No dream recall/New here

**gtmj115** · 02-12-2012 09:17 PM

Hi, I am new to DV as well as LD'ing in general. In a week I have read martin van de keere's "Lucid Dreaming Manual" and spent hours on here reading about how to increase dream recall. I am looking for someone who, like me, started with almost no recall (maybe one short dream a month, if lucky)and has built up to at least one a night to share techniques. Thanks for all the help i have already gotten! Looking forward to sharing my experiences once i have them!

**ryman** · 02-12-2012 09:34 PM

Hi, Just like you, I had a tough time remembering dreams for a while. The best thing to do to increase your dream recall is to #1 keep a dream journal. That is probably one of the most important steps to improving dream recall. I know, your thinking well what do i write in my dream journal if i remember no dreams. Well the best thing to do is when you wake up, do not move nor think about what your going to do throughout the day. Solely think this "what did i dream about last night?" Try to think of what you did last in the dream before waking and go backwards from there like retracing your steps through what you did in the dream. After a little while of hard thinking you may start to remember bits and pieces of a dream. After that try rolling over and try to remember your dreams in a different position because you are most likely to remember dreams laying in the same position you had the dream. Once you have remembered all you can about your dream, write down every detail that you remembered into your dream journal. It may seem difficult at first but after a while your dream recall will begin to improve.
good luck Hope it helps

**gtmj115** · 02-12-2012 09:46 PM

Thanks! I had already started my dream journal, I have actually recalled one dream this week which might be a good sign, I read about laying still and trying to recall but this got screwed up when i realized i have to get up immediately so my new puppy wont pee on my floor.

I read about keeping a waking life journal as well as the DJ and I am going to start this technique tonight.

**ryman** · 02-12-2012 09:54 PM

No problem. That is good, and maybe if you have any free time and are willing to do so, set an alarm for 4-6 hours after falling asleep. The reason for this is dreams are more likely to happen during the REM sleep period which usually occurs a few hours after falling asleep. Doing this wakes you right out of REM sleep and directly from a dream so that there is no regular sleep time in between. Therefore making it much easier to recall a dream. That is also right out of the WBTB(wake back to bed method) which is used to help induce lucid dreams. If you want to know more about the WBTB method let me know. I also have read about the waking life journal as well, I have not tried it but for some people it is effective and reminds them to write in their dream journal as well. Best of luck to you, if you have any other questions feel free to ask.