Thread: Memory: the Forgotten Fundamental

Originally Posted by ThreeCat

Wanted to share this, as it seemed silly when I woke up:

I realize I am dreaming. I'm at my mother's house. I exit and stand outside on the lawn. It is dark, and I can barely see. I decide that right now would be a great time to fly. I give it a few tries, hurling my body into the air. I remember the conversation on DV, and (incorrectly, I might add) and try to recall a real-life memory. A false memory arises: this morning I woke up and went to school. I am in the sixth grade.

I examine the memory. Yes, that definitely happened, I reason. I try again to fly. Still can't I did however bring the moon down to the ground, and we played a game together. Not sure how to elaborate on that one.

Not so silly, I think, because it represents what happens when you try to call up an episodic memory, rather than simply remembering something that is not really a memory (i.e., your sleeping body). When asked for either a specific memory or just any memory at all, your dreaming mind will be quite willing to offer one up, false or not, without your ever gaining access to memory itself.

Accessing memory when lucid is really about actively reminding yourself that there is indeed a waking world outside of this dream world, and doing so successfully gives you a foothold into your memory because you remembered reality, and not a specific stored memory. For instance:

Originally Posted by FryingMan

p.s. I almost forgot (haha) to mention: success! I had what was to start with probably a hazy/fuzzy/vague lucid waking moment, barely more than HI, that I was able to salvage into a full blown lucid dream with great visuals, pulling myself away from the flow to take a moment to recognize that my body was asleep in bed, and that this entire experience was a fantasy! In contrast to the other recent reports, this did not end the dream, if anything it strengthened it, because I realized I had the ability to control/change the experience, and so for the first time in a dream commanded the dream to get "brighter," "brighter," and upon each statement of the word it was like the lights got turned up a bit more until I had full, clear visuals. Lasted about a minute, it was fun, it included a tightly-packed conga dance line of about 20 identical little girls in identical red dresses snaking their way through the room.

Simply having this active goal, the strong intent to connect with waking memory, is already a bonus to lucidity, actually completing the full realization of it lead to a indisputably superior experience. So, I'm sold!

Nice work, FryingMan, though I'm not at all surprised. Thanks for sharing this excellent example of what I'm feebly attempting to describe on this thread!