Dream journaling: A practical guide to recording and analysing your dreams

Image freely contributed. Attribution: Anna Nekrashevich

Do you keep a dream journal? If you’ve never considered recording your dreams, this article might persuade you to give it a go. Once you get into the dream journaling habit, you can experience more frequent dream recall and enjoy access to wisdom and creativity.

Why keep a dream journal?

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), we spend about two hours dreaming each night. Our ability to recall those dream experiences once we have woken up varies widely between people, but it is unlikely that anyone recalls every detail of every dream they have. Most of the details of most of the dreams we recall fade quickly on waking.

Dream journaling is a training tool that enables us to recall our dreams by writing down the details as soon as you wake up. There are three main benefits of doing this:

  • Dream incubation. You may have read or heard that setting an intention to recall your dreams works. Well, by going to the effort of setting up a dream journal system you are doing just that. The habit of recording your dreams seems to create a positive feedback loop. The more dreams you write down, the more dreams you will start to recall.
  • Wisdom and self-knowledge. Whatever your belief system, you will almost certainly learn more about yourself as you begin to analyse your dreams and track common themes. I created a system called the Layered Interpretative Framework® (LIF®) and I have broken this down in my book Be Your Own #DreamDetective, out now on Amazon and Kindle paperback.
  • Creativity. Sir Paul McCartney, Dmitri Mendeleev, Mary Shelley, August Kekule, Akira Kurosawa… . These are just some of the artists and scientists who have drawn inspiration from their dream experiences. Whether you believe that the Dream Source emanates from your own brain or a spiritual force or being, there is a lot of evidence to suggest that we can tap into vast creative resources through our dreams.

There are no hard and fast rules about how to keep a dream journal, although I strongly suggest you find a way of recording your dreams without getting out of bed.

Here is the system that works for me:

The three journal system

Journal 1. Small notepad & biro

I keep a small flip-style notepad and biro by the side of my bed. That way, when I wake from a dream, there is no barrier between me and my journal. If you wait too long, much of the detail in your dreams will probably start to fade. According to writer and dream journaler Charmaine Li, keeping as still as possible after waking, while reenacting the events of your dream in your mind, will improve your recall. This is another reason why having your dream journal within easy reach is a good idea.

Not just that; the longer you have to think about your dreams, the more likely you are to twist them out of shape. Your ego (sense of self) likes to control the meaning of the dream and like a political spin doctor, it will alter content and focus attention on some elements over others.

While on the subject, I specifically designed my LIF® to limit the role of the ego in dream interpretation. Check out my book Be Your Own #DreamDetective on Amazon.

So as soon as I wake up, I grab my pen and scribble down everything I can remember about my dream. I work in reverse order, and this often helps me to recall earlier dreams (or earlier scenes from the same dream – it can be hard to draw a line).

If I’m very tired, I might just jot down keywords and phrases to stimulate my memory when it comes to filling in my second dream journal.

Journal 2. B5 notebook

This is my proper dream journal. It has a pretty simple format. I note the date of my first dream on the front cover, and I record my dreams in date order, giving each a catchy title (e.g., Attack at the Park, The Time Equation, A Strange, Old Tooth) and noting the date beside it.

I then write down everything I can recall about the dream (I use my LIF® as a template). If I have any immediate thoughts or unusual experiences that relate to the dream, I note them down underneath with an asterisk (*) to separate the notes from the dream contant.

If any of my dreams turn out to be precognitive, I will add a separate, dated entry and create a link to the source dream.

Journal 3. Google Doc with Google Sheets index

My third journal is a straight digital copy of the second, typed into a single Google Doc. I then add the major elements of the dream, as keywords, to a linked alphabetical Index on Google Sheets. This is a great way to track themes over time.

Although I created my digital journal myself, you may want to explore the many online journal templates on the internet – just be careful of viruses!

How to interpret your dreams

The main value of dreams, in my experience, is their ability to present information that is normally outside of conscious awareness. This includes information about our hidden fears and desires, solutions to life issues, creative inspiration and, yes, glimpses of the future.

Even the tiniest fragment of a recalled dream can unlock this information, but it’s rarely given to you on a plate. You have to work with your dreams. Once you start attending to them, I find it’s like turning on a tap. The dream source, whatever you believe that to be, will constantly supply you with information, sometimes in highly novel and imaginative ways.

I have created a holistic dream interpretation system that will help you to find the meaning of any dream, but until my book comes out, I would recommend taking the following approach:

  • Think of your dream as a whole rather than a series of parts. When you understand the whole dream, all of its parts will make sense. Until that point, treat your interpretations as provisional.
  • For every dream element, whether it be a hill, a lake, a house, a dog, a friend or a bunch of keys, ask yourself, “What does this (or he/she/they) mean to me?” Note down the first two or three thoughts that come to mind.
  • If you still have no idea what the dream means, have a look at a dream dictionary or online, making sure you take any interpretations with a pinch of salt. No dream symbol means the same thing for everyone.
  • Still no joy? Leave it alone. You may find that you get some clarification from a follow-up dream or from life itself.
  • Feel free to contact me at thedreamguy@nhbeyond.com I don’t do full dream interpretations at the moment, but I will happily give you a few ideas.
  • Please note: If you are worried about your dreams or the effect they are having on your mental health, please see your GP or a qualified health professional.