question about dreams, want opinions and such

motstudios · Post by **motstudios** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 7:09 pm

something ive noticed, most people dont have lifelike dreams but ALL my dreams are as lifelike as well life. all my dreams are in full color, all my "senses" are working meaning i can see, hear, smell and fell everything that goes on in the dreams.

i have some weird dreams sometimes but also some "normal" dreams if u would call them that.

my question is, who all has realistic dreams, how often, and does anyone know any "tricks" or "tips" that could help me remember more of my dreams? i tend to remember all my dreams but then forget everything within the first fraction of a second waking up. all thats left is a vage feeling about the dream but never enough to put into words.

thanks.

PS: sorry for not being on more, ive been real busy and been having a rough time recently and still am.

Post by **Orion** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 8:43 pm

I know there is a few self-hypnosis/suggestion tricks, but someone else can probably explain that, lol.

A dream journal (paper or electronic) is pretty effective. Just write in it as soon as you wake up. It's effective since it gives you a copy of what you'll forget after a couple minutes.
Another trick is taking naps in the afternoon or such. Since they're not as long and you're not as exhausted, they tend to 'stick' a little longer.
Personally I use the nap/dream journal approaches. I can get a full ten minutes of memory if I can get into them and write in them. Now I only have a few blurry memory images and pages full of stuff that I examine =)

motstudios · Post by **motstudios** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 3:08 pm

lol, ive tried the dream journal thing, my prob is i forget all i dreamed about within the first fraction of a second of waking unless i wake up on my own.

Post by hedge* » Thu Apr 21, 2005 3:55 pm

Hi there
This might sound very simple but sometimes the answers to our questions are found in simplicity

Before going to sleep, spend a few minutes saying to yourself " I will remember my dreams when I wake " Repeat this over and over again for as long as you feel necessary.
Give it a try and let us know how you get on.
Also what Orion said about writing down your dreams as soon as you wake is a very good idea, you'd be surprised at the amount of information of our dreams is lost in the first few minutes of waking. Jot down your dream as soon as you wake, even before you get out of bed.

hedge

Post by **willow_witch** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 7:45 pm

i have the same thing, (not the realisting dreams) that if im woken up i cant memba my dreams, but if i wake up naturally i can. what i used to do awhile ago the kinda helped is instead of using sumthing that shocks you awake make it sumthing like classical music that will gently interupt your dream and while your still in the semi asleep state think of all your dream and when you do get up write it all down... another thing (that i used to do until it got so annoying coz i'd wake up at all different time) is before you go to sleep telll your self you wanna be woken up at watever time, and then your body is on alert so when your inner clock thinks it that time your wake up slowly... but if your inner clock is say A FEW HOURS off (eg i wanna wake up at 7 but instead wake up at 3 in the morning!!!) then the classical is the way to go.. hope ive help ya,
willow

motstudios · Post by **motstudios** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 10:45 pm

Before going to sleep, spend a few minutes saying to yourself " I will remember my dreams when I wake " Repeat this over and over again for as long as you feel necessary.

i do that almost everynight and it usually doesnt work, i still forget my dreams 99% of the time within the first fraction of a second.

i forgot to mention its almost like i have "two me's" inside me. the "other" me is also me but isnt me and is older and wiser but we not connected well and its like he steals my dreams. but this other me well its hard to explain.

Fri Apr 22, 2005 1:09 am

Cool experiences dude! I like the sound of this "other me" you speak of. Some dreams are worth remembering, some are better forgotten. Trust is your guides to keep the ones that are important in your consious memory. I think Orion and Hedge and Willowwitch are all correct and the recorder by the bed is a good idea; telling yourself to remember is also a good first step. I've done both of these techniques many times but witht he recorder I find that my voice is awful in the recording; The recounting of the dream always sounds like a nightmare because of my groggy voice. But, if you seek it, you will find it. Conscious direction of your energy toward dream re-call is already the first step. Just keep wanting it and experiment with ways to do it. You could, for example, try to sleep with a nice piece of Jade and add a clear quartz with it under your pillow sham. Both these stones together may improve dream re-call. Tell the jade to remember your dream when you see it in the morning and pull it out right away to see what it "says." There are also many books, even Scott Cunningham's "Dreaming the Divine" has great info on this subject. May all your dreams come true. . .

bsp

phoenixfiress · Post by **phoenixfiress** » Fri May 06, 2005 4:30 pm

I remember almost every dream I have, and they are, indeed quite realistic. Not in the typical sense of the word. They aren't often about things that would or could actually happen, but the sensations, the feelings, the sights, and the sounds, are all very vivid, and usually stick around after I awaken. One possibility for your dreams being so vivid could be that you're having them during a state other than REM. This is often what happens when a person has night terrors. The dream comes on the person suddenly. Their brainwaves start spiking in response to a dream even though they aren't technically in REM yet. As a result the dream seems frighteningly real, and that is why a person with night terrors often awakens screaming. I've never experienced it myself, but I imagine it must be quite an ordeal. I have a theory dealing with vivid dreaming. Usually when you awaken and say to yourself "Wow, I just finished quite a dream," the truth is that you had the dream a couple of hours ago, and have just gone through a waning period of sleep which is forgotten upon awakening. However, I have had at least one experience in which I awakened by opening only one eye, and the dream continued behind the other until I opened it. Perhaps those who have vivid dreams are merely having them at a different time during their sleep cycle. I don't know much about the field and feel like something of a charlatan rattling on about it, but, hey, it's just an idea. Perhaps you're having trouble remembering your dreams for a similar reason. Like I said, I remember most of my dreams, but I've found that just remembering one brief image from a dream and holding onto that can help. Usually pieces of the dream will continue to pop up in my memory for the rest of the day until it all comes back in one big rush. The important thing is to hold on to that one image you can remember, or even just the feeling from the dream, if that's all you have. I know I've been somewhat longwinded, but hopefully I've said something of value that may help you even just a little. Best of luck.

-phoenixfiress