Thread: 3rd person.

I am in the same boat as you, as most of my dreams are in 3rd person, as if I'm watching a movie starring myself. Although, for some strange reason, when I wake up I recall the dream as being 1st person, I have a vivid memory of it being in 3rd person, as well as 1st person. Could I be dreaming in 2 perspectives at once? Can my dream mind only handle 3rd person, and once I wake up it processes the first-person information? Haha I was rambling there, sorry. Do you recall 3rd person dreams in 1st person once you wake up?

I've had one lucid dream where I was in 3rd person, I saw the surroundings that I was in and immediately recognized it as being impossible, and it was like I was pulled into a hidden screen, out of 3rd person, and placed within myself and became a singularity (1st person). Rambling again, dreams just get me excited

No thats the thing. I only recall anything in 3rd person! From dreams to memories. Could it be that my brain automatically puts it in another view?

Originally Posted by BillyG

No thats the thing. I only recall anything in 3rd person! From dreams to memories. Could it be that my brain automatically puts it in another view?

Dang, I thought you would remember it in 1st person as well, because its kinda strange having two perspectives on something. Well I really wouldn't worry about, I'm starting to get back into serious LD'ing and if I can have a 3rd person-induced lucid dream, so can you!

P.S I use 3rd person as a dreamsign, I find watching movies and doing RC's whenever something strange in the movie happens helps a lot, since movies are 3rd person. You get lost in a movie, so if you can remember to do a RC while watching a movie, why not while you're dreaming? Just my thoughts.

O btw, whenever i imangine myself doing something, its in 3rd person too. and wuts RC

Originally Posted by BillyG

O btw, whenever i imangine myself doing something, its in 3rd person too. and wuts RC

Reality Check:
such as looking in a mirror. You will never see yourself in a mirror in a Lucid Dream (LD).
OR
holding a hand over your mouth and plugging your nose and take a breath, in a dream you will be able to breathe.

My two favorites, but do whatever works for you!

BillyG, I have had the same problem as you. I find it very difficult to visualize things in first person for VILDs, and I occasionally catch myself in 3rd person as well. I do have dreams in 3rd person, but those are usually dreams about video games. For example, I recently had a Gears of War dream. I knew I was playing Gears of War at the time but the dream only included the actual game itself, no keyboard or mouse. It was like my dream body was the character and I was able to see from over my shoulder.

I have made a lot of progress with remembering things in first person. When I started I never remembered dreams in first person, but as my recall got better I started having more first person dream recall. I think that the more vague your memory, the more likely you are to put it into a 3rd person perspective. I believed that all my dreams were 3rd person or didn't include me. It turns out that this actually is not true for me, as I just had to work on my memory!

I would like to propose a source of the problem: I believe that this stems from having very highly tuned SPATIAL memory as opposed to IMAGERY memory. I'm a math-minded spatial thinker. I have a far from photographic memory, but once I've got my bearings in an unfamiliar geography/building I have no problem navigating it. I could do it with my eyes closed.

My advice to you is to practice visualization in first person. The better you get at this, the better you will get at remembering first person dreams. So try to get better at visualizing in first person and remembering imagery in first person. Really, really, try to see through an imaginary pair of eyeballs. Make sure you are imagining colors as well. Color is important, because otherwise you are just imagining shapes and depth which is spatial.

Originally Posted by LucidTeammate

Reality Check:
such as looking in a mirror. You will never see yourself in a mirror in a Lucid Dream (LD).
OR
holding a hand over your mouth and plugging your nose and take a breath, in a dream you will be able to breathe.

My two favorites, but do whatever works for you!

LucidTeammate is right, but when looking in a mirror in an LD you may see super distorted or even startling images rather than nothing.

It's not necessary to hold your hand over your mouth for the breathing reality check. Simply close your mouth, pinch your nose tight, and attempt to breathe through your nose. In a dream the feeling is incredible. You can feel the air passing through your nose and you will instantly become aware of the air in your lungs.

I usually don't become lucid from physical reality checks, but I always use them after I gain lucidity just for the surreal feeling. You will find what ones work for you.

I find it very difficult to become lucid when having a third person dream. Try to be more aware of yourself while awake. Train yourself to be more in the moment, and less detached. Hopefully, it will carry over into your dreams

It happens to me sometimes when I need to get a better view of whats going on. But when I need to act, I willed myself back to my body.