Thread: Memory: the Forgotten Fundamental

Saw a discussion where Sati is referred to as "to remember [to do something]", so to remember to take note of your breathing. So mindfulness / sati is basically that thing that brings you back to what you should be focused on.

So it's not quite the normal way of using memory like Sageous says, it's more like an alarm that goes off when you've gone off track which signals you to remember what you should be doing.

Which is exactly what you'd want to induce LDs, since when we dream we drift away, the stronger your mindfulness the easier it is to come back to lucidity during a dream.

Memm,

This is my interpretation of what everyone is saying, but to me, it seems that there is a difference between Sati and what Sageous is referring to. The goal of memory in lucid dreaming is not prospective memory: to be able to remember things you intended to remember at a specific moment in the future. Instead, the relevance of memory in the context of lucid dreaming, is to access your memory storage room. Getting the key that allows you to enter our memory storage room is what allows us to gain "waking life awareness".

The goal is not only to remember specifically that your body is in a bed, but to be able to experience the dream world somewhat like the waking world, where you are aware of your context, past and future.

Example (Sageous Memory Concept in blue, Prospective memory in green):

I am in the middle of a desert. Giant peacocks are selling tents. I need a tent because I will be cold tonight. No. My body is in my bed. I am dreaming. My goal is to eat chocolate. This place is interesting, I might talk to these peacock merchants instead.
"Hello, sir."
"Hello traveler, will you buy a tent?"
Oh god, this experience is so real. I might have traveled to another dimension! I might need a tent if I'm here very long! But I know, I go to sleep, have dreams and wake up after. I don't need a tent.
"Tell me, sir, why do you sell tents?" I feel the feathers, play at the sand with my foot and feel the roof of my mouth with my tongue. Wow, this is amazing, that I can see those things!
"I started selling tents when my parents died during the meteor accident."
What an interesting story. I might as well play along? and accomplish my goal!
"Will you guide me to this meteor? I know these meteors are made of chocolate. You could feed your people with it! Show me."

Okay, I'm sorry, if this made-on-the-spot story/example was not the best analogy. The importance for me, is more about the state of mind than the "practicality". The fact, that you have this access to memory, which allows you to assess the context of what is going on at any time, no matter what is happening. Because the inability to do that is what causes us to be "illogical" in dreams since we just take every moment at a time and ignore the past and future.

It's all hard to explain, but I feel like I understand this, in theory anyways. I will be seeking to get to this tonight. I tried last night but didn't get to it. It was a beautiful dream though. I found a jungle in the north pole. But during the whole dream, I was fleeing this place I wanted to explore because I felt that the authorities would not let me tell the world about my finding. I crossed a ballroom from Renaissance and traveled outside a high velocity train through a modern city. It was all beautiful and great, but I did it all in a rush, thinking I had to flee, not realizing that I was dreaming, not understanding my true context, and unable to truly appreciate each part. Obviously, these were good dreams for me, just like someone who is super focused on painting a painting may become disconnected with his context in the world. But something I find amazing with dreams, is being fully aware while I should be asleep, when I should not be able to be fully aware and experiencing such intense experiences. And that's why I want to include this "memory" portion to them.

I know I'm rambling about something I have never experienced, but, hey, I'm working on changing that.

EDIT: and to add to what Sivason is saying about memory not having to be accurate, I obviously have to trust that to be true until I can experience it myself. I feel that as long as you recognize your memories are flawed, it is all good. Truly though, I realize that a person cannot become aware of everything that is in a single moment, any truth and mindfulness we can acquire in waking or sleeping state is priceless. But they cannot possibly be perfect and permanent so the rest is also valuable.