Thread: Memory: the Forgotten Fundamental

Originally Posted by Travis E.

I think I'm learning something new today. But I reread this thread a few times and am still not 100% sure I'm clear on what is said, so just to be sure: In a LD, if I remember to try to remember, say, where my sleeping body is, I still get the benefit, even if I don't actually manage to recall for sure where it is, or I come to the wrong conclusion/have a false memory?

But if doing this reengages the link to my memory, shouldn't I be able to recall this (in the cases where I don't)? Or is this “link” you speak of not the same thing as actually being able to flawlessly recall things, consciously, from WL during the dream?

I will take a stab at simplifying this concept, although I may not say it exactly like Sageous would:


If you become lucid, in that you know it is a dream, there is still a large portion of your mind that feels you are actually experiencing this stuff.

In truth, this is 100% a virtual reality. Failing to honestly grasp the fact that it is 100% illusion seriously limits your control and ability to think rationally.

A method of making yourself truly grasp that nothing about the dream comes from any source other than your own mind, is to grasp the reality that you are in fact sleeping.

Simply saying "this is a dream" is not really enough. The act of remembering details about real life, such as the day or that you are asleep on the couch, removes most all belief that any part of this is real.

To do something as advanced as remembering the location of your body, you will need to scan your waking memory.

This act stimulates your rational mind, and enhances the ability to fully realize you are in a virtual reality, and therefore subject to no laws of physics.



That is how I would summarize it. Sageous may have a point or two to add, but that is the general method.






--------

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

Just a thought, but has anyone ever tried to meditate in a LD?

Sure, you can meditate if that is what you want to do. It is a very good way to pass the time in states like delta. I would hold off on it unless the dream is very stable, as you could drift into non-lucidity.




---------

Originally Posted by Verre

A while ago I was trying some memory experiments along these lines. I had a hypothesis that it might be easier to remember past dreams while dreaming, but to my surprise that didn't work well at all. Memories of waking life were more reliable, but sometimes amusingly out-of-date like Sivason described earlier. I also noticed a remarkable degree of reluctance on the part of my dreaming mind to perform this task, like it didn't want to have to remember.

However, the real stumbling block came whenever I tried to think about my sleeping body... and woke up. This happens every time. The minute I let my thoughts stray to the fact that my physical body is actually lying in bed, the dream dissolves and there I am lying in bed, even if I had no desire or intention to wake up. At this point when I'm dreaming I'm careful not to think about my sleeping body, because I've never found a way to do it without ending the dream.

Any suggestions?

1) I have often had memories of other dreams only while in a lucid dream. I do not know why, but it is something I have noticed.

2) Try not to feel where your body is, it is possible, but risky. Instead keep it an intellectual scanning thing. It will work well enough to just ask if you are sleeping in your normal place (bed) or are you sleeping on your desk at school.