Dream Recall not improving as it once did.

**Timbo59** · 09-20-2014 06:12 AM

It's been a while since I last made a post here, School, and social life mainly got in the way.
I pretty much stopped lucid dreaming after having a partial LD, feeling as if I gave this whole hobby justice.

Well I didn't.

I've started again to try and nail this once and for all. I finally have a stable environment, job, house, sleeping pattern etc etc.
But my dream recall is not improving as it once did.

When I first started around two years ago, My dream recall started skyrocketing in a weeks time. I went from fragments to full blown pages filled with dreamy goodness.
I remember it actually being a pain because I had school in the morning, and I simply couldn't waste time writing down the dreams in full detail.

But now as I'm trying again, I'm finding that my dream recall is pathetic, and barely improving, if improving at all.
I've been doing the mantras like "I will remember my dream" and such, and truly believing I will remember them.

I've even started limiting myself to midnight every night, Even weekends, Which is difficult to say the least.

As for the journal, I've gone to great lengths to make it subconsciously special in my mind, Getting a nice leather backed book, and even an online lucid dreaming tracking spreadsheet to help
(Link if anyone is interested https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing)

Obviously I will improve with time in some form or another, But I would like a second take on this situation. Perhaps I'm trying to hard to remember? Maybe I'm missing something completely?

Cheers.

**PercyLucid** · 09-21-2014 10:14 PM

It might be you are trying too hard, and sometimes that becomes a block.

How is exactly your recall? Nothing at all? Even if you got just a feeling, or a single word "frogs" or whatever, jot it down, it teaches your subconscious you are serious about it.

On the other hand:

I ~~WILL~~ RECALL MY DREAMS

Present tense always

**Timbo59** · 09-21-2014 10:53 PM

Originally Posted by PercyLucid

I ~~WILL~~ RECALL MY DREAMS

Present tense always

You might be onto something there. Last night I checked the sticky, and I changed two things about how I normally sleep.

Light levels; Room used to be pitch black before, And apparently that causes deep non-REM sleep. So I made my blinds face inwards, so the outside light would shine in, and gradually light up the room

Mantras; I actually tried the present tense, Saying "I remember my dreams". Sounds a bit weird but, Mantras are mantras

And boom, three different dreams, Or perhaps two dreams and a thought. Either way it was an improvement, And I remembered a fair amount, with details like "Water glistening off the rocks".

Also for like the past week most of my recall has literally been like: Potato Wedges, Wizards and Tazers, Nothing, Nothing, Random food, etc etc. So this is a massive improvement

So if you're telling me mantras are good as well, and I saw an immediate improvement, I'll stick with it.

Cheers

**Wolfdog** · 09-22-2014 02:59 AM

Affirmations are very powerful for dream recall. Even a simple thing as rephrasing an existing mantra like PercyLucid suggested can make the whole difference in how much and how well you remember your dreams. The difference is almost instantaneous. I would just like to add that having an optimum sleep schedule is determinant for your ability to remember dreams. If you can get both of these things right then rest assured that you'll remember your dreams every single night. Yes, I said every single night, without exception.

**FryingMan** · 09-22-2014 07:20 AM

When you were first doing recall, were you waking up in the middle of the night to record, or at least to go over dreams mentally before returning to sleep? Noticing the little wakings during the night always results in looong nights full of dream recall for me. When I first started out I set intention both to remember dreams and to wake up after every dream and that plus the initial excitement resulted in those pages filled with dream details every night. I've backed off somewhat from the waking after every dream because it can be tiring, but sometimes I do focus on that when recall is in a lull and the resulting recall is very satisfying.

**Timbo59** · 09-22-2014 08:04 PM

Originally Posted by FryingMan

all the text

I've only ever woken up on purpose during the nights I wanted to WILD, I've never done it for dream recall.
I mean I never really felt I had to before, It always seemed like I naturally woke up during my last REM cycle.

Anyways thanks for the posts guys, I think my dream recall is coming back.
Had yet another dream with some sort of a plot today, god it feels good.