7 Steps to Start Your Dream Journal: Insights from 5 Years of Exploration

Practical Guide to Dream Journaling

“The dream is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul.” Carl Gustav Jung

I first heard about dream journaling when a friend introduced me to the concept of lucid dreaming — the ability to control your dreams from within. One of the key techniques to achieve this state was to keep a dream journal, helping you remember your dreams more vividly and, ultimately, gain more control over them. Eventually what started as a curiosity evolved into a profound tool for introspection, creativity, and mental clarity.

I got into it for all the wrong reasons. I initially started dream journaling out of a desire to make my sleep more productive, rather than for self-discovery. I thought, “Here I have 8 hours every day — a third of my life — doing basically nothing. How unproductive!” I thought: what if I could use this time to develop a new skill, maybe even become aware inside my sleep, and do something productive like solving problems or exploring new ideas while sleeping?

Dreams have always fascinated me — they’re a part of you, a world in your head that you create. Yet, they seem so novel but familiar.

Now, I often experience three to five dreams a night and have frequent lucid dreams. In this guide, I’ll share what I’ve learned over these years — lessons, techniques, and practical advice that you can apply whether you’re new to dream journaling or looking to deepen your practice.

What Are Dreams?

Are dreams just random fantasies, involuntary spasms of mental activity? Science doesn’t have a definitive answer until this day. Various theories suggest that dreams play a role in problem-solving, emotional processing, and memory creation. But the real question is — do they serve a deeper, more purposeful role?

Freud was the first to treat the dreams as something even worth considering. He believed they were expressions of repressed desires and unresolved conflicts — wish fulfillment.

Carl Jung expanded on Freud’s ideas by introducing the concept of the Collective Unconscious — a shared pool of archetypal symbols common across humanity. According to Jung, dreams are “a spontaneous self-portrayal of the unconscious, symbolically reflecting our actual situation”. They don’t deceive or disguise but naively announce what they mean. Dreams are a direct expression of your psyche, disconnected from the outside world. With no sensory input, they are pure reflections of your mental state.

How to Start Your Dream Journal: 7 Practical Steps

Starting a dream journal can lead you to discover new levels of self-awareness, creativity, and insight — here are seven practical steps to help you begin this practice.

1. Write It Down As Soon As You Wake Up

Dreams are fleeting, often slipping away within minutes of waking. Jot down anything you remember — no detail is too small. Even a single word, a face, or a feeling can serve as a key to unlocking more memories.

Sometimes, I catch only a fleeting glimpse, writing down one or two words. Other times, I feel like I could shoot an entire episode of a TV show from what I remembered and experienced.

2. Focus on the Emotional Core

When journaling, pay close attention to the emotions you felt during the dream. Were you scared, happy, confused? These emotions often hold the key to understanding the dream’s meaning.

3. Look for Recurring Themes and Motifs

Over time, you may notice recurring elements in your dreams — specific places, people, or situations. These can serve as “anchors” in your subconscious, offering clues to the underlying themes in your life.

Consider the spaces — were they liminal or open? Were there corridors, alleys, streets, roofs? What was the landscape like? Did you recognize anyone, or did it feel like you were with a friend, loved one, or stranger? Sometimes you can’t remember the face, but you remember how it felt being with that person. Common motifs might include high school friends, being stuck, or searching for something.

4. Create a Relaxing Pre-Sleep Routine

Your pre-sleep routine can influence your dreams. Try Yoga Nidra or guided meditation to relax your body and mind before bed. This practice can help you enter a deeper state of awareness during sleep.

5. Wake up at 4am and Go Back To Sleep

Set an alarm for two hours before your usual wake-up time. Stay awake for about 10 minutes before going back to sleep. This period is often rich with vivid dreams, and you’re more likely to remember them.

6. Experiment with Lucid Dreaming Techniques

Lucid dreaming can be cultivated through techniques like reality checks — look at your hands throughout the day and ask, “Am I dreaming?” This habit might carry over into your sleep, triggering lucid dreams.

Remember, it’s all in your head. The different people, the faces, the landscapes — all of it is your mental creation. The “I” in the dream is an illusion because everything in the dream is still “I.” Learning to control it can give you the power to shape the space, scenario, and characters. It’s like having a superpower. If you want there to be an apple, there will be an apple.

One of the best parts for me personally is flying in dreams. It feels magical, like something straight out of a fantasy novel.

7. Reflect and Analyze

After writing down your dreams, take time to reflect on them. What do they reveal about your current state of mind? How do they relate to your waking life? Use free association to connect dream elements with people and events from your life.

Marie-Louise von Franz suggested that dreams typically state your current problem, with a solution or comment often found at the end. Jung and Joseph Campbell emphasized the importance of understanding myths to interpret dreams.

Dreams Simply Are

Dreams are a natural phenomenon, a spontaneous self-portrayal of the unconscious. They don’t lie or deceive; they simply are. By keeping a dream journal, you bring the unconscious into consciousness, shining light on hidden thoughts and feelings.

Give it a chance. It’s a powerful tool for self-psychoanalysis, it’s fun, and it can transport you into a different realm of intuition, emotion, and creativity — beyond the brute facts of our regular existence.

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” Carl Gustav Jung

So, start tonight. Place a notebook by your bed and let the journey begin. As you write, remember that each dream is a message from the depths of your mind, waiting to be understood.

Happy dreaming.

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Daniel Nimbus