Cynthia Pearson of Point Breeze, an author and secretary of the international Association for the Study of Dreams, leads a dream workshop in Oakland twice a month and has suggestions on the best ways to keep a dream journal.

Have paper and pen within arm's reach at your bedside. Scrap paper, spiral notebooks, anything will do. Pens are preferred over pencils, and some catalogs and variety stores sell illuminated pens so you can write in the dark if necessary.

Give yourself a suggestion at bedtime, she says. "I'm going to be able to remember my dreams tonight and write them down." Some dream workers suggest writing a short paragraph describing what you did during the day, which may trigger images that will appear in your dreams.

Being well-rested can make it easier to focus on your goal of recalling the dream.

When you awaken, don't move from your sleeping position. You'll remember more if you can keep your eyes closed. Think about what you were dreaming before writing down your thoughts. You may be tempted to fall back to sleep, thinking you'll remember the details in the morning, but that is rarely the case. If you're not up to writing a full account, record words describing key elements.

Writing in the present tense helps to keep you in the dream, Pearson says. Record the mood of the dream, as well as the story line. If possible, title your dream. Drawing little sketches of the plot or figures in your dream also is helpful in memory retention.

Date the dream for either the night you fall asleep or the morning you wake up, but be consistent.

Leave extra space after a dream recording if more details surface later. Pearson says there are "synchronicities" -- meaningful coincidences -- that can lace together dreaming and waking. Examples include precognition (dreaming about something before it happens) and deja vu (a waking experience that may recall a dream image and gives the sensation that something has happened before).

		Dreams: Day 1 INDEX

Some suggest that if you're sleeping too deeply to awaken from your dreams, you should use an alarm clock, at least initially. Set the alarm to wake you up at a time when you are likely to be dreaming. Aim for the later REM periods by setting the alarm to go off at 4 1/2 , 6 or 7 1/2 hours after you go to sleep. The longest REM period is the last one, which can last a half hour or so, yielding the most vivid and complex dreams of the night.

You may have the most luck getting started on a weekend or holiday when you're not rushed and can focus on your dreaming.