Need some help dreaming

[ArchAngel]

Lately, its been hard for me to dream, that or i cant recall my dream, or maybe both its been a while, i tryed going to sleep a bit earlier but eh...idk i need help

[Tornado Joe]

Hey Arch, How are you waking up? Are you using an alarm? If you are you might want to try not using one for a while and waking up naturally. If you have school or work, try it on a weekend or something. Waking up suddenly and having to reach over and turn the alarm off is very counterproductive when trying to recall dreams. It takes your attention away from what you were just doing - dreaming. Give that a shot and see if it works out for you.

[ArchAngel]

well on weekends i do wake up naturally, fridays i fall asleep around 1am and wake up around 10 or 12 pm, Well ima trying eating a banana tonight lol, idk why...but yeah. hopely if i do dream ill LD soooo many girls waiting for me LOL

[Lucius]

Well, one thing that might help (and I'm not sure if you are already doing this) is to instantly turn your intention and attention towards your dream the second you wake up. The moment you wake up will be most crucial for dream recall as the more thoughts (about anything but your dreams) enter your head, the harder will be to recall them. Reconsider them all blows to your memory So when you wake up with let's say, lots of thought on your mind about the upcoming day, or even like breakfast it will reduce dream recall. But, even when you forget them and can't recall them instantly there are still plenty of chances throughout the day.. if you just keep it in the back of your head, you might see or hear something that will bring the dream back to you. Like you might hear a song that will trigger the memory. Also, the say keeping a dream journal helps.. but of course to keep one you need to recall at least one dream.. XD But I know you can do it Work on dream recall first, then go from there to LDing Good luck! ps other things that might influence dream recall negatively: stress, extreme fatique, a very busy/active night, drugs and especially alcohol, a cluttered mind and/or preoccupied mind , major changes in life, being thrown of balance/order/schedule etc. Consider all the possible factors, did anything in your life change recently?

[ArchAngel]

alright thanks for the advice, i did have a dream last night, i might post it later in the interp section, second something like that sorta happened so yeah

[Merlock]

Originally posted by Tornado Joe Waking up suddenly and having to reach over and turn the alarm off is very counterproductive when trying to recall dreams. It takes your attention away from what you were just doing - dreaming. I must disagree. Waking up with a start, in my experience, is the best way to recall dreams simply because awakening naturally in the morning usually takes some time; a lengthy process if you will. I find that this process allows to lose many or all dream memories as one comes up to full awareness gradually. Where as upon waking up with a start like with an alarm clock I find that one emerges into complete awareness swiftly as the dream memories have not yet faded allowing, most of the time, to recall them without much effort at all and being productive to concentration on recalling them too; after all, it's merely a simple movement to shut off the alarm, after which one can swiftly lie back down and concentrate on the "fresh" dream memories, so to speak.

[adamL28]

Also, if you arent using an alarm clock on weekends, perhaps you should try setting it to wake you up during the REM periods, so any dreams you do have will be easier to recall. I prefer to do these things naturally, but its a good way of getting into the whole process. I also have a feeling that the more lucids you have, the easier it gets (in general), becuase you know what it it like, therefore techniques such as DILD will become that much easier. I havent enough experience to justify this, can anyone else say the same?