hey,

[lordmuyo]

hello guys. just joined the other day. i've been following lucid dreaming ever since i read some stuff about it in a forum a few months back. needless to say, i instantly became very interested and read up on the topic to certain extent. i've been writing my dreams down on paper in a folder i have(though i do plan on getting some sort of large spiral notebook to use as a permanent dream journal). my main problem concerning dreams and lucidity in general, is my dream recall. throughout my life and even during my childhood, i could distinctly remember not having that many dreams. and the dreams i did have were/are usually very unusual, bizarre and obscure. also my dreams are rarely if ever vivid,(they seem to be like fading memories as i am waking). i usually have a dream every few months, if that. and in fact, i could probably count on both hands the number of dreams throughout my life that i remember with some clarity or vividness.(i'm 19 btw.) after reading up on this subject i've come to realize that it's not that i just "don't dream", because everybody dreams each night. it is that my dream recall is very poor, and always has been throughout my life. i am writing down the few dreams i have and i am going to start doing reality checks daily. i guess what i am wondering is, if any experienced lucid dreamers in here can give me some tips and/or ideas on how to improve my dream recall, and maybe on how to make my dreams more vivid and less like fading memories... what would be helpful and encouraging to me, is if somebody in here who started off their lucid dreaming as having very poor recall on a regular basis would be able to give me some tips on how they over came this issue, so that i might have faith in overcoming my horrible dream recall, lol. thanks in advance for the info and nice website btw, am looking forward to gaining knowledge on here, and hopefully i will be sharing my dreaming and lucid experiences with you all asap. name's matt if anyone's interested.

[MadMonkey]

Sometimes its hard to say how vivid a dream afterword was unles you realised it in the dream or realy remember the dream well. A tip is when you wake up in the night don't move at all because it can make your memory of the dream fade. Think about what you where dreaming and run through the dream in your mind a cuple of times before wrighting it down. Going through a cuple of times transfers it to "normal memorie" as I like to say because dream memories fade very easily but "normal memories" don't.

[Amethyst Star]

First off, welcome to DV! You may have been lurking a bit, but from all of us here, we're glad you joined us I've always been interested in dreams to some extent or another, though more so once I found out about LDing, so I can't say I've had the same problem as you. However, I have found myself going through periods of less than stellar dreams where things are just mundane or not memorable. Those times can last weeks or a month and I really don't know what causes it. However, I also go through periods of very interesting and vivid dreams. I've also found that the more dedicated I am to recalling my dreams (and writing them down), the more details I am able to remember and sometimes my dreams become more interesting. I'd recommend posting this question in the Dream Signs and Recall forum, though I hope more people will answer here as well. I'd give it a more informative subject, though, so people have an idea what the question is I know there have been many others who have struggled with recall, but with dedication and persistence and patience you will see improvements. Take note of your progress and enjoy your dreams! -Amé

[Meraz123]

I used to have problems like you. But those days are long gone. Now I remember about 2 dreams daily. The first mistake that you are making is,you are trying to write dreams on your journal directly. But this is not quite helpful. You must record your dreams on a voice recorder. Because when you try to write dreams on yourjournal, body movement happens and people forget some of their dreams. So with a voice recorder tou can easily record dreams and later write them in your journal. I have a voice recorder on my mobile. Most mobiles have them. Ipods also have voice recorder. So next time when you go to sleep,make sure to keep a voice recorder beside you. But you are having a different kind of problem ,and that is not to remember any dreams. I know a technique that you can use to get minimum 1-2 dreams recalled. But this technique requires free time. So I strongly recommend that you use this technique on holydays and weekdays. Firstly you will have to set your alarm to wake you up 4-4.5 hours later at night. After setting alarm,say some mantras like "I WILL have vivid dreams and recall them". Then go to sleep saying this at least for 5 minutes. When you wake up after 4.5 hours, it is posible that you will recall a dream. Don't move a muscle and record dream on your voice recorder. If you don't recall any then nothing to worry about.Wake up from bed and freshen up. View your previous dreams on your dreamjournal and read dreamviews forum for minimum 30 munites. Then go back to sleep saying those same mantras. Actually you are taking advantage of your REM period during this tech. when you wake at this time of the night,you are on one REM period. This is the 3rd REM period.It lasts for about 90 munites. It is in rem period that people have dreams. So it can easily be said that if people use this REM period properly they will recall dreams every night. This is only the 3rd REM if you do not remember dreams at this time,then there is nothing to get worried about. When you got to sleep saying mantras as above mentioned, set your alarm 2 hours later, so that you can hit the 4th REM. This time wake up slightly and try to record a dream. If you do not remember your dream at this time then quickly set your alarm 3 hours later and go to sleep saying mantras. This time there wil be a very high chance that you will recall a dream. Because the later REMs last for much longer. When you wake up HOPEFULLY and SURELY you will be able yo recall atleast 1 dream. This technique will take 10 hours of sleep time, so do it when you are free. After using this technique and recording dreams on voice recorder I have dramaticlly increased my dream recall. I am writing this after I have got up from bed today. Recalled 3 dreams today.Hope this tech will help you a lot too. If you have any question about this tech,be sure to write it on this post. Let me know about your dream recall results after using this technique.

[Amethyst Star]

Meraz, I hope you don't mind but I edited your post just a little. I didn't change any of the text, but I added some space between your paragraphs and some space after periods and commas. It just makes it easier to read, especially when you're not looking at a wall of text. And I think you were talking about WBTB. Good call! If you wake up after REM (and it may take you a little while to figure out exactly when that is for you) you will be more likely to recall the dream(s) you just had. You can wake up once or twice during any given night, but as Meraz said, it might be better when starting out with it to stick to weekends... and get some more sleep. There's also a WBTB (Wake Back to Bed) Tutorial that you can check out if you'd like, muyo.

[lordmuyo]

thanks everybody who responded so far. i really appreciate your helpful input. also, i have heard of the wbtb method and i'll probably attempt it a few times down the road. my main plan will be to get an actual thick paper notebook for my dream journal, and i will start doing reality checks a few times a day. that should help with my recall and lucidity. the main issues i still have to tackle before i worry about becoming lucid, are still my recall and vividness of dreams. i honestly believe that i must have near the worst possible dream recall a person could have lol. but i'm assuming with good faith, that my recall will gradually improve overtime. if there are any tips regarding poor recall i would be happy to hear them. thanks guys.

[Meraz123]

Thanks Amethyst Star for modifying my post.Looks much better

[lordmuyo]

well...this is a thread bump and an update so to speak. i haven't really remembered any dreams since this thread was posted up until now. thus, i haven't written anything down. if only my dream recall wasn't so terrible i might be able to actually attempt to lucid dream...

[Amethyst Star]

Don't give up, Muyo! This all depends on how much you want this. If you are willing to put forth the effort to try and recall your dreams, in time you will! As far as advice on recalling your dreams, some of this may have already been mentioned: 1. When you wake up, don't move. Any physical stimuli will draw you out of the dream and you will begin to forget. Just lay there. 2. While you're laying there, try to recall something. Try to recall anything! It could be a color, a smell, a dream character, a place, a tree, a word or phrase, a time, an event, etc. Any little detail will help you. 3. If you can come up with one or two details, try working backwards. What happened before that? Where were you? What were you doing and with whom? What happened to cause that? What happened before that? 4. Write something down. If you only remembered that you saw a car, write down that you saw a car. If you know it was a red car, write down that it was a red car. Write down something if at all possible. 5. Don't let yourself get stressed out. Try to relax and just take things as they come. Well, I need to go to bed. I hope that this will help you a bit, even if it's a couple days late. Sweet dreams!

[lordmuyo]

im bumping this thread so more people can see my posts.

[Meraz123]

Hey lordmuyo,I have recently have learnt a new and super effective technique for dream recall.It is called image streaming.You can also increase IQ,memory,creativity with this tech.Visit:w.w.w.winwenger.com/imstreaming.htm for this technique.I have searched the web and seen a lot of people say that this has helped them to recall more dreams than they ever had before.And you just need a voice recorder to do this.HOPE this helps.

[lordmuyo]

Hey lordmuyo,I have recently have learnt a new and super effective technique for dream recall.It is called image streaming.You can also increase IQ,memory,creativity with this tech.Visit:w.w.w.winwenger.com/imstreaming.htm for this technique.I have searched the web and seen a lot of people say that this has helped them to recall more dreams than they ever had before.And you just need a voice recorder to do this.HOPE this helps. thanks i've been busy the past few days so i haven't been able to check up on my thread, i will give this a shot soon meraz, thanks.