A perhaps uncommon problem I have.

Lately, my dream recall has been excellent. I'm remembering anywhere from 2 to 5 dreams a night now! So I decided to start trying techniques for LD induction. Well then I came to a realization of a strange problem I have. See I never am aware of dreams as they happen. Like obviously a LD is basically being aware that you are dreaming. But in a nonlucid dream, people are usually still aware, or still experiencing something they believe to be reality at the time.

But when I dream, I don't realize what happened until I wake up to write it in my journal. Like It's weird. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it. It's like i remember the whole dream as it happened, but I don't remember actually me being there. In first person. it's like I'm watching someone else do it. So if I'm stuck in that state, how can I have a lucid dream? I don't know how to explain it. I remember dreams with great amounts of detail, i just don't remember them happening in real-time. You know what I mean? Like I don't remember actually doing those things in the dream. It's hard to explain. does anyone else have/used to have a similar problem, or know how to deal with it? I'm sorry for my vagueness, it's very very very difficult to explain what I mean. Thanks for anyone who can help.

-rain

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Originally Posted by Rainman

Lately, my dream recall has been excellent. I'm remembering anywhere from 2 to 5 dreams a night now! So I decided to start trying techniques for LD induction. Well then I came to a realization of a strange problem I have. See I never am aware of dreams as they happen. Like obviously a LD is basically being aware that you are dreaming. But in a nonlucid dream, people are usually still aware, or still experiencing something they believe to be reality at the time.

But when I dream, I don't realize what happened until I wake up to write it in my journal. Like It's weird. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it. It's like i remember the whole dream as it happened, but I don't remember actually me being there. In first person. it's like I'm watching someone else do it. So if I'm stuck in that state, how can I have a lucid dream? I don't know how to explain it. I remember dreams with great amounts of detail, i just don't remember them happening in real-time. You know what I mean? Like I don't remember actually doing those things in the dream. It's hard to explain. does anyone else have/used to have a similar problem, or know how to deal with it? I'm sorry for my vagueness, it's very very very difficult to explain what I mean. Thanks for anyone who can help.

-rain

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Happens to everyone pretty much I imagine. You wake up with knowledge you were dreaming, but don't recall being there (but you know you were).

When I dream, I'm always in control. I rarely realise that I'm dreaming though.

We all dream in the same way, though some people percieve the experience differently. You can lucid-dream just aswell as anyone else, but if you start doubting yourself because of this, you will have a hard time.

Once you become lucid, you will come into control, and be in real-time, and the experience will feel like something you did, and not something you just saw.

:( thats the same problem I have. When I'm dreaming it's like I'm just watching a movie play out in front of me, and I don't realize it's actually happening until I wake up (if that makes sense).

I think you don't understand his problem exactly. It's different than the "observing the dream in third person" phenomena which is quite common.
For him, it is as if the memories of the dream were implanted in his brain. He remembers the dream, and can describe it, but he does not remember that he expeienced the dream.
Anyway I think that lucid dreaming techiniques can help you a great deal inpite of this.
If you have the memories, it means that you did experience them. You just don't remember experiencing them. There is a memory gap somewhere that lucid dreaming teqniques can help you breach.

For example: if you succeed in doing WILD, you awarness will remain unbroken and then I'm sure you will be able to remember the experience as something that you actualy experienced in the dream.

Thanks for everyone's replies, and dodobird, you got it! That's exactly the problem. I know I was in the dream, but I don't remember actually experiencing it, even though I know i did until AFTER i wake up! It's like ...hard to explain, but I think you understand what I meant.

So it's not so much that I doubt my ability to LD, it's more just a question of how can I get to the point of being conscious in a dream if I don't realize a dream ever happened until after it's over? But nonetheless I will continue practicing LD techniques if you all say it will help, and I believe it will. It's just a very strange thing for me, because I can remember my dreams in great detail and clarity. It's just very rarely that I feel like it's in real-time, per se. The dreams that are in real-time even if we are not lucid I think would be a lot easier to become lucid in.

The reason i haven't been able to become lucid is because I rely on dreamsigns and RC triggers, but those don't have the opportunity to make sense to me, because I don't realize that anything is happening in real time. It all like comes to me just before I wake up or something.

Dodobird i'll try doing WILDs (but I usually fall asleep before i'm actually in them) and I'll keep up the techniques on here and in Laberge's book. Does anyone else have any suggestions on how I can get past this inconvenience?

Good luck with it :)