Progress
Yesterday I started doing reality checks, but I haven't worked out a set schedule or instance when I will do them. I just did a reality check whenever I remembered. I did about a dozen reality checks. I purchased a dream journal. This is the right time of year to buy notebooks, I got a small spiral bound notebook for a whooping $0.19!
My super fancy dream journal
When I went to sleep last night I repeated to myself "I remember my dreams when I wake up." I found my thoughts wandering away and I had to bring myself back to the mantra several times. When I woke up I could remember two fragments of dreams. When I started to write down the details in my dream journal more started to come back, and then I remembered another dream! Or it was part of the same dream but it had changed so much it seems like a different dream. Either way I'm happy with my three dream fragments because when I woke up yesterday I couldn't remember any dreams.
| Date | Dreams Remembered | Lucid Dreams |
|---|---|---|
| 7/26 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/27 | 3 fragments | 0 |
How To Remember Dreams
Like I mentioned yesterday, remembering yours dreams is the first step to lucid dreaming. It helps you become familiar with how your dreams look and the structure they typically take. By writing them down and reflecting on them you will be able to recognize when you are dreaming better.
To set yourself up for success recalling your dreams you need to ensure you get plenty of sleep. Dreams occur at the tail end of sleep and get longer in the early morning hours. After about eight hours of sleep dreams can get up to an hour long. Work on getting to bed earlier. Whatever you were going to do while staying up late will not be nearly as fun as what you could be doing in your dreams. :)
It is useful when starting out to record every little fragment you can remember. When you get better at dream recall you can skip the fragments and record just the full dreams. Writing down the fragments can bring back more then you thought you remembered.
If you awaken at 4 AM, recalling a dream, you don't have to write out every detail, but you should write out an outline. Note key points and dialogues. In the morning you can fill in all the details. Note dream signs. Dream signs are anything that could signal to you that what you are experiencing is a dream. For example in one of the fragments that I remember from last night my credit card that I had just used to pay for some food somehow morphed into my phone and it wouldn't stop vibrating.
When you awaken you should lie still for a moment. Ask yourself what you had just been dreaming. Pay attention to any clues at what the dream was and try to reconstruct it. Do not move to write it down immediately but play it out in your head first. If you can recall one fragment delve into it. Try to remember what happened before that and rebuild the dream backwards.
It helps to read your dream journal before going to sleep, to remind yourself of your intention to remember your dreams. Eventually you will get to the point where you can recall around four dreams a night. When you reach that level you won't want to write them all down, just the interesting ones.