What Are The Benefits of a Dream Journal?

dream journal

Dream Journal Benefits: A Closer Look

Are you curious about understanding and interpreting your dreams? Then, you should consider starting a conscious dreaming practice. All you need is a dream journal. It’s essentially a notebook or diary for your sub-conscious mind. A dream journal helps you to catch those hidden messages before they slip out of your memory.

Dream journals provide you with a way to connect with the inner workings of your mind. You can harness your creativity and find more inspiration in life. Did you know that the DNA structure, periodic table, and Einstein’s theory of relativity all came about from dream journaling?

What amazing ideas are you missing out on?

How Can Dream Journaling Help You?

The simple answer is it helps you gain a clearer understanding of who you are. Maintaining a dream journal is like having a conversation with your sub-conscious mind. Once you get started, you’ll be able to recognize certain symbols from your dreams and gain the ability to exercise more control over what happens in your dreams. That’s called lucid dreaming.

A University of Lincoln empirical study from 2014 found that people who can achieve a lucid dream state were better at solving problems in the waking world. Lucid dreaming gave them better insight and cognitive abilities. A separate study found that lucid dreamers have enhanced abilities of self-reflection. Lucid dreaming helped participants in that study demonstrate a greater level of metacognition – the quality of self-awareness.

Here are a few more benefits of dream journaling:

Proof of Precognitive Dreams – a precognitive dream is a prediction about the future. Some people believe that they’ve seen future events take place in their dreams. Neuroscientists theorize that the brain processes data while you sleep and can predict what’s coming next. You can record details from your precognitive dreams in a journal so that you can verify the accuracy of your personal predictions.

Reap Great Ideas from Your Dreams – a dream journal gives you a dedicated place to write down new ideas that come from your dreams. Afterall, dreams tap into your raw creative thoughts. Great business leaders, authors, scientists, and inventors have come up with world-changing new ideas while dreaming. You could develop the next great innovation breakthrough.

Healing Past Traumas – Dreams often bring difficult and complex issues to the surface. Unresolved traumas can manifest themselves as reoccurring nightmares. You gain a deeper understanding of these traumas and ultimately move past them by journaling. Jot down how the nightmare made you feel and engage with the disturbing images through the safe space of your journal.

Develop the Ability to Interpret Your Own Dreams – You are the best source for interpreting your own dreams. Afterall, the meanings are largely tied to your personal mythology. When you record dreams in a journal, you get to know what certain symbols mean to you. A water dream might carry a different meaning for you than it does for others. So, dream journaling shines a light onto your sub-conscious symbols and archetypes.

Related: What Swimming Dreams Means

Improve Your Memory by Recording Your Dreams – Dreams always fade away so fast. The details just slip right through your fingertips. However, when you start using a dream journal, those memories stick with you much longer. You’re exercising your memory when you record your dreams and that can help you even in the waking world. Your ability to recall and retain details will show drastic improvements.

Gain a Deeper Understanding of Your Own Personality – Even the darkest nightmare is still part of your sub-conscious mind; it didn’t come from somewhere else. A dream journal can reveal aspects of your personality that were previously hidden or difficult to understand. A dream journal gives you a dedicated space to explore the shadow self.

Have More Lucid Dreams – When you spend more time focusing on your dreams, the ability to control your dreams is greatly enhanced. By connecting your waking mind and your sub-conscious mind, you promote a conscious dreaming practice. You won’t just be a victim or helpless participant of your dreams, you’ll become the director of what’s happening in them.

Related: Plants and Herbs That Can Enhance Dreams

How to Pick a Good Dream Journal?

A dream journal can be any type of place where you record your dreams. You can use a notebook, a diary, even your smartphone. However, a journaling experience works best when you have a particular place that’s just for recording and analyzing dreams. Keep it near your bed or wherever you feel more comfortable writing.

The Uplifted Dream Journal helps you to organize your thoughts and write down exactly what happened in your dreams. There are large spaces for freewriting and some categories to help you pull together hidden meanings. It can help you develop the ability to control your dreams and gain skills for interpreting the symbols and meanings of your dreams. You can find the Uplifted Dream Journal on Amazon.

No matter which method you choose, the benefits of dream journaling are immense. The secrets of your sub-conscious mind are available. It’s your own personal wisdom vault and the power of your dreams is just waiting for you to unlock it.

Read Next: 7 Steps to Solving Problems with Dreams

About John D. Moore 396 Articles
Dr. John Moore is a licensed counselor and Editor-in-Chief of Guy Counseling. A journalist and blogger, he writes about a variety of topics related to wellness. His interests include technology, outdoor activities, science, and men's health. Check out his show --> The Men's Self Help Podcast