Thread: How to remember stuff in a LD?

So one time I read this list about really fun stuff to do in a LD, and the next time I had one I didn't remember any of the things that I had read, or I didn't even remember I had planned to do anything. I just did my own thing. So I guess I'm asking, whenever you're in a LD, how can you remember things from real life? I'm trying to participate in the Task of The Year, but I'm worried I'll fail because I won't remember any of the Tasks in my LD

relax. you'll get better and better at it as time goes on there is no rushing this. keep up with your dream journal, practice your reality checks (don't go overboard on this either) and just stay positive. eventually you'll go into the dream with more awareness and be able to recall something that you want to accomplish as the lucid dream is happening.

Well, one thing you could try is creating a Dream guide to help you remember. Another is using your imagination, for example say 'when I walk through this door, there will be a list of all my tasks. Last, is to repeat a mantra. Keep telling your self 'I will remember my tasks in my dream' over and over until you have a lucid dream. Though I do not guarantee these will work. Good luck.

Reminds me of problem that i had for a good while when i was starting out, i suggest to write/type your goals somewhere right before you go to sleep and/or use them as a mantra while falling asleep.

Daniel Love in his book Are You Dreaming? suggests using the peg system as an aid in memorizing up to 10 things across states of consciousness: both for reminder of LD goals, and as an aid with dream recall from LD to waking life.

The way it works is: you first need to create a system of associations with each number from 1 to 10 that is your own what the numbers remind you of first - example: 1 stick, 2 swan, 3 bottom, 4 sail, etc. This first level of association you need to memorize for always. Then if you want to temporarily remember stuff, you need to associate it with your pegs. So for example, if my two goals for my next lucid dream were to (1) fly and (2) taste some chocolate; to help me remember I would visualize using a stick (which is my number 1) to fly like a witch on a broom, and then I would imagine either myself eating a chocolate shaped like a swan, or a swan eating chocolate. Then next time I try to remember my dream goals in a dream, I would check my pegs for what is associated with them, and hopefully these associations would jog my memory enough to remind me of flying and eating chocolate.

Daniel Love explains this much better in the book, and it is overall a very good book - I recommend it.

How can someone know that is dreaming and not remember it?!

Originally Posted by Iriba

How can someone know that is dreaming and not remember it?!

Memory is a funny thing that works in mysterious ways. There was one time when I woke up thinking "Yes, I did it! I had a lucid dream!" but then no matter how much I tried, I could not remember my dream. Although it also occurred to me that maybe this was the entire content of this particular dream. The human mind is built to forget dream stuff, and while we are much more likely to remember lucid dreams because we are more aware during them, but the degree of awareness varies and while we may remember some of it but we may forget details, and thus may need to work on improving detail recall even from lucid dreams.

Incidentally, the original question of this tread was about the reverse scenario: trouble remembering goals from waking life inside dreams. And that is quite likely because when lucid we may not have access to all waking memories, again I think it comes down to increasing awareness. By default our dreaming minds are more foggy than waking minds, and thus stuff we would easily know while awake may not be accessible when barely aware - that's also true when awake but very tired. in general memory enhancing techniques in waking life can also translate into better memory in dreams.

Dream journal is good habit.. keep practicing with it..