The most annoying sensation ever...

[themindsi]

Usually my dream recall is pretty good, remembering a few dreams each night. But on occasion I'll have a really long and expansive dream, when I wake up it feels like I remember it...but I don't. It's like I have the imprint on my mind, but I just can't find the filling. Something like trying to remember something you discussed in a class years ago. You know you learned it, but you can't recall exactly what it was you learned. Am I making sense to anybody? Anyway, does anybody know any method of recalling a dream days after it's taken place? I don't have any solid method, but sometimes a forgotten dream can pop into my head days, even weeks, after it actually happened. It's seriously bothering me that I can't remember this dream. Not that I'm obsessed with perfect recall or anything, cause there are plenty of times where I don't remember a single dream from the night before, and am somewhat...satisfied, for lack of a better adjective. This dream is different, I feel like it's very important to know what happened in this dream...it's the most peculiar feeling and most annoying sensation... Can anyone relate?

[dreamtamer007]

Sometimes I have dreams that I think were important but can't remember what they were about. Sometimes if I’m not trying to hard and even not try at all I'm surprised to start remembering parts of it without even trying.

[jay dawg]

upon waking, try to push with your mind (physically, if you know how), and focus with all your might on what you were last dreaming. feel you mind retrieving the memories. this always works for me, yes when i wake and can almost touch the dream but alas i have forgotten it!

[Oneironaut Zero]

I pretty much use the same method that Jay does (when I'm not late for work) Clear your mind except for the search for memory of your dream, and feel yourself searching for the pieces as if you were zipping through some file cabinet. The longer you're able to devote to doing this when you wake up, the more pieces begin to fall into place, until you can remember a good portion of the dream. ...but then again, I smoke treez, so my recall sucks, anyway. Lol. I'm going to be slowing down on it, so I can strengthen my recall, because it fluctuates from week to week.

[qu1xs1lv3r]

when i wake up.. i keep my eyes closed... and if the images are still hovering in my mind.. i replay my dream over and over and over again.. then later on in the day i still manage to recall every single detail...

[themindsi]

yea, i tried the method jay and oneironaut mentioned...but it felt the harder i tried to remember the dream, the further and further away it slipped away from my grasp.

[raziel]

It's seriously bothering me that I can't remember this dream. Not that I'm obsessed with perfect recall or anything, cause there are plenty of times where I don't remember a single dream from the night before, and am somewhat...satisfied, for lack of a better adjective. This dream is different, I feel like it's very important to know what happened in this dream...it's the most peculiar feeling and most annoying sensation... Can anyone relate?[/b] I certainly can relate! It's like trying to remember an object that you cherished in your young age and then lost. Trying to remember its structure and its uses makes you want it even more...You get the feeling that it is the most important thing in your life so far and you must definitely find it again! I dont want to disappoint you but , most of the time, when one finds something long-lost, one soon realises that it was one's imagination and reminisence that turned it into such a treasure-the item in and of itself was (again,most of the time) not that valuable... Back to dreams, beacause if I keep speaking like that, I'll soon be wearing a nice,long cotton shirt with long sleeves that are tied on the back of the shirt ! If you wish to remember a dream,dont force it. Try to listen to some music,see a movie or read something that you know had to do with the dream. If all else fails, you can try something I used to do as a child (and my mother used to do as a university student,but thats besides the point!)- summon the dream. Go to bed and before Morpeus takes over, linger in your fragments of a dream... hopefully, dream-god shall grant you another hearing with the same dream good luck, hope I was helpful (although I doubt so...) raziel edit: corrected an emoticon

[themindsi]

Originally posted by raziel I certainly can relate! It's like trying to remember an object that you cherished in your young age and then lost. that's the perfect analogy! Unfortunately, I've given up hope on recalling that dream. If I'm lucky I might find it again sometime in my sleep. I've somtimes been able to re-enter dreams that I've had long, long ago. Thanks for the comments

[polio vaccine]

Sometimes I spontaneously remember a dream or small event from like a year ago. Nothing important, just a short exchange with a person I thought I forgot. Maybe that will happen to you. Maybe not. I think your brain will just vomit up some information eventually.

[themindsi]

lol, vomit up

[O-Nieronaut]

Write it down. As a musician, I know the frustration of loosing something because I didn't write it down. When you wake up, even if you can't remember the details of the dream, write down how you feel. Include any vague notions or irrational imagery; it might trigger the memory of the dream at a later time.

[themindsi]

Originally posted by O'Nieronaut even if you can't remember the details of the dream, write down how you feel. . That's a clever idea..I hadn't thought of that before. 8) Thanks!

[l3xicon]

i can definatly relate - my dream recall is weird bc like one month ill have tons of funky weird dreams that i can remember them all bc ill wake up after them and i can still remember them afterwards.. but like then the next month i wont remember ever dreaming for like a lonnnnggg period of time.. then ill have just a few remembered but some are sort of vague.. right now im on that last one i mentioned.. i hate that!

[themindsi]

Originally posted by x_brunettebabe i can definatly relate - my dream recall is weird bc like one month ill have tons of funky weird dreams that i can remember them all bc ill wake up after them and i can still remember them afterwards.. but like then the next month i wont remember ever dreaming for like a lonnnnggg period of time.. then ill have just a few remembered but some are sort of vague.. right now im on that last one i mentioned.. i hate that! are you keeping a dream journal? that could help regularize your recall! If you don't want to do a hand written one, there's a pretty cool way to do them right here on DV. Welcome to the forums, by the way I'm here if you need help or have questions, just a PM away.

[l3xicon]

Originally posted by themindsi are you keeping a dream journal? that could help regularize your recall! If you don't want to do a hand written one, there's a pretty cool way to do them right here on DV. Welcome to the forums, by the way I'm here if you need help or have questions, just a PM away. i used to keep one but it only lasted like a month.. but ever since i got into dreams i decided i'd start it up again.. so last night i decided i would.. but i didnt write anything this morning bc i couldnt fully remember anything from my dreams.. thanks for the advice and welcoming!! =D

[andorf]

Try rereading your DJ from the beginning, it sometimes helps to get in the state of mind for remembering dreams.

[l3xicon]

Originally posted by andorf Try rereading your DJ from the beginning, it sometimes helps to get in the state of mind for remembering dreams. Lol i ripped out the pages - there were only like 2 or 3 dreams in it.. that was back when i had no clue about dreams i just thought they were fun to watch at night. =P i only kept a DJ bc i thought it was a cool idea and since dreams didnt mean much to me i eventually got lazy and didnt rite many dreams and just stopped writing in it... i was so retarded, but w/e.. i cant read them anymore bc i threw them out! .. but... I DO remember 2 dreams i did put in it. I remember them perfectly just bc i had to remind myself in the morning.. even tho i had the dreams like almost a year ago. I had a dream from my 2 hour nap today.. it was a couple dreams all linked together bc i kept waking up... My first false awakening AND my fresh start to re-creating my DJ. =D im happy for myself! i remembered it!

[andorf]

yeah keep doing 2 hour naps/ im not sleeping tonight so i can get lots of short spleep periods tomorow....err i meen today

[themindsi]

Originally posted by x_brunettebabe i used to keep one but it only lasted like a month.. but ever since i got into dreams i decided i'd start it up again.. so last night i decided i would.. but i didnt write anything this morning bc i couldnt fully remember anything from my dreams.. thanks for the advice and welcoming!! =D even if you don't fully remember things, write down any abstract thoughts, images, or feelings you have upon awakening. That last one credit O'Nieronaut.

[Etrain]

I can relate to the imprint and no 'filling' as well. I recently had this happen to me with a dream I believe retained semi-significance. It'll pop in to your head one day, or so let's hope.

[l3xicon]

Originally posted by andorf+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(andorf)</div> yeah keep doing 2 hour naps/ im not sleeping tonight so i can get lots of short spleep periods tomorow....err i meen today[/b] schools evil i have to start getting on schedule.. but like i woke up by myself after 2 hours and i was so tired i woulda just went back to sleep if dream recall wasnt important to me. so like idk y i woke up.. maybe im getting extremly lucky.. wont know til tonite! lol.. last night i only got 3 hours of sleep *my friend didnt get any and thats y.. she came and woke me up* so i took a nap and woke up all by myself Lol.. im thinkin to start settin my alarm to go off every 2 hours or so.. i want to see how tonight works out though.. to see if by falling asleep telling myself to wake up was why i woke up, or if i was just lightly sleeping for some reason. <!--QuoteBegin-themindsi even if you don't fully remember things, write down any abstract thoughts, images, or feelings you have upon awakening. That last one credit O'Nieronaut. Lol yea i read that.. its a good idea. thnx =D

[jay dawg]

Originally posted by andorf yeah keep doing 2 hour naps/ im not sleeping tonight so i can get lots of short spleep periods tomorow....err i meen today we should get a support group together for this. i mean i want to do this but dang i cant figure out what to do while im supposed to be sleeping. its like im too bored to stay up i tried to sleep maybe just 4 hours lasntight but was too tired and slept maybe 10>< naps are the shiznit. last year, i didnt have one recalled dream all year it seemed, then i took a nap during the hirricanes and got lucid!!!! so imagine what would happen now! but my willpower wont let me...

[andorf]

i didnt make it through the night without sleeping but i whent to sleep really late only got 5 hours of sleep and remembered a whole dream for the first time in a few days so it didnt go to plan but it worked anyway

[themindsi]

I am the master of staying up when everyone is asleep, hehe! I'm manic depressive though, and I choose not to medicate, so when i'm on a high I can stay up forever. A list of things I do to keep awake: Google: anything and everything you were ever interested in, take notes Movies: these are risky, cause you can doze off without even knowing it, so try to do those first, say around 12 or so when you are still able to sit for long periods without passing out Go for a Walk: if you live in a bad neighborhood, obviously this is no good, but you could even walk up and down your own block, or take the dog with you. Take a Shower: you'll have to take one eventually anyway! Clean: I know, sounds like SO MUCH FUN! Again though, this is easy for me when I'm on a manic high, I can clean my whole fucking house. Better suited for the average person who hates cleaning (which I usually do, except for that occasion or if I'm trying to stay up) is to organize your cd collection by genre and then a-z, organize your movie collection, color code your closet, wow, organize your books, I'm really sounding OCD, so i'll stop now, lol Video Games: Those can make me stay awake for hours even if I don't want to or don't intend to Pictures: look at old photographs that your family has of relatives you've never met or are dead and try to imagine what they would be like, also just reliving past experiences through photos taken when you were a child. see how much of each scene comes back to you when you carefully examine them Games: play tangoes or boggle with yourself, also scattegories is fun even when you play alone too. All those games make your mind stay active Anybody think of any others?

[Dagonis]

I can think of a few more annoying sensations then that one lol but ya I get that feeling too a vague image or feeling left in my head from what I was dreaming the night before. One time I remember being woke up in the middle of the night by my brother and thinking I was an Iguana and I wanted some fruit to eat but I couldn't remember anything else about the dream. With my most recent occurance I tried as hard as I could to remember what else I dreamed about becides this one image I had stuck in my head then later that day it was right before I was going to go to sleep suddenly it came to me what I was dreaming about. They say that your subconious takes awhile to process things you tell it and I remember thinking to myself in the morning that I really wanted to remember what I drempt and I wished my subconcious would work with me to recall better.