Thread: recall training and documentation (not lucid)

ok the past two weeks have been hectic with midterms and work, so i stopped documenting my dreams in my journal. i was having at least 3 vivid dreams a night and each dream took up at least 3 pages of writing. now i'm on vacation... for the past two nights i've had dreams and have been able to recall them in the morning, without the aid of my journal. am i past the journal? i was planning on using the MILD technique tonight if the opportunity presents itself but i don't know if i would be able to. -- are there people out there who went through something similar? do you use a journal?

thanks, jake

the dream journal always helps, maybe you should just use it now for lucid dreams, WILD's, or False awakenings...

the ever steady beat of you heart, makes me take one more breath in life, cause that one beat means one breath.[/b]

I have had similar experiences... I have not kept a dream journal (regularly) for a couple of years now even though I have LDs nearly every night. I can say that over time, though, unless you keep a journal, you may begin to only recall PORTIONS of your LDs or they may begin to jumble together... That has been my experience -and one of the reasons I want to start keeping a journal again. I'm thinking I might just write down five minutes worth each (or every other) morning in order to form the basic habit, then start writing down more for the ones that are more "worthy" of logging.

Personally, I just write down really important parts and some keywords if nessasary. But in general, I dont use a journal anymore, it simply consumes to much time. But if you dont LD regularly I suggest writing down at least all LDs, but I dont do either anymore, like I said..just important parts and perhaps some keywords, keywords tend to make you recall most of it

I had a spell where I could remember vivid and sometimes lucid 2 dreams a night and didn't need a journal. Now I'm back to the journal cause I have problems remembering and going lucid. It's been weeks though. I wish I knew what I was doing to get it back.

The lesson is to use at your convience. It can only help.

I used to keep dream journal, but it took too much time (like 1 hr) to write down even a medium length dream.

Now i write down keyterms and phrases. and as soon as I look at it, i have a recall of that and similar dreams...

i never really needed a dream journal. i can remember my dreams fine without it.. i think that once you get good enough at dream recall using the journal you dont need it anymore. you might just be past it.

last night i tried out the joting down notes theory... it worked well. here they are, i dont know if they make any sence to you guys...

-driving amanda (sister) to school
-unknown school
-mom calls
-table shop
-used computer shopping
-chocolate and dr. pepper
-meet margarita (girl from art class)
-mom calls
-go to english class, danny steals some of my dr. pepper
-adam starts eating my chocolate
-the classroom looks like a science lab, not my english room.

this is where i woke up. i wrote down this stuff and tried to MILD but it didnt work. i told myself that i would reconized that i was dreaming when i was in my english class and there was science equipment but i didnt reapear in my class. i was outside but still at the school. i continued walking around in my ignorance... never realizing that i was dreaming. one of these days i'll get it!

Originally posted by adidas

driving amanda (sister) to school
-unknown school
-mom calls
-table shop
-used computer shopping
-chocolate and dr. pepper
-meet margarita (girl from art class)
-mom calls
-go to english class, danny steals some of my dr. pepper
-adam starts eating my chocolate
-the classroom looks like a science lab, not my english room.

Thats what my entire dream journal looks like. i always thought that writing the whole thing out in a story format took too much time.

Jake, you just asked a very familiar question

perhaps you could write the main points of 'regular' dreams, and then write out the FULL lucid dream?

whatever floats your boat man.

The sun reluctantly rises on a red blanket of loosely figured clouds,
I raise my head to see, and you are standing there over my body.
I was still bleeding and you did not even care to hold the wound.
Best friends, we know that’s a bunch of bullshit.-me[/b]

yea im definatly going to write out the lucid ones... if they dont get to long.

you lazy bastard.
just joking man, im pretty damn lazy myself too.

i dont want to talk to you anymore, im afraid of what i might say. I bite my tongue every time you come around, cause blood in my mouth beats blood on the ground.[/b]

Just a note of caution - notes not always help.
While cleaning my room, i found an piece of paper with the following notes:
Dream, crusader, knight, 5 assasins, semicircle of blades, castle, assault, murder and a book called "german nonland metals". Obviously when i was writing these notes i thought it was enough. Obviously it's not enough..
must be an interesting dream i guess...

Yep Im pretty much Like Lucius on this matter, I don't keep a dream journal per-say but I do write down keywords from certain LD dreams and only LD's the other dreams Im really not concerned with. I use the WILD technique whenever I want to Lucid and I prepare myself Mentally to remember once Im back.

Originally posted by Ev

While cleaning my room, i found an piece of paper with the following notes:
Dream, crusader, knight, 5 assasins, semicircle of blades, castle, assault, murder and a book called \"german nonland metals\". Obviously when i was writing these notes i thought it was enough. Obviously it's not enough...

I have had the same problem... I've jotted down notes or simple diagrams thinking that they would be enough to stimulate my memory if needed in the future... I think writing down the date, time, and as much description as possible is the best way. It just takes a lot of patience and discipline to do it on a regular basis.