When You Know You've Dreamt Something ...

The other day while visiting my cousins for Christmas, my cousin's wife mentioned that she had a dream at 5 am in which she woke in a tired yet determined state to write it all down in her dream journal. 

As I listened on, I became inspired and intrigued. Actually, I've always wanted to keep a dream journal. I know there were a few dreams I had these past few nights that were a bit strange but now mostly gone from my memory. You know that feeling when you know you've dreamt something, but you just can't recall it. 

The first dream that I can ever remember was when I was five. It was quite terrifying as a five-year-old but more comical now. I've never forgotten it. I dreamt that a group of kids and I were outside at recess when we were being chased by a giant frog! Now, I'd be lucky to even remember any dream I had last night. 

Keeping a dream journal would be a great change for the new year. It would also take a great level of self-discipline. I mean, am I really going to feel like reaching for my journal and a pen at 2 am in a hazy half-awake, half-asleep state? Would I even remember to? Probably not. I do want to remember my dreams though. 

Probably the biggest question with dreams is what they are. Are they merely our brain processing everything that has happened that day or in the past or is there something more to them? I'd like to think so! 

Turns out, there are a few benefits to keeping a dream journal and that inspires me to keep one even more! 

A Better Understanding of Emotions

It's worth writing things down and keeping a dream journal is another great reason to do so. Recording our dreams over time helps us to better understand our emotions. We can learn so much about ourselves through our dreams. 

As we examine our dreams, they'll lead to new insights about our feelings and emotions - both the good and the bad ones. Insights that were right in front of us that we've been overlooking this whole time. 

Revealing Patterns

If you keep a dream journal over time, as more dreams are recorded, a pattern will emerge and you will start to see a connection between the dreams. Your eyes will widen in disbelief as it all pieces together suddenly making perfect sense! 

 Maybe you keep seeing a particular object in your dreams. 

Helps with Creativity

As creatives, we can get a wealth of inspiration from dreams! Many creatives whether that be writers, painters, song writers have been inspired by dreams. I've written a few short stories that were inspired by dreams, some of which I could barely remember. 

The subconscious mind is a mystery in and of itself. It is believed that our unconscious mind is actively creating scenarios to help solve problems or further explore the happening of our day-to-day life. 

Noticing Recurring Dreams

Sometimes having a recurring dream is obvious while other times it's not. Other times, dreaming of the same thing isn't so obvious until we start recording our dreams on a daily basis. A reoccurring dream could be a sign that a part of our life needs to be addressed. I've had plenty of reoccurring dreams in which I'm back in high school, one of the more common types of reoccurring dreams! 

Our dreams can offer us a wealth of insight about our waking life if only we pay attention and see the connections. A dream journal can help us do that.

Sources:

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/dreams/dream-journal