Thoughts about the role of memory (in making it tricky to attain lucidity)

[nir]

Lately I have been playing around in my mind with the idea that memory is key in attaining lucidity; these thoughts are still raw and I invite you to discuss them. People often say that dream thought is not logical, and that it is hard to realize one is dreaming since the "logic centers" of the brain are somehow suppressed. I feel this view does not fit with memories I have from dreams in which my thought process seems reasonable in retrospect. What if it is not about logic, but rather about memory? This evening I had a lucid dream; I was walking in my parents house, and there was a weird background sound and chatter that I realized was coming from the TV set that I left on while trying to take a nap on the sofa at my house (in the "real" world). It was perfectly logical, only it wasn't true; when I woke up, I was surprised to find out my house is quiet, and I smiled as I remembered I do not have a TV at all. Keep in mind I was already lucid at the time I made this false rationalization. Why is it hard to realize an event in a dream does not make sense? I can think of several possibilities: 1) A dream is in a way, a memory oriented experience. Our dream reality is some manifestation of memory; I think the rabbit hole goes deeper than just saying that our brain creates the dream-scape from bits of memory, which is obvious, but that to a greater extent, the rabbit hole itself is a crazy trip inside our memory. I often feel that lucid dreaming is similar to riding a horse; my body often continues acting autonomously as if it is part of the dream, while I have the power to take over if I wish. This means my behavior in the dream may also be a manifestation of memory, and... my thoughts as well. Is it possible that at least some of the time, dream thoughts are just memories of thoughts? 2) The memory we have access to within a dream is the same memory that is used to create the dream reality. While we dream, we can try to recall a memory, but recalling is part of the dream, and whatever we recall can be just as crazy as the dream itself. 3) When we contemplate a dream event and speculate an explanation, that explanation may manifest as memory or reality. People in this forum often describe the experience of talking with dream-characters as if the DC is being able to anticipate their questions or read their mind, or give an anticipated answer. This may be simply because the DC does something you wish or expect. Your wish manifests in the dream. I remember once trying to examine a fabric in a dream and I wished for a magnifying glass; when I looked back at the fabric, the magnifying glass was waiting on it. What I am trying to say is that the same goes with dream memory. If you speculate a reason that may account for a wild dream event, that speculation is likely to manifest as memory that explains the event and makes it sensible enough to ignore. 4) Maybe dream recall is an important skill, since it works both ways. I occasionally try to recall the external "world" from within a lucid dream and it often feels like trying to recall a dream after waking up; it is hard. Maybe recalling dream memories, increases the likelihood that from within a dream you will have access to a "real" world memory that will make the dream feel in-sensible and enable MILD. Maybe this is also how dream signs work. By recognizing a memory that is regularly manifested in your dream, and by designating it as a dream-sign, maybe you create a two-way link, and increase the likelihood that when that memory is manifested in the dream it will lead to associations of lucidity. Any thoughts? memories?

[DinoSawr]

Interesting ideas! I know some people claim to have difficulty remembering what their goals were once they get lucid, so you're probably on to something here. I wish I had something to contribute, but alas I don't have enough experience to really offer any insight!

[faceonmars]

Current scientific theory suggests that the previous day's memories are assimilated in dreams. What is important is retained whilst what is unimportant is discarded. What you experience during your waking hours will affect your dreams. Want good dreams? Have a good day ... but be aware this works in the reverse also. I, too, have closely examined things I have found in a LD. The detail is quite amazing. P.S. Great post!

[Blacklight]

Current scientific theory suggests that the previous day's memories are assimilated in dreams. I'm pretty sure that theory was first made by Freud.

[faceonmars]

You might like this fellow's dream theories: http://youtu.be/Eb-33sQieLc

[nir]

You might like this fellow's dream theories: http://youtu.be/Eb-33sQieLc No I don't. He starts stressing how scientific the whole thing is and says "...it is the most scientifically evidence based theory in existence about dreaming...", but apparently Google scholar has not heard much about it: "expectation fulfilment" dreaming - Google Scholar