Keeping A Dream Journal
Keeping a dream journal will open the door to lucidity. I would go as far to say it is impossible to master the art of lucid dreaming without one. Get a diary or notebook for recording your dreams and ensure that this is the sole purpose of the diary - to record your dreams. Set it beside your bed every night to embed the intention to wake up and record your dreams.
To keep a dream journal, you don't have to be a talented writer. The journal is simply a tool that only you will read. Through time and upon gaining further knowledge on lucid dreaming, you will adapt to a journaling style that works for you.
Since so much is happening within dreams, you are probably wondering "What should I record in my dream journal?" An effective framework to refer to are your senses; how things look, feel, smell, sound or even taste. Details that seem useless to you at first can prove to be effective dreamsigns and helpful cues for gaining conscious awareness within your dreams. Record anything unusual, things that would never happen in waken life. E.g - Flying animals, the ability to breathe underwater or developing x-ray vision.
Before going to sleep, put the date at the top of your page and record your dream under that date. It's good practice to skip a page for recording the next dream to leave room for exercises you will do later. No matter how much or how little you can recall, write it down anyway. This will encourage the habit for the future. If you don't remember anything, write something like: 'No recall'.
After a few weeks, you will have gathered a significant amount of raw material with which you can look back upon and ask yourself questions about your dreams. This can be anything from dream interpretation to your subconscious shadow. However, more importantly, through dream analysis you will be able to develop DreamSigns which will act as your triggers to lucidity.
