Greetings! New forum member looking for some advice...

[The Blue Meanie]

Hey there everybody... I'm basically new to Dream Recall and LD, so I thought I'd introduce myself and ask for a bit of advice. So, first post, here goes: I'm 20, and don't dream. (Or at least, I don't remember my dreams...) I've only ever been able to remember a dream very rarely ever since I was about 14, like about once a year. I THINK this is because I'm a very deep sleeper... Lately (as in, over the past year), the fact that I can't remember my dreams has been really getting to me. So, early last year, I tried some basic dream recall techniques (waking up self with an alarm, etc) that I got from the net, and these seemed to help somewhat. Then I lapsed, but I'd really like to try again. Although lucid dreaming is my eventual goal, first I'd really like to be able to reliably and vividly recall my dreams.... Part of the reason for this is that recently I've taken up writing short-stories in my spare time, and one dream I had (a remembered dream being a VERY rare occurence for me) a couple of months ago gave me some massive inspiration for a short story I'm writing at the moment. And so, I think being able to reliably recall my dreams would allow me to draw some creative inspiration from them. From there, I hope maybe I can also tech myself (or be naturally able to) have lucid dreams. I may even be a natural lucid dreamer, but I just don't know, because lucid or not, I just can't usually remember my dreams. Now, I've done a fair bit of background reading (mostly from the net) about dream recall and lucid dreaming. At the moment, what I'm doing, is going to bed and setting my alarm to go off at around about 4.5 hours after I go to sleep, and waking up, lying still for a moment to gather my memories from the dream, and then writing it all down in my handy-dandy notebook... So.... yeah, that's me, and that's where I'm at right now, and I'd really appreciate any advice anyone could give me, most importantly on improving my dream recall and "vividness", and then maybe later, on inducing lucid dreams. Thanks in advance!

[Shea]

I'm new too. Sorry about you not being able to remember your dreams. I pretty much remember them naturally, like the two I had last night....XD I hope you get better at it.

[odds]

The dream journal is definitely a good idea. I'm fairly new, as well, but as soon as I started using the dream journal, my recall has shot through the roof. Hell, I'm recalling AT LEAST two vivid, non-lucid dreams every single night. Here's a suggestion, though: Try just falling asleep without the alarm clock for one night, and instead of relying on your alarm to wake you, just stay motivated while you drift into sleep. Keep telling yourself, "I will awake after every dream I have, and I will record it." You should naturally awake after every sleep cycle. Good luck, Matt

[Amethyst Star]

Hey there, Blue. Actually, if you stick to the plan you just outlined, that should do the trick, as long as you practice recalling your dreams on a regular basis. If 4.5 hours isn't working, try playing around with the times. Everyone's sleep cycles are different, so just see what works for you. If you have any other questions, though, just let us know. Welcome to DV! -Amé

[The Blue Meanie]

Originally posted by Amethyst Star Hey there, Blue. *Actually, if you stick to the plan you just outlined, that should do the trick, as long as you practice recalling your dreams on a regular basis. *If 4.5 hours isn't working, try playing around with the times. *Everyone's sleep cycles are different, so just see what works for you. If you have any other questions, though, just let us know. *Welcome to DV! -Amé Cool, thankies! I think I'll try five hours before my alarm goes. It usually takes me quite a while to get to sleep, and maybe I've been either under-compensating or over-compensating for that when setting my alarm... I'll try what you've suggested. Thanks!

[The Blue Meanie]

Originally posted by odds The dream journal is definitely a good idea. I'm fairly new, as well, but as soon as I started using the dream journal, my recall has shot through the roof. Hell, I'm recalling AT LEAST two vivid, non-lucid dreams every single night. Here's a suggestion, though: Try just falling asleep without the alarm clock for one night, and instead of relying on your alarm to wake you, just stay motivated while you drift into sleep. Keep telling yourself, "I will awake after every dream I have, and I will record it." You should naturally awake after every sleep cycle. * Good luck, Matt After I get a hang of the alarm clock method, I'll try to give this a go, but I'll set the alarm clock to wake me at a later REM stage, like 6 hours or something, as a "backup"... thanks!

[Tornado Joe]

Hey Blue, The alarm clock idea is ok, but don't forget that alarms also tend to startle some people and also require that you wake up enough to reach over and turn the damn thing off - this makes it a bit more difficult to go back and remember what was just happening in the dream. Not saying it's a bad technique, just something to keep in mind if you're still finding that part frustrating. I've stopped using an alarm clock about a year ago and I somehow manage to get up on time for work (well.... usually ). I'm convinced waking up naturally and slowly is the best method of restoring dream recall (and journaling them of course). Not to mention letting your body finish it's intended rest cycle without interuption. G'luck, mate!

[The Blue Meanie]

Originally posted by Tornado Joe Hey Blue, The alarm clock idea is ok, but don't forget that alarms also tend to startle some people and also require that you wake up enough to reach over and turn the damn thing off - this makes it a bit more difficult to go back and remember what was just happening in the dream. Not saying it's a bad technique, just something to keep in mind if you're still finding that part frustrating. I've stopped using an alarm clock about a year ago and I somehow manage to get up on time for work (well.... usually ). I'm convinced waking up naturally and slowly is the best method of restoring dream recall (and journaling them of course). Not to mention letting your body finish it's intended rest cycle without interuption. G'luck, mate! Thanks Tornado Joe. I tried this method, whichj I've heard about before, last night, and it worked! I also set the alarm, but for a slightly later time as a "backup". I woke up 15 minutes before alarm, scribbled down dream, reset alarm, and went back to bed. Except then I had a problem: I couldn't get back to sleep!!!! Agh! Oh well... at least I remembered the dream. Two of them, actually. You can read those, and what few other dreams I've remembered, in my dream journal... http://www.dreamviews.com/forum/viewtopic....p=271227#271227 But yeah, thanks Tornado Joe.[/url]

[Tornado Joe]

But yeah, thanks Tornado Joe[/b] ahhh... why is it that this line never gets old with me Way ta go, Blue. Don't stress the not getting back to sleep thing too much - you were likely very excited to finally succeed in the task. You might settle down after doing it for a while. Keep at it!