DREAM DICTIONARY

Getting To Know Your Dream - Lucid Dreaming

How To Recall Your Dreams
It has been said that "everything is dependent upon remembering." and this is certainly true of lucid dreaming. Learning to remember your dreams is necessary if you want to learn how to dream lucidly. Until you have excellent dream recall, you won't stand much chance of having many lucid dreams. There are two reasons for this. First, without recall, even if you do have a lucid dream, you won't remember it. Indeed, we all probably have lost numerous lucid dreams among the many thousands of dreams we have forgotten in the normal course of our lives.

Second, good dream recall is crucial because to become lucid you have to recognize that your dream is a dream, while it is happening. Since they are your dreams that you are trying to recognize, you have to become familiar with what they are like. You know what a dream is, in general terms. But dream stories are not always easy to distinguish from accounts of events that actually happened. Dreams in general seem like life, with certain notable expectations. These exceptions  are violations of your expectations about the behavior of the world.

So, you need to get to know what your dreams are like, and in particular, what is dreamlike about them. You can accomplish this by collecting your dreams and analyzing them for dreamlike elements. Before it will be worth your time top work on lucid dream induction methods, you should be able to recall at least one dream every every night. The following suggestions will help you attain this goal.The first step to good dream recall is getting plenty of sleep.

If you are rested, you will find it easier to focus on your goal of recalling dreams, and you won't mind taking the time during the night to record them. Another reason to sleep longer is that dream periods get longer and closer together as the night proceeds. The first dream of the night is the shortest, perhaps only ten minutes in length, while after eight hours of sleep, dream periods can be forty-five minutes to an hour long.

You may have more than one dream during a REM (dream) period, separated by short arousals that are most often forgotten. It is generally accepted among sleep researchers that dreams are not recalled unless the sleeper awakens directly from the dream, rather than after going on to other stages of sleep. 

If you find that you sleep too deeply to awaken from your dreams, try setting an alarm clock to awaken you at a time when you are likely to be dreaming. Since REM periods occur at approximately ninety-minute intervals, good times will be multiples of ninety minutes from your bedtime. Aim for the late REM periods by setting the alarm to go off at four and a half, six, or seven and a half hours after you go to sleep. Another important prerequisite to recalling dreams is motivation. For many people it is enough to intend to remember their dreams and remind themselves of this intention just before bed. Additionally, it may help to tell yourself you will have interesting, meaningful dreams.

Keep a dream journal by your bed and recording your dreams as soon as you awaken will help strengthen your resolve. As you record more dreams, you will remember more. Suggestions for keeping a dream journal are given below.
You should get into the habit of asking yourself this question the moment you awaken: " What was I dreaming?" Do this or you'll forget some or all of your dream, due to interference from other thoughts. Don't move from the position in which you awaken, as any body movement may make your dream harder to remember. Also, don't think of the day's concerns, because this too can erase your dream recall.

If you remember nothing, keep trying for several minutes, without moving or thinking of anything else. Usually, pieces and fragments of the dream will come to you. If you still can't remember  any dream, you should ask yourself: :"What was I just thinking?" and "How was I just feeling?" Examining your thoughts and feelings often can provide the necessary clues to allow you to retrieve the entire dream.Cling to any clues of what you might have been experiencing, and try to rebuild a story from them. When you recall a scene, ask yourself what happened before that, and before that, reliving the dream in reverse. It doesn't take long to build enough skill at this to trigger a detailed replay of an entire dream simply by focusing your attention on a fragment of memory.

If you can't recall anything, try imagining a dream you might have had-note your present feelings, list your current concerns to yourself, and ask yourself, "Did I dream about that?" If after a few minutes all you remember is a mood, describe it in your journal. Even if you don't remember anything in bed, events or scenes of the day may remind you of something you dreamed the night before. Be ready to notice this when it happens, and record whatever you remember.
In developing dream recall, as with any other skill, progress is sometimes slow.

Don't be discouraged if you don't succeed at first. Virtually everyone improves through practice. As soon as you recall your dreams at least once per night, you're ready to try lucid dreaming. It probably won't take long to reach this stage of readiness. And a significant percentage of people who get this far will already be experiencing lucid dreams.

Reference: Exploring The World Of Lucid Dreaming: Stephen Laberge, Ph.D. & Howard Rheingold