PS: Question

[crows]

Have any of you got experience keeping a regular dream journal? Either public or private, computerized or written longhand...

If so, how do you keep it? Do you write down all the dreams you have, or just ones that seem particularly vivid or interesting? Does it help you remember dreams better when you wake up, with practice? Does it help you have more control over your dreamscape?

I figure, everything - every stimulus, pleasant or otherwise - is some kind of resource. I might as well start trying to make use of more of them.

Comments

[iaaphoto.livejournal.com]

It's definitely worth doing. I do have a few dreams written down stashed here or there, but I don't seem to remember my dreams on a regular basis. I'd probably have to actually sleep more, or in a more structured manner.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

I keep one here on the ol' lj. It's pretty much anything that I remember and have time to write down. I find that when I'm in the habit of writing the dreams down, it's easier for me to remember them more often.

Also, I can sometimes strip-mine the imagery for story writing, which is an added benefit.

[foxomatic.livejournal.com]

I've tried a few times. I would write down anything I remembered, but that didn't seem to affect how much I remembered. It just sort of helped me keep track of my dreams over a period of time, which was useful for noticing themes and such.

[skizzywicket.livejournal.com]

I keep a journal next to my bed so I don't even have to get up to reach it. It's helpful on more than one level -- if you have a particularly vivid nightmare, writing it down is almost like taking possession of it and making it smaller than you are. After a few weeks, you can look back on your dreams and find reoccurring imagery or certain themes... it's a very good look into your subconscious and, as someone stated above, a great resource for story ideas.

Good luck!

[canonical-tom.livejournal.com]

I have a dream journal that I keep by my bed. Sometimes I just write down a vignette or a feeling or some symbol I think might be meaningful; I tend to consider dreams generally meaningful if I remember something about them when I wake up. It's certainly a good resource for introspection, or possibly outrospection.