Thread: What makes a LD vividly realistic?

Originally Posted by FryingMan

Gives new meaning to "Gone in 60 seconds"....

Aw man just 5 seconds? Yeah I suppose that feels right. I only a few times have woken "aware" from a non-lucid, actually feeling the dream fade, into being fully awake, and the recall from that dream was amazing, like a lucid just without realizing I was dreaming. I guess those were nearly-lucid at the end. Otherwise there's always this darn discontinuity that seems to sap away the details. It's possible that it involves falling back into NREM before realizing you've woken.

One thing's for sure: when I have an active and operational "wake up after every dream" intention, my recall is wayyyy better. Like 17 paragraphs vs. 3-4 sentences.

Daggum it that intention never works for me! I can sleep through a hurricane, literally! I slept through a gas station explosion a few blocks away, literally! Lol (or woke up then fell asleep right back lol). I'm such a deep sleeper.

This gives me hope that it's mostly memory issue, meaning I can have crystal clear memory of amazing HD dreams if I directly wake myself up from it !

Interestingly, the "wake up after every dream" intention worked for me right from the start, as did "I remember my dreams". I also used LaBerge's "I have interesting and meaningful dreams." . You have to *really* want that waking one. However, I let it drop a bit, and I believe that my progress has stalled a bit due to that.

The competitions really helped since you get points for any recall, so there is strong motivation to reach for the DJ upon every waking.

There's no doubt that waiting until morning to do recall causes detail to seriously suffer.

As a middle-ground, if I'm just too wiped out to actually record, I will remain still and do recall, and try to maintain a running list of dream keywords from waking to waking. Sometimes they all seem to make it to morning, sometimes not. But I think that's better than "sleeping through".

If possible, you may want to try some daytime naps to take off the edge of your deep sleep at night. Or alarms, even, if you sleep that deeply.

Originally Posted by FryingMan

Interestingly, the "wake up after every dream" intention worked for me right from the start, as did "I remember my dreams". I also used LaBerge's "I have interesting and meaningful dreams." . You have to *really* want that waking one. However, I let it drop a bit, and I believe that my progress has stalled a bit due to that.

The competitions really helped since you get points for any recall, so there is strong motivation to reach for the DJ upon every waking.

There's no doubt that waiting until morning to do recall causes detail to seriously suffer.

As a middle-ground, if I'm just too wiped out to actually record, I will remain still and do recall, and try to maintain a running list of dream keywords from waking to waking. Sometimes they all seem to make it to morning, sometimes not. But I think that's better than "sleeping through".

If possible, you may want to try some daytime naps to take off the edge of your deep sleep at night. Or alarms, even, if you sleep that deeply.

Here's the case, literally 30% of the time, I don't even remember turning off the alarm, and I have the alarm far from the bed so I have to vet up to turn it off! Lol
The recall intention works wonders for me, but it's just this waking up after each dream that is pretty impossible lol. I'm seriously gonna buy the REM Dreamer, cuz less than 20 LD during my first year isn't satisfying me.

Originally Posted by FryingMan

Interestingly, the "wake up after every dream" intention worked for me right from the start, as did "I remember my dreams". I also used LaBerge's "I have interesting and meaningful dreams." . You have to *really* want that waking one. However, I let it drop a bit, and I believe that my progress has stalled a bit due to that.

The competitions really helped since you get points for any recall, so there is strong motivation to reach for the DJ upon every waking.

There's no doubt that waiting until morning to do recall causes detail to seriously suffer.

As a middle-ground, if I'm just too wiped out to actually record, I will remain still and do recall, and try to maintain a running list of dream keywords from waking to waking. Sometimes they all seem to make it to morning, sometimes not. But I think that's better than "sleeping through".

If possible, you may want to try some daytime naps to take off the edge of your deep sleep at night. Or alarms, even, if you sleep that deeply.

Yeah I found Laberge's affirmations very effective.

Imo one of the most successful LDers here, Brandonboss, recalls around 10 dreams a night, and can have nearly as many lucids, because he is so in tune with his micro-awakenings.

Also, I found a paper on dreams and memory. It's not the same one I was thinking of, but it's certainly relevant: http://apsychoserver.psych.arizona.e...ent%202011.pdf

^^ Wow. How about not getting back into bed then for a bit? Or eating a chocolate covered espresso bean (or more)?

Originally Posted by Ctharlhie

Imo one of the most successful LDers here, Brandonboss

Now known as Sensei if you wanted to check out his threads.

Yes, Sensei is amazing . The trick is how to get in touch with those micro-awakenings, and not be tired all day long.

Originally Posted by ~ Dreamer ~

Now known as Sensei if you wanted to check out his threads.

Huh.

Who else namechanged while I was gone?

*cracks knuckles*

Everybody buckle up, this is gonna get messy.

Vividness has always been interesting to me, as a conceptual framework from which to approach the study of dreams and lucid dreaming. In many models, it's very easy to segregate vividness, clarity, detail, whatever you want to call it, from the usual core concepts (like dream control or lucidity for instance). As if it's some nebulous thing that doesn't belong in traditional models! But vividness actually follows very distinct patterns and rules in the context of both lucid and non-lucid dreaming.

Let us first consider the difference between lucid dreams and non-lucid dream from a neurological perspective. A cursory glance into the literature reveals activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex which is only present during lucid dreams. "So what?" you wonder aloud. Well, for those unaware, that section of the brain is most closely associated with self-awareness and....wait for it....working memory. And working memory is responsible for your ability to not only focus, but process information (through retrieval and storage of long-term memories).

The astute among you will have noticed by now. Tell me: what are the three fundamentals necessary for lucid dreaming? That's right, Sageous! Self-awareness, focus, and memory! And so, when we develop these aspects of ourselves, we strengthen the pathways allowing our dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to activate while we're asleep. And that activation inevitably results in lucidity! Cool!

"But vividness!" you shout, expecting me to hear, "What has any of this got to do with what causes vividness?" Good question! But patience is important, and this writing stuff takes awhile! To understand how vividness occurs, you must first understand how dreams are formed. This takes us to the non-lucid dreaming portion of the tour. Please--no flash photography.

BillyBob does a great job of explaining it! I explain it at a slightly higher and metaphorical level! Read the relevant parts--the rest is extra credit and won't be on the final exam. Great, now you know how dream formation works! Which means you now understand--really and truly understand--that images in all dreams are formed from memories. The stronger the memory, the stronger the associations to that memory, the more vivid the imagery. This is why focusing all your attentions on a single object--or group of objects--or part of the dreamscape--will bring out more and more detail and vividness. Thus, the level of detail--the level of realism--is directly determined by the net strength of all associations and their schematic tangents. In layman terms, the better you know the environment and the objects in that environment, the more vivid things will be.

Of course, with lucid dreams, you have the benefit of working memory, which allows you to traverse synaptic passages and retrieve or store memories as easily and naturally as you would if you were awake. Of course, the simple biological laws of dream formation are still in effect--but that's beside the point. The point being that lucidity gives you the ability to directly affect how vivid a dream can be, precisely because you've activated your dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Yay!

Please leave your valuables on the seat on your way out of the vehicle. Thanks, and have a pleasant evening!