Thread: Shadowy dreams?!

First off, welcome to DV, Pal54 We're glad that you joined us and I hope that you enjoy your time here as well as learn to enjoy your own dreams even more!

Well, this is my opinion, but it seems more like you're unable to recall bits and pieces of your dreams, but you know that "someone" was there. I usually have lots of people in my dreams, and while I know that I talk with them and/or they talk to me, I very rarely remember what was said or who it was. Do you recall the voices that were used? Were they deep or high-pitched? Rough or smooth? Emotional or flat?

Most people over time gradually lose their recall ability unless they work at it. For some people, once they decide to start remembering their dreams, their recall skyrockets while others have to work harder for longer to achieve such results. Everyone's different. I'd say from experience that it's highly likely that once you start working more towards recalling your dreams (including writing them down every night), you'll begin to notice more details and find it easier to recall certain things.

I've found that different people tend to focus on different things when remembering dreams. I tend to focus on emotions and my changes from place to place and what I'm doing. I rarely remember color, specific people (unless they're familiar, such as family), or speech, but others recall those easily. If you want, try focusing on the characters in your dream. During the day make an effort to remind yourself that you want to know more about the people in your dreams (or something like that) and remind yourself before bed. Again, it may take a little while, but you should get it in time. I go through times where I have boring, unremarkable dreams where it's difficult to recall what happened, but then I have other times where my dreams become vivid and interesting. I'm sure you will, too.

Let us know if there's any way we can help you here at DV. Feel free to search around and see what kind of information's been posted. If you haven't already, I'd take a look at the Tutorials which give an overview of common techniques (DILD, MILD, WILD, etc.) as well as other helpful information. If there's something you're having trouble finding, feel free to post a question or get a hold of one of us Dream Guides (the guys and gals with the green names) and we'll do our best to point you in the right direction.

Sweet lucid dreams, Pal!
-Amé

Sounds to me like it's just your memory, not your dreams. If you keep practicing recalling your dreams, they should become more and more vivid. It's a mental skill like algebra and takes practice.