Extreme Dream Recall/Gaining Lucidity

[Ira-Wolf]

To be honest, I don't think I've ever been lucid enough, or stayed lucid long enough to do anything with my dreams... One thing I have been able to do though is recall most of my dreams with intense clarity. Touch, feel, smell, and imagery all stay around even hours after waking up. Even my emotions during the dreams feel shockingly real when I recall them weeks later. (A blessing and a curse; it's no fun remembering how horrified you were when you realized that the world had been ravaged and the humans left had been left to scavenge and loot... Think of the Tank Girl movie, but less humor and fun... However, the first time I flew… that was bliss!) I had an 'epic dream' about four or five months ago. I define 'epic dreams' as almost novel-length dreams, you know, where you feel like you've lived a lifetime... The dream was long, depressing and 'end-of-the-world' scary. (I've been having dreams about the world ending a lot this year...) So, I've been having these dreams, and, sometimes, I do become lucid, I realize that it is a dream, but I feel stuck and unable to take over... It's like I'm in my body moving, feeling, interacting but watching it all happen at the same time... Like there’s a script written into my mind that I must follow… Does anyone have any advice for breaking me out of the funk? I hate going through my dreams where it feels like a long, endless, semi-real movie. I've tried 'reality-check' stuff, but I'm never able to take my mind away from the dream... Heeeelp...

[Robot_Butler]

I want to know your secret for that great recall. No matter what I try, my dreams still slip away after a few minutes. I find it helps to set yourself a task to complete in a lucid dream. Then you can remember to do it like any of the other tasks you have to do. When you go over your list of things to do in your head, include it. "Buy milk next time I'm at the store, send my mother a thank you card, swim to a fantastic world under the sea, call that girl from the bar to apologize..." If I don't have a task, I just go with the flow of the dream, and soon lose my lucidity.

[seeker28]

Welcome to Dream Views! It is cool that you have such great recall. Do you use a dream journal (DJ) to help? I have also had the experience of being in a lucid dream and feeling bound to a "script." The subconscious mind can be really pushy about making sure you play out whatever scenario it has planned. I suspect this is because many dreams are the symbolic language our subconscious uses to communicate with our more logical, conscious selves. When I get stuck just "acting" out a dream I find I can usually break free and do my own thing if I: 1. Have a dream activity already planned out. I switch my focus to my plan. Once I've done this I find it much easier to ignore the dream "script." 2. If I take a moment to just stop. Stop focusing on the dream and focus instead on me. Ask myself what I want and what is stopping me from doing it. This helps me clear my head and break the hold the dream has on my actions. If I find I have returned to the dream "script" when I don't want to I repeat this. 3. If I REALLY can't seem to break out of the "script" I ask a dream character (DC, anyone you meet in a dream) what they want, what my subconscious wants. The answers range from idiotic nonsense to startling revelations about myself. This usually does the trick for me. I hope this helps. If you have any questions you can PM me.

[Ira-Wolf]

To be honest, I just kind of remember them... No real trick to it. (It probably has something to do with my artistic incline... I remember visuals and stuff very well) The only thing that really helps when I cannot recall a dream is emotional cues. Often, I'll find myself remembering half a dream, then, a week or so later I'll feel an emotion that matches a part of the dream I had not remembered. It's like a key to a locked door, and the rest of the dream comes to me. *shrug* I wish I could be more helpful. Thanks for the tip... I'll write myself up a list for the month and see if I don't have some success! Thanks!