Extremely Discouraged...

[Jaymun]

I've been (regularly, I've done it before but not been attentive enough) keeping a dream journal for 5 months now, and my recall simply hasn't improved, here's an outline of what I rememberd last week: Monday - nothing tuesday- nothing wednesday - one small detail, which I wrote down thursday - nothing friday - nothing saturday - small snippets of 2 different dreams, which I recorded sunday - nothing That's pretty much an average week for me, I write down everything I can, every detail I remember, even feelings I have when I wake up, and I've seen no improvement, this is just as it was 5 months ago. Can anyone offer any advice?

[Buddah]

do you set an alarm to wake you up after about 4.5 hours asleep?

[Jaymun]

I did for about 6 weeks, but I never remembered anything during this time, and when I woke up I noticed no difference than when I didn't do it, so I stopped, as it was more of an annoyance than a help.

[XF011]

I'm not a pro or anything but usually I tell myself either out loud or in my head to have a certain type of dream and it usually happens. At first though I required vitamin B6 (I think that's what it is. It's been awhile.) to increase the vividness of my dreams so I could remember them better. After about a week of constant dreaming (For me anyways.) I was able to remember my dreams and increase vividness altogether without B6. I've never kept a journal before though. Except once when I had a dream that was more detailed then the reality we live in. I wrote that one down; it was seven pages long.

[Dein]

Just because it didnt work for the first 6 weeks, you should still keep trying, determination is important. Also, im not sure of this, but maybe if you have something naggin you, like the death family member or something, then that might disturb your dreams, but im not sure. I started with this LD stuff 2 days ago, and i have only had one Recall, som im not an expert.

[spacechase0]

For me, a mantra helps a lot. I guess it's kinda like traditional MILD, but for your recall.

[Supernova]

By now, you are probably expecting to wake up with no recall. What if I told you that's the only thing stopping you?

[Jaymun]

By now, you are probably expecting to wake up with no recall. What if I told you that's the only thing stopping you? I honestly think that's a huge part of my problem. I'm frequently telling myself that I WILL remember dreams, but I just can't erase the deep down doubt I have.

[kulananda]

You leave many things out. Do you have a regular meditation/spritual or other practice? What type of lifestyle do you have etc etc? What practices are you doing now. I recommend an initial practice of guided deep relaxation also called "yoga nidra", "dynamic tension/relaxation" , "power sleep" etc etc. The "mastering astral projection" course has a complete routine as do many others. The worst things you can do is overeat i believe, eat your last meal before sunset, reduce your caloric and food intake by 1/3 or more depending on your diet , eat more fruit and vegetables etc. Practice chakra meditaion to cleanse the psyche or other meditation. waiting for more

[Jaymun]

You leave many things out. Do you have a regular meditation/spritual or other practice? What type of lifestyle do you have etc etc? What practices are you doing now. I recommend an initial practice of guided deep relaxation also called "yoga nidra", "dynamic tension/relaxation" , "power sleep" etc etc. The "mastering astral projection" course has a complete routine as do many others. The worst things you can do is overeat i believe, eat your last meal before sunset, reduce your caloric and food intake by 1/3 or more depending on your diet , eat more fruit and vegetables etc. Practice chakra meditaion to cleanse the psyche or other meditation. waiting for more I'll try some of the meditation practices. Currently the only thing I do similar to that is I put my laptop on my chest laying down, close my eyes and just type my thoughts before going to sleep. It may sound strange, but because I'm typing what I think, it stops thoughts from jumbling around, I think much more linearly, and it really helps clear my mind before sleeping, and it gets to the point where I don't even notice I'm typing. I may be able to cut down on how late I eat, but I can't cut my caloric intake, especially by as much as 1/3, I'm very active lift weights almost daily, and play football, and if anything, I need to get bigger. I'll definitely look into various forms of meditation. Edit: Also, more information that might be useful 17 years old Male Sleep 7-8 hours most weekdays, usually 10-12 on weekends Rarely nap, when I do it's a 20 minute nap (either at 5:00 or around 6:30)

[kulananda]

Hey thanks for the info. I would practice chinese chi kung and microcosmic orbit. I can send a simple exercise that will aide in channeling the energy to the upper chakras and not interfere with your weight training. These can be added to the end of your current routine and use before going to bed etc. Ill try to send you the stuff. Zen or mantra meditation can be usefull too. It helps one to become aware of the subtle consciousness that resides beyond waking state.

[KronosTheKudu]

Something that I discovered on accident is to get up and stay up for about 1/2 - 1 hours (basically WBTB) and then when you are really exhausted and you would like nothing more than to sleep go into bed. For me, my recall is way way way better when I do this. Also for me, my recall is much better when I am lying on my back. I have no idea why.

[Hukif]

Doubt is the problem, uh? Try giving your memory a boost, like some fruit that has b6 or alike?

[horsey101]

Get a regular sleeping and waking time and make sure your first thoughts when you awaken are about remembering your dreams. You may want to use an alarm that turns itself off so you can focus on just recalling dreams. Also, repeat a dream recall mantra before bed. The most important thing is confidence. Any doubt at all, and LD won't work for you. Try to relax before you go to sleep, and maybe take a break from the whole thing for a week or two to lessen the stressfulness of it.