Keeping dream journals over the years
 

Hey I just wonder if somebody here has kept a dream journal for a long time and whether they are benefiting from it or not, like seeing patterns etc... What are the benefits of keeping a dream journal long term or is it a complete waste of time?

Well patterns are everywhere and you can see them if you take a moment and look. I have kept a dream journal for many years and am now on my second notebook. I noticed it's easier to fall asleep, wake up, and remember more information from my dreams. Old dreams have even come back to me that have long been forgotten. Dreams also become more lucid experiences with a more profound sense of reality to them. I have also realized I am dreaming time to time since keeping a dream journal. It doesn't have to be extravagant. Also I do is write the date and as much detail as I am able to recall, even if it's only a few lines. Sometimes I hardly pay any attention to it at all and half-*** my entry but I still find that I benefit from using it.

I haven't pulled all of my dreams out of my journal to see if there are any patterns. I tend to put my dreams in a journal I also use for my thoughts as I am going through a rough time and I find it helps to write it out. This said, even though I haven't looked for any patterns I find being in the habit of writing them down helps me recall them better. I am more conscious of them and taking an active part in them. I find my best recall is when I ask a question before bed. But either way having a journal and writing them down helps me to interpret them and that has been invaluable for me as I work through my current issues. They really are a great help and are a source of hope for me I guess you can say because I know I can find all the answers I need in my dreams. All my struggles can eventually be resolved with my dreams helping me. So to me that is the biggest benefit of journaling.

i've kept a dream journal for around 25 years. the one thing that stuck out is, you may not know what the dream means at the time, but when i go back and reread them, you can see how it fits-and that some things you dream happem but at a later date. i think in dream time, there is no such thing as time. ie i once dream about an old japanese man-we were in his hut and he told me to beware of mudslides. and as soon as i woke up i heard the word 'honshu'.

i had never heard of that word. i asked a friend and she said it as an island in japan. i couldn't figure out what the dream meant.

it was one year later that japan had that earthquake in honshu that caused the tsunami that damaged the reactor.

so it's always a good idea to go back occasionally and read your dreams.