Dream Recall and LD

It seems that autosuggestion is a popular tool for improving dream recall. But it is hard for me to understand how to use it. It seems that you must repeat a phrase in your mind ("I will remember my dreams when I awake.") until you fall asleep. The first night I tried this I got three dreams. Then I got none for three days. To use autosuggestion, are you just supposed to keep on doing that for a week or so, and then you will start automatically recalling dreams better? Because it seems to me that you can't use any LD techniques when you are using autosuggestion.

On a separate note, I awoke this morning disappointed, as I remembered no dreams. Suddenly, I found myself thinking of my friend for some reason. As I concentrated on him, I suddenly remembered every detail of my dream last night. It was amazing. Is that supposed to happen?

On yet another separate note, I would like to ask what the best technique is for someone who :

1) Goes to sleep at 9-10 o'clock.
2) Cannot get up in the middle of the night unless all I have to do is just stay awake in bed for a while (with lights off.)
3) Must wake up at 7:15.
4) Is willing to practice for as long as it takes and is truly dedicated to Lucid Dreaming!

Thanks for reading this long post :)

Hey there....its great that you are 'willing to practice'!

i'll try to answer all I can.

1. Autosuggestion....well, I THINK for it to work...you need to be both, relaxed and focused. If you find your mind wandering alot....it probably wont work that night. But if you arent relaxed....it also may not work.

Although, I have no experience to base this on; I feel providing you are focused as above ^, then you should do it everynight or so. (BUT THIS IS JUST MY OWN GUESSWORK. Im experimenting with this atm).

2. Yes, its quite normal for you to remember dreams quite a while after you awake. This even happens with me for Lucid Dreams!

3. Best technique for you, IMO, involves these things.

1 - work on recall with your Dream journal.
2 - work on effective Reality Checking habits.
3. - try to use this when you can: http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...ead.php?t=6214
(its just a good autosuggestion tutorial)

use it for 'I will remember I am dreaming. I will check reality' or something.
A dream journal should take care of your recall

4 - and maybe check this too; if you are up for any challenge:
http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...ght=dream+yoga

Hope this helped...

Welcome to the forum!

Well it's best to use autosuggestion each night as it will improve your chance of remembering dreams. It appears that thinking of your friend was like a trigger to remembering your dream. Often little cues can help you remember. If you wake up in the middle of the night and are tired, sometimes it's best to just write keywords to help you remember in the morning when you write out your dream in the dream journal.

Ok onto the questions:

1) Well you could use autosuggestion to help you wake up in the middle of the night and remember your dreams then use a MILD.
2) If you want to get up in the night and stay awake even with the lights off, use a WBTB then MILD as I stated above. Just wake up and read a book or something with a torch.
3) Well if you wake up 5 hours after sleeping then attempt a technique, you will still have enough time to get to sleep ect and wake up for 7:15.
4) If you're dedicated then look at the Tutorials Section then try to mix and match techniques to find out what you're best with when you hve the time to do it.

Hope this helps!

I'm experimenting with FILD after a while of sleeping, but I find that it keeps me awake. After a while, I forget and then fall asleep. Any suggestions?