How I Recall

[Xanous]

I have trained myself to automaticaly ask, "OK what was I just dreaming?" before I even get out of bed. Even if I wake in the middle of the night. Also I can usualy remember key words to remind me of my dream instead of having to grab a pen and pad during the night. Say if I dream about being a doctor in a hospital. I just tell myself to remember "doctor". I dreamed about being a doctor. Then during my mornig recall I can bring that dream to memory as well as any other dream I may have had. Lately I had been remembering up to 3 to 4 dreams per night. Of course, There are nights that I do not recall so well due to too much alcohol or not enough hours to sleep. Also, now that I know my recall is getting good, I tell myself as I fall asleep that I it is easy to recall my dream because I do it all the time.

[Burns]

Good advice. I also use the keyword method to remember dreams rather than writing them down in the middle of the night. An average recall of 3-4 dreams per night is great - I'm sure someone will be able to use this information to their advantage!

[really]

I have trained myself to automaticaly ask, "OK what was I just dreaming?" before I even get out of bed. Even if I wake in the middle of the night. Also I can usualy remember key words to remind me of my dream instead of having to grab a pen and pad during the night. Say if I dream about being a doctor in a hospital. I just tell myself to remember "doctor". I dreamed about being a doctor. Then during my mornig recall I can bring that dream to memory as well as any other dream I may have had. Lately I had been remembering up to 3 to 4 dreams per night. Of course, There are nights that I do not recall so well due to too much alcohol or not enough hours to sleep. Also, now that I know my recall is getting good, I tell myself as I fall asleep that I it is easy to recall my dream because I do it all the time. [/b] So you remind yourself of the dream by using a keyword. Ok, does that mean your were lucid to think of a keyword? I'm not sure I understand...

[Pyrox]

So you remind yourself of the dream by using a keyword. Ok, does that mean your were lucid to think of a keyword? I'm not sure I understand... [/b] I think what he's saying is he wakes up, remember keywords from the dream, and go back to sleep. Then in the morning he will remember the keyword and recall his dream.

[Xanous]

I think what he's saying is he wakes up, remember keywords from the dream, and go back to sleep. Then in the morning he will remember the keyword and recall his dream. [/b] Yeah. If I had a dream about playing basketball, all I need to do is remember the word basketball when I wake up from that particular dream. I can then go back to sleep without having to write anything down. Then when I actualy get up I starting thinking about what I was dreaming throughout the night. I remember the word basketball and suddenly the whole dream comes into my mind. I can put it down in my DJ. It realy has nothing to do with being lucid, just dream recall.

[really]

Ok cool. That's a great way to recall, I'm going to use it when I don't have time to write in my dream journal. I hope keywords work for me. Thanks! Nice idea.

[Bonsay]

Thanks! I really think I should start doing something like that, since my recall is realy bad.

[Twoshadows]

This is the exact same method I use, and I think it works great. By doing this every day, I usually remember a minimum of two dreams a night, with 5-6 dreams not being uncommon. My maximun dream recall for one night still stands at 12 dreams. It is now very unusual for me not to remember any dreams. This method takes very little effort. It really just takes getting into the habit. I definitely recommend giving it a try if you want better recall.

[CoLd BlooDed]

Sometimes I write down keywords/phrases for what I do remember, and then I let the rest of the day help me unfold the remains of dreams. For instance, my friend was talking to me about the local mountains and how it's not supposed to snow this year. All of a sudden this image popped into my head of snowy trees and a blanket of white covering everything - I had unlocked another portion of dream. This happens every day that I have a dream, too.

[Xanous]

This is the exact same method I use, and I think it works great. By doing this every day, I usually remember a minimum of two dreams a night, with 5-6 dreams not being uncommon. My maximun dream recall for one night still stands at 12 dreams. It is now very unusual for me not to remember any dreams. This method takes very little effort. It really just takes getting into the habit. I definitely recommend giving it a try if you want better recall. [/b] good GOD how do you keep track of it all? LOL Does it take hours to write in your DJ or do you just pick the ones you like the most like I some times do?

[Twoshadows]

Xanous: how do you keep track of it all? LOL Does it take hours to write in your DJ or do you just pick the ones you like the most like I some times do?[/b] Haha, good question. Sometimes it does take a while to write. I'm sure my longest enrty (which I'll post below so you can see an example) took over a half hour. Good thing I type fairly fast. Usually I will write down every dream I can remember. Occasionally a certain dream will be so boring that I don't try to remember it. And as you can see from my below entry, not all the dreams are full length stories. Some are just quick little images. It's amazing how many dreams I can remember when I have a good night's sleep, especially when I can sleep in. Here are my many dreams: Dream 1: I am in a store looking at rock tumblers. In this store you can custom make your own. Instead of the regular canister thing, they were using big hollow shells. I found a really cool looking pink top shell that was huge and hollow. I decided to buy it. Dream 2: There was a band and it was playing on stage. I was on stage too. I have no idea what I was doing--I was laying on the floor. Dream 3: I was at a big teachers convention. Former President Clinton was there sitting at the front as a guest speaker. Before it started one teacher got up and started saying all these horrible things about Clinton. Then other teachers got up and joined in. I have never liked Clinton, but I felt it was terribly rude to do this to a former president that was an invited guest. Dream 4: I was at an apartment (supposedly mine) with a group of people. We had been making cookies. Everyone decided to leave and go somewhere. I walked out the door with Jeff. We crossed the street together. Suddenly I remembered that no one had taken the last tray of cookies out of the oven or turned the oven off. I had to go back. I tried crossing the street again, but it was too busy. I finally decided to go to the corner a ways down to cross at the light. After I crossed I looked back toward the apartment and I couldn't find it. I wandered around a little trying to find a way to the apartment. There seemed no way to get there. I realize that I am now in a cafe area and it is Gay Day and there are all these gay guys sitting around me. I start to feel a little out of place. There are these misters on the awnings that are supposed to spray a fine mist to keep everyone cool. But I walked into one that is spraying a full stream and I get kind of wet. Finally I see Monica. She is pregnant. We talk and I suddenly remember I am supposed to be finding a dress. I look thourgh these racks of dresses but can't find one the right size. I finally pull out a Medium and start carrying it around. The Mary is there and lets me know that I am dragging the dress in the dirt. I pick it up and hold it more carefully. Then I am walking again with Monica, and we see this airplane. It is coming in over the city very low and slow. I have this dread come over me as I realize that I am about to witness a terrorist attack. We watch as this big, odd-looking plane comes to a point about two blocks away and stops and hovers. Then it flips upside-down and dumps out many of its passengers. There are all Japenese tourists. I feel sick as I see them fall to theirs deaths. Then I am afraid it is going to see us and come and attack us in some way. Monica and I run a couple of blocks away until we feel a bit safer. Suddenly she is not pregnant anymore, but has this tiny baby with her. Dream 5: I am at a dance. I seemed to have a friend who is DJing. He calls me to where he is and tells me to stay with his stuff for a minute. Then I look and see all the people dancing. They are all on the stage and no one is on the floor area. Dream 6: (May be inspired by dream 4) Someone had given me this newborn baby. I am with a group of people and we are stranded out in the desert away from any place I can get formula or milk for the baby. But I think, "No problem, I'll just nurse the baby." I didn't seem to realize that since I didn't give birth, that this wouldn't be possible. Oh Gosh, why do I seem to have this baby obsession?? Dream 7: (Fragment) I chop this onion in half and see this big back spider in the center. Dream 8: There are these two guys that are dressed like pirates and they are telling me about this goose they have with them--about how it started following them so they decided to keep it. Dream 9: I am at Zion National Park and explaining to someone about the East Rim Trail. I was telling them that it was a long trail, but it had this cool slot canyon along the trail. And how you had to be careful at the end because there was a huge drop off. Dream 10: I was with a group of people, and we are looking over at this hill, and we notice that there is a graveyard on it. I have this great desire to go see it. So I talk the others into walking up the hill with me to see what's there. Dream 11: I am at a hospital and watch as they bring in Anakin Skywalker who has just been injured. An official comes in and needs to talk to Anakin and see what happened. The guy standing next to me asks him, "You want the point of view of the Sith?" And the official guys says, "No, the Sith is out there." Pointing the other direction "I need the point of view of Anakin". I remember this conversation because I immediately woke up after this little dream and wrote the exact conversation down. Dream 12: I am standing by this window. I suddenly feel the urge to look out. When I do I see a window right across from mine. In the window is a guy staring right at me. I can't tear my eyes away. Part of me is totally creeped out, but part of me wants to stare deep into his eyes. He is older with long dark hair. He is not particularly good looking, but there is something about him...... and I can't look away. It was very intense. [/b] Sometimes I write down keywords/phrases for what I do remember, and then I let the rest of the day help me unfold the remains of dreams. For instance, my friend was talking to me about the local mountains and how it's not supposed to snow this year. All of a sudden this image popped into my head of snowy trees and a blanket of white covering everything - I had unlocked another portion of dream. This happens every day that I have a dream, too. [/b] Occasionally this happens to me, too.

[Casualtie]

how'd you train yourself to do this. lately i've been having very bad dream recall and i'm trying to figure out a way to step it up.

[Twoshadows]

I'm not sure who you are asking, but I'll give you my answer. I have gotten to the point where it is natural to ask myself about what I was just dreaming about every time I wake up. If it does not come naturally for you, post a note by your bed or some other thing that will trigger the question. The best time for me to remember dreams is right when I wake up. Usually if I wait longer or even let my mind think of other things for a few minutes first, I risk losing the dreams. To get that many dreams, I did write down some notes at one point when I woke up. Since that was a sleep-in day, I woke up early-ish (about 5:00) and that's when I wrote the fisrt set of dreams. Then I let myself fall asleep again and this is where I had most of those dreams.

[Man of Shred]

wow Whats your record for LD's in a night, two shadows? mines 3!

[Twoshadows]

wow Whats your record for LD's in a night, two shadows? mines 3! [/b] Mine is three, too. But two of them were pretty short.

[Xanous]

how'd you train yourself to do this. lately i've been having very bad dream recall and i'm trying to figure out a way to step it up. [/b] For me, I dont realy do anything. I just tell myself to remember my dreams when I wake up and that is the first thing I do when I wake up. Then I make some coffee and put my dreams into my journal. Sometimes I have hard time remembering but most of the time I can. I remembered 4 this morning. I had more during the night but they did not intrest me so I let them go.