Printable View
I'm on a 7 day dry spell, and I started ADA 3 days ago. Before then I was on a 7 day dream streak, but now I'm sad because I'm never getting any dreams. ADA hasn't seemed to help with my dream recall. I've done everything, told myself I will remember my dream, told my self I will have a lucid dream, done reality checks, practiced ADA at least 30 minutes a day, and attempted an LD at 4:00 AM in the morning. Why am I not getting any dreams, and how can I fix it? It's very frusterating.
You aren't getting any dreams because your awareness of something else is interfering with your awareness and/or memory of your dreams. This awareness is what you are thinking about as you are falling asleep, while you are sleeping, and upon waking up.
To fix this, you reduce the importance of the interfering thoughts you're having in bed to the point where there is no reason to think about them any more. The way to do this varies depending on what the thoughts are.
What have you been thinking about while in bed when falling asleep and when waking up?
Hmph, I've been like visualizing places like people said to do. Did they mean to only visualize during the day and not when you're falling asleep? Also, I've been doing a little bit of ADA and reality checks before I sleep. What do you recommend I think about?
Maybe it's because I'm focusing on stuff not related to dreaming when I sleep. Sure, lucid dreaming is dreaming, but it's not about remembering my dream? I probably need to actually remember my dreams before I start attempting LDing. Tell me if that makes sense :tongue: . What do you recommend I think about as I fall asleep because other than that and personal stuff, I have no idea? Thanks for the reply!
Visualizing places while falling asleep is fine.
I wasn't clear enough in my first post. The stuff you want to avoid thinking about while falling asleep and waking up is anything that makes you anxious or stressed. The personal stuff you mention fits in this category. That anxiety or stress is what is keeping you from being aware of your dreams. The best way to avoid thinking about these things is to resolve whatever it is to the point where you are no longer motivated to think about it.
Stressing about recalling dreams when falling asleep or waking up can keep you from recalling them. You want to eliminate any stress you can.
Your dreams are going to be there for you to be aware of once you burn the fog of the anxiety and stress that is blocking your view, so to speak. Try to let it happen naturally rather than trying to force it.
do you keep a daytime journal (diary)? it helps to get all extra stuff of your mind, make to do lists from daytime stuff, and then put it aside before you go to sleep to focus on the next day.
No but I'll think about getting a diary. I can see how a diary of your day could help with thoughts about personal life.
I totally agree with the above posts, but I shall see what I can add.
At any time, incubate a dream, lucid if you wish.
Choose a scene, and wander around it subjectively letting your subc take some control. This as well as being a relaxing activity ,can sometimes, develop into a full dream.
Keep a dream journal. Write down even a FRAGMENT or a word, if that is all you can remember. If nothing, incubate a dream, and write that down.
Overall, don't get stressed and get enough sleep.
PS: You MAY not be doing your reality checks mindfully enough; make sure you seriously consider the fact you might be dreaming.
The easiest way to remember a dream is to remember the waking. More wakings is the easiest way. Set a bunch of alarms if you can't wake on your own. Just try it one night where you can get 8 hours or more of sleep. Wake up, stay up for a few minutes, back to sleep do it 15 times if you can get back to sleep that many times, lol. I do about 5 to 9 a night to get more dreams and lucids, I don't use an alarm tho.
As the others mentioned, trying to remember your dreams is a big part of it, before bed, through the night, and when you wake in the morning. This simple act of waking over and over is a good way to put your intent into action for remembering your dreams.
Forgive me if I'm being ignorant, and I do realize my questioning doesn't really help the OP much, but wasn't it Laberge who wrote in his lucid dreaming book that you apparently only remember dreams if you wake up from them? Throughout my dream journey this really seemed to be the case, and I remember that sentence well because it really fit me, since I've always "had" (remembered), so many nightmares; is this not true? If this is indeed the case, I don't see how reducing stress would help you remember dreams - or rather, help you remember you _had_ a dream, since those are two very different things as my lazy self can anecdotally account for. Another reason why I think Laberge might be somewhat right is because all dreams I remember remembering end with that weird feeling of being pulled when you are about wake up; either that or they end up suddenly because of some sort of trauma; of course I do realize I might just remember these because they're curious and "unusual" things to happen.Quote:
Originally Posted by dolphin
From personal experience, when I'm stressed I often have dreams none-the-less, just slightly less pleasant dreams which I'm less inclined to write about in the morning, but I remember I dreamt anyway.
I'm actually really curious about this now, I'd love to hear thoughts.
If the dreams are more important than the stress itself, then dreams can still be recalled. The problem is when the stress becomes more important than the dreams.
For example, when recalling a dream, the focus should be on the dream itself rather than an inability to recall dreams. If somebody is stressing about their lack of recall upon waking up from a dream, the focus is more likely to on this stress than the dream.