DJ Comments

I still don’t know how to WILD. If I try WBTB then I usually think too much to be able to fall asleep. I thought that snoozing will help me WILD, as I would be a bit sleepy and it would be easier to transition. My snooze is currently set to sound every 9 minutes, but just the moment I fall asleep, it rings. I think to experiment though and change it to 15 minutes next time and adjust it accordingly. Would not do that every day because I think it affects my dream memory for dreams before snoozing.

I use doors to change the scene but not when I am chased. I guess when somebody is chasing me I focus too much on him. I have tried different things controlling the entity and moving it, or making it fall apart, sometimes that works. So I take it that changing the dreamscape is what best works for you in such situations and the chaser is not there when you enter a new scene? Are you still able to hold the lucidity of the dream?

What a fast paced night you had there You put your snooze alarm to WILD? Do you do it every night?

Can you change your dreamscape to get rid of cheeky entities?

Sangfoot, I am happy that you are getting in the wonderful state of mind of being relaxed! I have to keep reminding myself to be relaxed as well.

I was thinking about the whole situation, dream recall, etc.
Yup, I am trying to be as consistent as possible, but have no fixed routine for dream recall. My goal is to write down anything that I remember each day. If I feel like waking up and writing down the whole dream, fine, if not just review it in my mind. One gets better with that, too. But waking up after each dream, writing down everything (it does disturb sleep, sure), well, that's too much even for me!

Why? Because, let us not forget, dream recall is a means towards lucidity, and not a goal in itself. Sure, I want to improve dream recall, but expecting myself to remember dreams with the exactly same consistency, well, that may be unrealistic, and it can lead to frustration, and then you tell yourself, I can't recall today, the way I did yesterday, and then.....we are back to square one.

So, I keep reminding myself, I am getting better at this, there is no rush here, so what ever I wrote in my DJ today, it is just perfect!

Wow! So you actually wake up get your tablet and record your dreams during the night? Even if you don't do the whole dream just enough to spark your memory this is still impressive, that takes serious dedication!

How does this affect the quality of your sleep? do you still feel rested in the morning?

"reversing the sentence "I don't remember my dreams" to "I am getting better at remembering my dreams!""

This really helped me last night! Being more relaxed and knowing that whatever I remembered would be good enough because no matter how much I actually recalled I would be improving really helped! Not only was I more relaxed, it also made recalling my dreams a pleasant experience instead of a chore.

NewArtemis, thanks for the opinion! The lack of aha, I was dreaming, is why I was being careful not to classify it as if I had a lucid. But the strange thing is, I also knew at the time it was a dream. That really does sound like nonsense, I know.

I think I will leave things this way: maybe it wasn't lucid, but I am happy I practised some techniques there, basically, looking around as much as possible, holding the dream not to escape, because practising these translates into lucid habits and then it's easier the time I really LD.

Hello Sangfoot!

I'm happy you enjoyed today's read I have been having some trouble adjusting my sleep schedule (may refer to previous DJ post), and this also affects my sleep recall. Well, that means some days it's better and some it's worse. On average, I'd say it is fine, though. In different times, I use different techniques (due to my mood mostly). Here are some:

- Notice when I wake from sleep and go to tablet (it's faster this way) and note dream if I do remember it. This usually works after 4-5 hours of sleep. I don't try to do this too often, because it disrupts my sleep, but it is perhaps the best technique to really remember everything in detail.
- Wake up from a dream, stay in bed, recall the dream I just had (if I can). Usually, I am too sleepy, so it works. I go over the whole dream 2-3 times to make sure I remember it, and then go to sleep. (This is in case I don't feel like writing)
- Wake up and try to remember key dream elements only (if extremely lazy), then fall asleep
- Wake up, if there is no dream recall at all, I go over my dream signs. Is it possible that I had this dream sign tonight? Usually, it is a feeling to confirm. Then, well you kind of hold on the dream sign, your mind must be quiet, so you just basically concentrate on the DS, say, drinking your morning tea/coffee, and you might get a dream fragment or recall the whole dream

Obviously, the first two techniques are more reliable. At any rate, one should try not to think as much as one wakes up, because that causes the dream images to go away. Just keep writing down anything that you remember. Also, I think reversing the sentence "I don't remember my dreams" to " I am getting better at remembering my dreams!" might help. I have noticed this for myself, the more I complain I can't recall, the less I recall. Then I just write down whatever I recall and try to be positive about it. Hope that helps!

I would say no to the if it was a lucid, just based on what you said. To me, a lucid is knowing you are dreaming, complete clarity in thinking and control over my actions. The difference between that and a dream is night and day. Sometimes I don't have the "Aha!" feeling, sometimes I don't even do a RC or say "Hey, I must be dreaming!", but I still have that feeling of waking up, if you get what I mean. The other stuff is just acting.

I guess another way of looking at it is like a false awakening, you feel like you're awake and you act like you are awake but you're actually still asleep.

Hi NyxCC,

Lol thanks for sharing that dream sequence, I really enjoyed reading it!

"That was close!" "Oh, Come On!"

Haha I hate that feeling! Its like can I please just remember to do a RC check, or Come On man recognize your dream sign!

Would you mind talking about your dream recall techniques a little? You seem to have amazing recall, how do you remember to think "did I just have a dream" when you wake up?

Also, do you have a technique to make sure that you actually remember a dream? I have a chronic issue where I think that I have remembered a dream so I allow myself to go back to sleep, but then latter I can't remember it at all! It is very frustrating.

Anyway thanks again for sharing I am looking forward to your response, and your future dream journals!

Tnx for the advice! I am trying to organize myself, seeing what went wrong, and hopefully I will get back on track soon. It will be hard, especially during weekends, but since the time afterwards is wasted for sleep, I might, as you said, try to force myself out of bed and do something productive instead. That might help me fall asleep easier later on and explore Rem rebound. Fingers crossed!

Great work on that list! Having a goal's list or a list to monitor your improvement is a must in my opinion. Keep up the good work but make sure you don't screw up your sleeping schedule too much, sure our bodies adjust easily but having a erratic sleeping schedule is not good for the body in the long run. We need around 6-8 hours (this is individual of course but generally) sleep each night not only for our bodies but also for our minds.

What you could do though if you're intent on staying up talking all night is to force yourself to wake up earlier and only get a few hours of sleep. If you do this you will spend barely any time in REM and so your body will compensate the day after. This is called a "REM Rebound" and will give you some long and amazing dreams the next time you go to sleep

An interesting observation: Yesterday, the day of the dream had some friends come home for dinner. I had this lady gaga song in my mind during the day, so I was trying to find out the name of it, which is what was left on the tablet search engine. Later, they get to the tablet and a discussion of lady gaga begins between two of my friends. One says she is a really good performer live, the other one disagrees. I am laying on the couch listening to their conversation. Finally, my friend concludes that people are not there to listen to the lady gaga songs, or as he put it they are not there for the performance, but for the show. This reminds me of the end of dream4 and I feel as if someone has slapped me in the face, I rush out of the room and put it in my notes.