Everyone, at one point or another, has woken up from a dream that was so vivid that it seemed real. Some of us might even have recurring dreams like not being able to finish a test or showing up to an event naked. Dreams that we’re falling shock us awake, and our bodies may even twitch from the imagined fall.

So what do our dreams mean? Do they have meaning? Are they predictions? Or are our dreams just random flukes of our subconscious? Some experts believe that, yes, our dreams do hold hidden meanings. But others are a bit more skeptical.

According to Psychology Today, some neuroscientists posit that dreams don’t mean a thing; they are simply our brains way of organizing. What we consider meaningful might be just random neuro activity, at least, according to the theories of some experts.

Still, many of us believe that there are secret meanings; perhaps hidden underlying codes of someone or something trying to send us a cryptic message. Dream interpretation gives way to dream journals in our effort to imply meaning from the stories that haunt our brains at night. In an article by The Cut, writer Cari Romm discusses how dream journals can help us understand ourselves and find patterns in our dreams.

To begin your journey into of documenting your dreams, you’ll need a dream journal. Chronicling the dream should be done as soon as you wake, so that your memory is fresh and unfazed. According to experts cited in the article by Romm, entries don’t have to be perfect—this isn’t an assignment, but, rather, documentation.

Once you’re in the habit of chronicling your nightly dream adventures, you can start to look into patterns and meaning. Dreams and their content can mean nothing or something…and looking into our dreams may help you self-reflect. Ready to read into your dreams? This infographic includes all the classic dreams and their meanings as well as how some of the most genius ideas stemmed from random dreaming.