Dream Memory?

[Tygar]

A few years ago I had a dream that I was back in a neighborhood where I lived from ages 10 to 14. I am in a friend’s yard and there is a playhouse (like a tree house, but on stilts instead of being up in a tree, so it was raised off the ground) in his front yard. In this dream, I remembered seeing that same play house in a dream. I actually commented to my friend, who was in the dream, that I remembered it from a previous dream. I could clearly remember that previous dream from within my dream. When I awoke, I could remember both dreams, and I remembered actually having both dreams on separate real life occasions. Has anyone else had this happen? This made me wonder; what if while you are dreaming you have greater access to the area of the brain where previous dreams are stored. But when you are awake, it isn’t as easy to access that area of the brain.

[dutchraptor]

I wondered this exact thing too. Generally we don't remember dreams because memory formation is almost entirely turned off during dreams. But it certainly seems that a high percentage of dreams reference their story more from other dreams than waking life. I think there may well be some validity to the thought.

[CanisLucidus]

Good observation and a great thread topic. I've noticed the same thing as well. I also find that this can be a useful way to achieve lucidity. Many times I'll wake up from one dream, spend a few minutes awake, and then go back under with MILD, trying to cement my intent to lucid dream. A lot of times what I wind up remembering, though, is that what I'm experiencing right now reminds me of some other dream memory. As for why this happens, I wonder whether this may have a lot to do with the unique way that dreams feel. You know that sensation you get when you hear a song from when you were a little kid or catch some old, remembered scent of a particular place and time in your life? A lot of times this can bring back a flood of memories, emotions, and a state of mind that you'd long forgotten. Our life experiences consist of such a vast amount of information that the brain pegs memories together in a web of surprising and interesting connections.

[NyxCC]

Very interesting discussion. It's common for me to recall same day dreams in the following dreams, but remembering older dreams (from months or years ago) also happens albeit less frequently. From personal experience I am more than certain that all sorts of details, both from real life and dreams are carefully stored somewhere and may reemerge in later dreams. It also seems to me that memory formation is indeed happening during dreams, but that info may be stored in a different manner than wake life memory. The challenge for us is to find a way to access it. Another very curious thing I have noticed is the occurrence of dream stories that develop over time. That's actually somewhat similar to what was said above. There seems to be a sort of evolving story when it comes to certain items/DCs. For example, in the past two years I have developed (all non-lds) a friendship with a former classmate that I haven't met or thought about in years. Also, I often visit a bar where different classmates go to which is always in the same location (non-ld again). There is no bar there irl. CL, good point about the feel and associations. It's amazing how all this info is connected.

[Zhaylin]

I'm not a lucid dreamer, but I used to have dreams that built upon themselves. I turned them into written stories Some of my very first memories are of dreams. I've been obsessed with dreaming since I was about 5 years old because of it. I'm amazed, as well, at how fully we remember things from the past while dreaming. I can recall how people looked, acted, how homes were decorated. I don't know why it's so hard for the conscious mind to remember those things when it seems so easy in dreams.

[Tygar]

Another very curious thing I have noticed is the occurrence of dream stories that develop over time. That's actually somewhat similar to what was said above. There seems to be a sort of evolving story when it comes to certain items/DCs. For example, in the past two years I have developed (all non-lds) a friendship with a former classmate that I haven't met or thought about in years. Also, I often visit a bar where different classmates go to which is always in the same location (non-ld again). There is no bar there irl. Wow! That is very interesting. The majority of people don't keep dream journals, so they have no way of tracking reoccurring dream characters, locations, situations. So they would never notice these things. Dream memory (in theory) could cause you to have chains of dreams where you remember previous dream situations, conversations, locations, characters which would influence your behaviors in future dreams. It would be like living a separate life that you can't remember. One more thing: Could this explain deja vu? Perhaps you've dreamed of a very similar situation that later occurred in real life.

[NyxCC]

@ Zhaylin I'm not a lucid dreamer, but I used to have dreams that built upon themselves. I turned them into written stories What a great way to capture the mysteries of the mind! @ Tygar Yes, and also keeping a digital journal can additionally facilitate tracking stories, making it easier to browse. One more thing: Could this explain deja vu? Perhaps you've dreamed of a very similar situation that later occurred in real life. Very interesting. Some deja vus may feel not just as if you've seen it before, but as if you have dreamt it before, although you can't remember when!

[Prelin]

I catch myself having false memories in dreams. In fact, I just posted a dream journal entry with just such a thing. In a dream, I might watch an enjoyable movie that I remember seeing before, but then I wake up and realize no such movie exists. Or I run into a very old friend that feels so familiar, but upon waking I realize that the person doesn't exist at all.

[Sageous]

Interesting topic, and I've often puzzled about remembering past dreams during dreams, but Prelin makes a point that might need some amplification. Yes, I've remembered past dreams, and proved they were past dreams by checking my DJ upon waking. And yes, of course your dreaming mind will draw upon older dreams to more efficiently assemble schemata, so you will often find aspects of past dreams in your dreams. But something else happens as well: We might occasionally have "memories" of past dreams that were likely never dreams at all; they were simply dream images that our dreaming minds created to flesh out a plot that seemed to require a "remembered" dream. In other words, during a dream your unconscious might find a need to insert the memory of a past dream, and it might be easier to invent one rather than draw one from memory. So these remembered dreams might not be remembered dreams at all. They might just be constructs of things you expect to be remembered dreams.

[Phantox]

I had a simlar experience last night. I dreamnt somrthing similar to a previous dream and even said "that happened in another dream" (i dont know how i didnt snap and become lucid)

[NyxCC]

Something similar happened to me this morning. I had two non-lds, the first one with me and a strange cat like creature and we were discussing some things with the DCs. Next dream I'm in school writing an essay about an event related to that with the cat and I inform my teacher that I was dreaming of this, referring to the previous dream.

[psychoslice]

I've had this circle of thoughts recently. I've been experiencing while in dreams of realizations of past dream memories. Such as an example, I was with my brother in one dream traveling on foot and stopped for break by a broken down semi truck. and then in another dream, I had a picture of him and i from the previous dream, we were on top of the semi truck and someone took a picture of us. So when I awoke from that dream, recalling those two separate dreams on top of the memories, i don't know, I never really paid attention to it until now.