As a lucid dreamer, a dream journal is the most important book you'll ever own.
Your dream journal is not just a record of your dreaming adventures, it is a treasure trove of insights and data, representing the intricate complexities of your psychology - the landscape of your mind.
There truly are few books that offer such a unique and personal insight into what it means to be you.
Moreover, a dream journal is an ever evolving tool that is an integral and central part of your journey into lucid dreaming.
So, how do you pick the best dream journal for you?
Digital or Physical - Which is best for a dream journal?
Many people are drawn to the convenience of digital dream journals, be they apps or websites. But is this the right choice?
The primary appeal of digital dream journals are their portability, searchability, and the ease of organising data.
Unfortunately, as with many things in life, convenience comes at a cost. It's important to remember that a dream journal is a tool, and not just a repository of past dreams.
The solutions that digital dream journals provide, actually diminish, rather than aid, the potency of your dream journal - as it is the very act of manually searching, organising and working with your dreams that develop the psychological skillset that is part of the purpose of keeping a physical dream journal in the first place.
Outsourcing these tasks to a computer or phone, simply means you will not build the important skills that are required in the maintenance of a physical journal - and these skills are a vital part of the mindset required to become a lucid dreamer.
Furthermore, recent studies have shown that physical and digital content is processed differently in the brain, with digital content absorbed considerably less than that on paper. Similar studies have demonstrated that handwritten content is easier to remember than when the same text has been typed.
Equally, a dream journal requires a level of candid honesty that raises privacy concerns. Storing your most intimate dreams "in the cloud" leaves them open to data breaches and hacking.
Finally, a dream journal is a physical representation of the ethereal world of dreams. Consider it "dreams made solid".
While a digital dream journal is clearly better than not keeping a journal at all, the practical benefits and skills developed when creating a physical dream journal make this a no brainer.
A physical dream journal is an infinitely superior choice.
Points to Consider When Choosing a Dream Journal
Choosing the perfect dream journal is a very personal decision. Not only must it fit your lifestyle, it must also be practical and inspire.
While a scrappy dollar notebook will do the job, remember that a dream journal represents your dedication to this subject, and your choice of journal is very much a reflection of your relationship with your dreams.
Here are a few important points to consider when choosing a dream journal:
Portability
A dream journal is not something that sits on your bedside table, and visited only once a day. It should be a portable window into your world of dreams, something you can, and should, carry with you and delve into as often as possible.
Therefore, it's important that your dream journal is portable.
Practicality
A dream journal is not a diary, it is a creative outlet for everything and anything dream related. It should be something that contains text, sketches, and anything else that may be relevant to your dream life.
When choosing a dream journal be sure to pick a book that is flexible in these regards.
Unique
A dream journal represents your personal journey, so it's important to find something that you feel a connection towards.
I'd recommend against purchasing pre-made dream journals. These are often filled with needless additional text (mostly nonsense), limited space, but most importantly, they are very generic.
Make your dream journal an extension of your personality.
Inspiration
Remember that your dream journal is your physical representation of the dreamworld. So pick a book that inspires you! Depending on your personal tastes, consider picking something that is both beautiful and mysterious, representing your connection to this other world.
A dream journal is something you want to treasure. So, scrappy notebooks need not apply!
Why you need to Dream Journal
It is no exaggeration to say that a dream journal is the most important book on dreams that you will ever own. It is your map of the dreamworld. And every successful adventure requires a map that is up to the task.
Dream journaling is often seen as an afterthought or chore by many dream explorers, but this couldn't be further from the truth.
Your dream journal should be the central focus of your lucid dream training, the heart of your practice.
Without a dream journal, you are not a true dream explorer, you are simply a bumbling tourist.
If you want to become an expert in the world of lucid dreams, then consider a dream journal as your entry ticket!