I don't dream, normally...

Hello Everyone, I'm new hear and I'm really interested to know what is wrong with my head. I spoke to my sister about this and she says she is nothing like this. I don't seem to dream like everyone else. People have the ability to recall their dreams and act of their own accord. For me, I rarely have dreams. Maybe once or twice a month and when I do they're clouded and I can never remember everything. I also never have control. I cannot think, I cannot choose. It is almost like a first-person movie. I wonder if this is extremely abnormal and if anyone knows anything I can do about it.

Hey! Welcome to DV! :D


Actually that is completely normal.

Most of us have to put work in to achieve lucid dreams. It is rare to find a natural lucid dreamer. Natural lucid dreamers often assume that their way is the norm, but no...
In case you don't know, a lucid dream is a dream in which you KNOW it is a dream. That makes it a conscious dream. Which gives you the opportunity to control it.
In non-lucid dreams (the most common type of dream), your conscious mind is asleep, so your subconscious takes full control.

There are two methods to enter a lucid dream.
1) DILD (Dream Initiated Lucid Dream) - Realizing it is a dream, whilst in a dream.
2) WILD (Wake Initiated Lucid Dream) - Falling asleep and remaining conscious right into a dream
There are other techniques, but all techniques fall under the category of either DILD or WILD (or a hybrid of both).




And poor dream recall is also very common. Many of us have to put work in to build recall.

How to build recall? When you wake up, don't move, just lie there and think about what you just dreamed.
When we wake up, it is too easy to just get up and pay no attention to dream stuff, and you just completely forget you even had a dream. But if you catch yourself while you are still half-asleep, you have the opportunity to just keep calm and try to remember. Flashes of memories will start coming back, so just lay there and allow the memories to come back.

THEN when you feel you've remembered all you can remember, get up and WRITE IT DOWN. This is known as Dream Journaling. Here on DreamViews, you have your own Dream Journal section (check the navigation bar at the top of the website). But you can do it with pen and paper if you want, or even a Word document, or whatever.

The more you do these things, the more you are telling your subconscious that "dreams are important". What do we remember most? Things we consider important.

Hello!
Yeah so everything my dude slash said is exactly right. You are just like almost everyone else. There are some people that do seem to have a natural ability to be able to remember and control their dreams. That being said, those people while they are not uncommon, are fairly rare in my personal experience.
The most important thing for you to do is to start a dream journal as mentioned by mr slash. It can seem a little daunting/overbearing for some (myself included), but I promise you, eventually your brain just starts to kick in and you remember your dreams every night. Even if all you can remember is a particular color, or strong emotion, write it down. Try to make a habit of it every day. Its best to do it right after waking, but if you have to, do it later in the day when you have a few minutes. I found that when I had little to no time to write, I would just write a sentence or two to explain the main plot and try and rehearse it in my head as I went about my day so I could finish it later.
Hope that helps a little bit. Welcome and don't hesitate to ask any questions!