Dream Journaling

[Anchorite83]

This seems like the right place to talk about this. I do a lot of blogging about metaphysics and such, and one aspect of that is dream journaling. Sharing my weirdo dreams, trying to analyze them, figure out what they mean, or just enjoying the experience of them. My dreams are a lot more intense when I am the most tired, or drunk.

Do you guys record your dreams and try to pick them apart? What about your day dreams and flashbacks? Deja vus?

[Reverend Al]

My special lady and I have a very good friend who has been into dream journaling and deciphering for a long time.  I've had some truly "out there" dreams, and once she interpreted them for me they suddenly made perfect sense.  Of course, some dreams are nothing more than your brain doing a little house cleaning or entertaining itself while you're sleeping, and it can sometimes be difficult to determine if a specific dream has deeper meaning or is merely nonsense.  Either way, I do find it interesting.

[SagebrushSage]

I don't dream journal, but I've done lucid dreaming. As I understand it, it is not unusual to realize that you are dreaming, but this usually results in jolting awake. The trick for me is, if I happen to realize I'm dreaming, to relax and not attempt to imagine anything unusual that would break the willing suspension of disbelief, resulting in waking up. This makes lucid dreaming a bit disappointingly mundane in my experience, contrary to the popular perception of extraordinary, Inception-style shenanigans being possible. Perhaps others are better at it than I am.

[Anchorite83]

It's a lovely way to pass the time regardless of what you find. It's a nice way to examine your own psyche, and also see how wild and creative your noodle can be.

[jgiffin]

5 grams dried mushrooms will give you some pretty insightful dreams. Allegedly. Your consciousness may or may not become one with your journal, though, so don't be surprised if you wake up with writing on your face. Or in Texas.

[Anchorite83]

5 grams dried mushrooms will give you some pretty insightful dreams. Allegedly. Your consciousness may or may not become one with your journal, though, so don't be surprised if you wake up with writing on your face. Or in Texas.

Sounds like a grand ol' time. I've never used mushrooms. I've always been curious about what I would experience.

[Reverend Al]

5 grams dried mushrooms will give you some pretty insightful dreams...

Prior to having surgery on my back in 2004 I was taking 3500 mg of Vicodin daily.  It didn't do much for the pain I was in, but it did create some extremely vivid dreams.

[BrotherRobertZoots]

  3.5 GRAMS of VIcodin?!? DUde! Must have blasted off into other realms of existence!

[Anchorite83]

Sounds like a doozy of a trip. The most I had was some opiates the doctor prescribed for me for my back pain. I had no weird experiences, and it did nothing for my pain; I was just left nihilistic and grumpy all the time.

[SagebrushSage]

I was prescribed oxycodone once. I also didn't get much out of it.

[Brother D]

 I was prescribed amatriptyline once, never again! Two of those will mess you up! 

[Anchorite83]

I was prescribed amatriptyline once, never again! Two of those will mess you up! 

Any fun dreams?

[Reverend Al]

3.5 GRAMS of VIcodin?!? DUde! Must have blasted off into other realms of existence!

Actually, except for the dreams, Vicodin didn't do much for me.  I know some people use it to get high, but I didn't get that benefit.  It took the edge off of the pain a little, and that was it.  Or so I thought.  After I had stopped, a good friend mentioned that my personality had changed while I was taking it, and my wife adamantly agreed.  It was pretty much as Anchorite described--I didn't care about anything, and my mood was a near constant non-mood--not happy, not sad, not angry, just...nothing.  And I didn't even realize it.

I could have made a little money from it though.  One of my co-workers offered me $50 a pill if I'd sell some to him. 

[HnauHnakrapunt]

I don't dream journal, but I've done lucid dreaming.

I have done lucid dreaming too. The good thing for sure is that nightmares almost disappeared. No dragons chasing me in a labyrinth or failed math tests at school (wondering which of those two is worse). The bad thing is that you can become so aware of your body that you have no dreams at all. You know you are asleep in your bed, it's dark and warm - and that's all. So sometimes I just let it go and tell myself 'no lucid tonight'.
As for keeping dream journals - I am not particularly fond of those cheap paperback books telling you like an oracle 'if you dream about a bay horse, you will be rich'. And when you start a journal, you almost immediately start to read that stuff too. Sometimes I try to find out some meaning on my own.