Thread: Forgetting what you want to do in the LD?

Just to reassure you, this is a common problem, which many people experience.

One possible way to help one remember things is the mnemonic peg system. Daniel Love describes its use for lucid dreaming in his book, "Are You Dreaming?" - a book which I greatly recommend.

Here is a link to someone else describing the use of the peg system as memory aid (since I cannot find a copy of Daniel Love's online): http://www.memory-improvement-tips.c...ing-lists.html

In a nutshell, what you would do is in waking life memorize a list of words that are your first associations (pegs) for each of the first 10 numbers, and these words could either rhyme with the numbers or be a shape like them. For example, 1 looks like a stick, 2 looks like a swan, 3 looks like my bottom, 4 looks like a sail, etc. You need to pick one word for each of the numbers, and memorize that for always. Then still in waking think of the list of dream goals that you have, for example: 1. Fly, 2. Eat chocolate, 3. Visit the Taj Mahal, 4. Hug someone, etc. Then you associate each of those dream goals with one of your pegs. For example, my peg one is stick, and my first dream goal is fly, so I visualize a witch flying on a broom stick. My peg 2 is swan, and my dream goal 2 is eat chocolate, so I visualize a swan shaped chocolate or a swan eating chocolate. My third beg is bottom, and my third goal is the Taj Mahal, so I visualize myself slipping and falling in front of the Taj Mahal and landing on my bottom. My fourth peg is sail, and my fourth peg is hug someone, so I visualize myself hugging a sailor. So far this is memorization prep work done while awake. In a lucid dream, to recall my dream goals I would hopefully remember that I associated them to my pegs. Then I would consult my pegs: 1 stick fly 2 swan chocolate 3 bottom Taj Mahal 4 sail hug etc. I would suggest that you first practice using the peg system while awake to temporarily memorize a short list, and then if it works while you are awake, incorporate the peg system with dream goals into your lucid dream preparation.

Another thing you could do is use mantras, to really drill it into your head what you want to do. You could also use visualization of yourself doing what you want to do before you go to bed as a form to get the memory into your lucid.

Good luck!