5 Reasons You Should Use a Dream Journal
Everyone dreams. Dreams are trying to tell you something. Writing them down can help you interpret them.
REASON 1: Interpreting the Unconscious Mind
Articulation is the first step in organizing a thought. And dreams are thoughts with an extra layer: narrative.
It is no secret that dreams follow a traditional three act structure, just like movies or books. This could be because of our constant exposure to this structure. Before there was color television, people used to dream in black and white. So, our perception of popular media does have an effect on our neurological processes.
Either way, we work with what we have. What I’m getting at is:
Thoughts + Narrative = Dreaming.
I am not saying it is easy to interpret your dream’s narrative. Nor am I saying the narrative is always readily apparent. What I am saying is that with enough practice, you will start to see clues pointing to the reason for the dream.
For example, say you have three dreams. One where you dance with a demonic demon. One where you are woefully unprepared for a business meeting. And one where you have a map, but do not know how to read it.
The Jungian interpretation of those dreams would be that you are about to do something wrong and you are trying to avoid it. Writing down your dreams morning after morning will allow you see your internal motivations. And, if you should act on them or ignore them.
REASON 2: Reducing Anxiety
There is a reason talk therapy works for so many people. And I am not even talking about the complicated stuff, like cognitive-behavioral therapy or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy. I am talking about when you go in and talk to someone with no aim.
You need to get the things beating around in your head organized. Journaling does that. And, dream journaling goes one step further: it organizes your unconscious.
Journaling has long been proven to reduce anxiety, especially in adults. And, Witches have been keeping dream journals years before the scientific establishment proved the link between journaling and anxiety reduction. Witches follow what their spirit tells them.
Somehow, the Witches of old knew that keeping track of their dream world would calm their conscious selves. Now that we have proof of these centuries old claims, you have no reason not to keep a dream journal.
REASON 3: Enhances Lucid Dreaming
When you have a regular dream journal, you are taking control of your dreams. Your unconscious self will notice this. And when your unconscious self notices you have control of your dream world, you will be able to lucid dream more easily.
Lucid dreaming, for those that do not know, is when you are awake inside your dreams. When this happens, you can control the direction that your dreams go. There are levels of control you can reach, with most starting off with the knowledge that they are dreaming. Eventually, you will reach the level to where you can control every aspect of your dream.
When you lucid dream, you will also remember your dreams better, which feeds into your dream journal. And that feeds into your ability to reach lucidity inside a dream. It is a positive feedback loop. Use it.
REASON 2: Accessing Your Creative Side
Your dreams are (mostly) a creation of your mind. And in those dreams, you get to see how creative you really are.
I have written about this a lot, but Witches tend to rank very high in the personality trait openness. And this means that you are inherently more creative than 80% of the people around you. When you are creative, you must express that. The consequences of not being creative for an open person are depression, anxiety, and self-doubt.
The worldwide most often used search engine, Google, was thought up in a dream. DNA, the building blocks of life itself, was dreamt of before it was discovered. And my favorite book of fiction, Frankenstein, was idealized in a dream when Mary Shelley slept.
Creativity is important for a Witch. We need to access that part of us. Otherwise… well, we will not be able to be the Witch we want to be.
REASON 1: It is FUN, for Goodness’ Sake
So much of Witchcraft seems to be about applying a mysticism to daily life. And I love that. But, sometimes that smacks an air of importance on everything. And with that importance comes a lack of humor and enjoyment.
Thinking about the mysterious ways your brain and the universe team up to tell you important messages is fun. To imagine that the pink lump inside your head and the force that governs all of existence are colluding while you sleep to transmit psychic messages sounds absurd. And it is! And it is okay to laugh at that.
We know we dream. Everyone does. And sometimes our dreams are so crazy that we have to talk about them or write them down. Otherwise, the universe’s sense of humor is lost. And when you lose that, what else do you have.
I preach a lot about Witches losing their self-seriousness and keeping a dream journal is one way to do that. See the wild, kooky way your unconscious self is and you will start seeing it everywhere else.
Love + Blessings
Laci
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