A dream diary (or dream journal) is a

diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

in which dream experiences are recorded. A

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

diary might include a record of nightly dreams, personal reflections and waking dream experiences. It is often used in the study of dreams and

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

. Dream diaries are also used by some people as a way to help induce

lucid dream A lucid dream is a type of dream in which the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming while dreaming. During a lucid dream, the dreamer may gain some amount of control over the dream characters, narrative, or environment; however, this is ...

s. They are also regarded as a useful catalyst for remembering dreams. The use of a dream diary was recommended by Ann Faraday in ''The Dream Game'' as an aid to memory and a way to preserve details, many of which are otherwise rapidly forgotten no matter how memorable the dream originally seemed. Keeping a dream diary conditions a person to view remembering dreams as important. Dreams can be recorded in a paper diary (as text, drawings, paintings, etc.) or via an audio recording device (as narrative, music or imitations of other auditory experiences from the dream). Many websites offer the ability to create a digital dream diary.

Lucid dreaming

Dream diaries are often kept by people striving to induce and remember lucid dreams. Writing down dreams increases what is called dream recall, or the ability to remember dreams. When writing down dreams, the dreamer often searches for dream signs, or recurring themes that have been detected between dreams. Dream recall can vary from day to day but keeping a diary tends to regulate waking dream memory. It is important to record the dreams in the diary immediately after waking up, as individuals forget the details of their dreams very quickly. Writing the next day's date in the dream diary asserts a conscious thought to remember dreams, which communicates intention to the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind then responds by fulfilling that desire. This mental action causes the conscious and subconscious minds to work together toward the common goal of remembering the dream.

False awakenings

The discipline of waking up to record a dream in a diary sometimes leads to a

false awakening A false awakening is a vivid and convincing dream about awakening from sleep, while the dreamer in reality continues to sleep. After a false awakening, subjects often dream they are performing daily morning routine such as showering, cooking, cl ...

where the dreamer records the previous dream while still in a dream. Some dream diarists report writing down the same dream one or two times in a dream before actually waking up, and recording it in a physical dream diary.

Specific uses

Followers of

Eckankar Eckankar is a new religious movement founded by Paul Twitchell in 1965. Its membership today is primarily in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The spiritual home is the Temple of ECK in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Eckankar is not affiliate ...

frequently keep dream diaries, since they view dreams as important teaching tools and as a gateway to "Soul Travel," or the shifting of one's consciousness to ever-higher states of being.Klemp, H. (1999). ''The Art of Spiritual Dreaming''. Minneapolis, MN
Eckankar
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References

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Diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

Diaries

Lucid dreaming

False awakenings

Specific uses

See also

References