The dream journal is key to revealing your inner world, so after a month, analyze your progress, life scenarios and the messages behind the dream. This will progress your life in other realms to become aware of your subconscious feelings and emotions.
