dream recall VS waking memory

WARNING: Rambling post :P

I'm kinda working on my dream recall these days.
One of my biggest problems is the motivation to wake up enough to write the dream down, rather than just falling back into slumber.

the idea of working backwards through the dream works kinda well for me. also usually later in the day, another dream from the night just pops up in my head and I'm usually to busy to write it down or take notes, so I soon forget it again.

anyway the point of this topic, just some food for thought.
I just find it interesting about practicing lucid dreaming is that its entirely psychological. I guess its completely intangible.

Sometimes I feel frustrated that the memories of my dreams can sometimes be so vague and unclear. Then again so can my waking memories. I don't know if I'm different from other people, but I'm pretty sure my memory is not so good. One of my friends even says I have "a goldfish memory".

So what is life but a series of memories up to the present point in time?
Can memories ever be trusted?
If I have bad waking memory, will my dream recall be bad?
So interesting, as dreams are meant to be when waking memories are converted into long term memories. (or something like that. need to do more research)

Anyway, you just gotta love that movie "Memento"! gives a lot to think about.
. . . sometimes I wish my major was psychology. haha.

sorry for kinda rambling, but would love to discuss this stuff. *^^*

Hi,
I think people go on about dream recall for many reasons but the reasons I'll give you aren't the obvious ones.

No 1. if you are remembering more dreams then this is a sign that the right psychological and physiological conditions are being met when you go to sleep such that you can remember your dreams. I know this sounds like an obvious circular statement BUT most people think they have to remember their dreams, write them down etc etc but are not sure why
If your sleep physiology isn't right you aren't going to remember anything because you're just going to forget it. eating 12 slices of Pizza before bed time, staying up till 2am, drinking 2 bottle of Jack Daniels etc etc you get my point
The other part of remembering is that a lot of it is psychological. What does that mean ?
Well, being anxious, worried, depressed, unhappy, etc then forget dream recall.

No 2. The other part to remember concerns dream consciousness and the way it operates. When you are dreaming you are within an environment that to all intents and purposes is the same as the waking environment. The only problem is that you have no presence in it. You can't reflect on your experiences because dream physiology is such that memories do not last long enough to be reflected upon, hence you don't wake up in your dream environment every night.
Without reflective consciousness there is no presence, no lucidity, no lucid dream.
BUT
You wake up in the morning and you examine your memory and you might say "hey !! I had a weird dream last night !" but only because when you check your memory there are experiences and memories in it, they are YOUR memories. It's almost as if a zombie, which was you, did all those things in your memory.
That's the problem with dreaming, the lights are on, but no one, i.e. YOU, is home.
The memories are just that, post event memories ... the after taste of something that happened.

It's the same as when you drive somewhere and you're chatting to your mate .. you're definitely driving, can remember driving but if your friend was to ask you, what was the journey like and did you remember all the buildings we passed, you'd be hard pressed to say anything other than .. I was driving and we arrived and I talked to my friend about stuff.

Now this is not about paying attention, because, paying attention requires a level of presence that you don't have in dreams. So when people tell you, a good way to become lucid in dreams is to pay attention to your hands, they are talking about a state that doesn't even arise first so that you can even remember to pay attention to your hands.
Now, when you have lucidity, you can actually reflect on the experience as it happens and then remember to pay attention.
For 99% of us, this reflective awareness never occurs during dream states.
But for some it does all the time and they are the ones that can easily Lucid dream.

Anything that helps memory is a good thing. You don't have to beat yourself up.
The problem with dream memories is that there are millions of them.
To remember all that stuff is too much
BUT
A good way to have a memory in a dream is to have the SAME MEMORY over and over again.
again and again and again. Drill it in ... over and over
So, pick a good memory you had (while awake) and run that over in your mind again and again (I can't stress enough how much you have to do this)

Then on the verge of sleep go over it again and again till you drop off.
Now this can't be any old BS kind of memory ... I once went to the mall and saw someone with a hat
It has to be a BIG ASS memory that is vivid in your mind. If it has emotion all the better !!

Try that.
Take your time thinking about that memory
make it a NICE memory
let me know what happens

and you thought your post was a ramble !