Most people choose to keep a dream diary or journal for the duration of the study. They first record the dream in their journal and then transfer it to the Dream Entry Form (DEF). This way you have a record of the dream for your own purposes. So that begs the question, “what form of dream journal should I keep?”
In this age of technology the options are plentiful. Let's briefly cover some of them.
The most traditional approach is to simply keep a pen and paper Journal next to one's bed. The primary benefit of using a notebook is that some folks find the physical act of writing contemplative – allowing one to stay in a dreamier more creative space while recollecting the dream. However this requires one to have to do the data entry twice - once into the journal and then re-type it into the DEF. If you’re ok with that, then great…stick with what works for you.
A more efficient option is to use the Memo feature in your smartphone if you have one. This is nice because you can just speak into the memo and it will automatically convert your voice to text. Then you can just copy paste the dream into the DEF. Saves one a lot of time re-typing (although transcription isn’t always a hundred percent accurate). If you’d like to see a quick video of this method on an Android phone, click on the link (unfortunately currently I don’t own an iphone demo, though the process is probably quite similar).
http://www.screencast.com/t/E07a5pL2iIV
A third option is to simply use a Microsoft Word document as your dream journal (or a word processor of your choosing). Type your dreams into the word Document, date them, title them, and then copy-paste them into the DEF.
A fourth option is to just type the dream directly into the DEF; that’s if your memory of the dream is strong enough that you don’t forget it before you open a DEF.
And lastly, a fifth option is to use one of the many dream journal apps available nowadays for both iOS and Android phones that come with a lot of cool and useful features (two of the best, Dreams Cloud & Lucidity, are listed on the study website’s Resources page under the Sleep & Recall section). Most will allow you to dictate or key in your dream right into the app. Then you can categorize them in various ways, identify recurring symbols, look up meanings in dream dictionaries and a host of other nifty features. The only problem is that as wonderful as these apps are there’s no standard way to transfer the data from the app to the DEF. If you’re tech savvy you may be able to figure out how to copy-paste; otherwise it could turn into a headache.
So to recap. Simplest, pen and paper or Word Doc; most efficient – record a memo; most fun and creative – smartphone app or pen and paper!
Good Luck & Dream Well,
Bhaskar
In this age of technology the options are plentiful. Let's briefly cover some of them.
The most traditional approach is to simply keep a pen and paper Journal next to one's bed. The primary benefit of using a notebook is that some folks find the physical act of writing contemplative – allowing one to stay in a dreamier more creative space while recollecting the dream. However this requires one to have to do the data entry twice - once into the journal and then re-type it into the DEF. If you’re ok with that, then great…stick with what works for you.
A more efficient option is to use the Memo feature in your smartphone if you have one. This is nice because you can just speak into the memo and it will automatically convert your voice to text. Then you can just copy paste the dream into the DEF. Saves one a lot of time re-typing (although transcription isn’t always a hundred percent accurate). If you’d like to see a quick video of this method on an Android phone, click on the link (unfortunately currently I don’t own an iphone demo, though the process is probably quite similar).
http://www.screencast.com/t/E07a5pL2iIV
A third option is to simply use a Microsoft Word document as your dream journal (or a word processor of your choosing). Type your dreams into the word Document, date them, title them, and then copy-paste them into the DEF.
A fourth option is to just type the dream directly into the DEF; that’s if your memory of the dream is strong enough that you don’t forget it before you open a DEF.
And lastly, a fifth option is to use one of the many dream journal apps available nowadays for both iOS and Android phones that come with a lot of cool and useful features (two of the best, Dreams Cloud & Lucidity, are listed on the study website’s Resources page under the Sleep & Recall section). Most will allow you to dictate or key in your dream right into the app. Then you can categorize them in various ways, identify recurring symbols, look up meanings in dream dictionaries and a host of other nifty features. The only problem is that as wonderful as these apps are there’s no standard way to transfer the data from the app to the DEF. If you’re tech savvy you may be able to figure out how to copy-paste; otherwise it could turn into a headache.
So to recap. Simplest, pen and paper or Word Doc; most efficient – record a memo; most fun and creative – smartphone app or pen and paper!
Good Luck & Dream Well,
Bhaskar
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