by Unknown
Remembering your dreams is the starting place for learning to have lucid dreams. If you don't recall your dreams, even if you do have a lucid dream, you won't remember it! And, in order to be able to recognize your dreams as dreams while they are happening, you have to be familiar with the way your own dreams work. Before it will be worth your time to work on lucid dream induction methods, you should be able to recall at least one dream every night. Getting plenty of sleep is the first step to good dream recall. If you are rested it will be easier to focus on your goal of recalling dreams, and you won't mind so much taking the time during the night to record your dreams. Another benefit of getting plenty of sleep is that dream periods get longer and closer together as the night proceeds. The first dream of the night is the shortest, perhaps 10 minutes in length, while after 8 hours of sleep, dream periods can be 45 minutes to an hour long. We all dream every night, about one dream period every 90 minutes. People who say they never dream simply never remember their dreams. 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.
It can be useful while you are developing your dream recall to keep a complete dream journal. Keep the journal handy by your bed and record every dream you remember, no matter how fragmentary. Start by writing down all your dreams, not just the complete, coherent, or interesting ones--even if all you remember is a face or a room, write it down.
When you awaken in the night and recall what you were dreaming, record the dream right away. If you don't, in the morning you may find you remember nothing about the dream, and you will certainly have forgotten many interesting details. We seem to have built-in dream erasers in our minds, which make dream experiences more difficult to recall than waking ones. So, whenever you remember a dream, write it down. If you don't feel like writing out a long dream story at 3 AM, note down key points of the plot. Also write down the precise content of any dialogue from the dream, because words will almost inevitably be forgotten in a very short time.
Possibly, all you will need to do to increase your dream recall is to remind yourself as you are falling asleep that you wish to awaken fully from your dreams and remember them. This works in a similar manner to remembering to awaken at a certain time in the morning. Additionally, it may help to tell yourself you will have interesting, meaningful dreams. A major cause of dream forgetting is interference from other thoughts competing for your attention. Therefore, let your first thought upon awakening be, "What was I just dreaming?" Before attempting to write down the dream, go over the dream in your mind, re-telling the dream story to yourself. DO NOT MOVE from the position in which you awaken, and do not think of the day's concerns. Cling to any clues of what you might have been experiencing moods, feelings, fragments of Images, and try to rebuild a story from them. When you recall a scene, try to recall what happened before that, and before that, reliving the dream in reverse. If after a few minutes, all you remember is a mood, describe it in a journal. If you can recall nothing, 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?" Even if you can't recall 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.
If you find that you sleep too deeply to awaken from your dreams, try setting an alarm clock to wake you at a time when you are likely to be dreaming. Since our REM periods occur at approximately 90 minute intervals, good times will be multiples of 90 minutes after you go to sleep. Aim for the later REM periods by setting the alarm to go off at 4.5, 6, or 7.5 hours after you go to sleep. Once again, when you wake up, don't move and think first of what you were just dreaming before writing.
To remind yourself of your intentions and get yourself into the spirit of your dreams, read through your dream journal at bedtime. Learning to remember your dreams may seem difficult at first, but if you persist, you will almost certainly succeed--and may find yourself remembering four or more dreams per night. Of course, once you reach this level, you probably won't want to write them all down--just the significant or compelling ones. And, the more familiar you become with the style of your own dreams, the easier it will be to remember you are dreaming while you are dreaming--and explore the world of your dreams while still on the scene.
by Unknown
In order to begin recalling your dreams accurately, you must go to sleep with the right outlook on dreaming. If you place too much importance in the physical activities of life and view the mindscape as inferior or a trivial part of your life, you are keeping yourself from remembering your dreams. You must consider the activity of dreaming to be a valuable occurrence and you must truly desire to recall and understand your dreams.
Dreams reveal answers to questions we have buried deep in our minds, they uncover parts of our consciousness, mind, and spirit that we never knew existed. They reveal things about ourselves that we never examined or even knew existed! Like anything else new and unusual, the personal revelations dreams often bring can be difficult for us to accept. It is for this reason some of us subconsciously choose to not only forget our dreams but erase them from memory. You must be willing and in anticipation of the truths dreams will show you.
Before you take off for dream land, sit down and think up a question to ask yourself- a questions whose answer will be given to you through your dream. Consider it and ponder it for awhile... then write it down! You can even use an audio recorder to take down the dream, as long as you have it "saved". Place it by your bedside and when you awake, record the reply your dream has given you! Often this will be in the form of symbols instead of a straight verbal answer. When you awake from the dream, record what you already know. You can save the uncoding for when you get up in the morning if you need to sleep more, or for later when you are more clearheaded.
Your physical health, environment, and other factors will affect what you
dream. Experiment with the basic variables of your physical sleeping space. Try
sleeping in a different room, outside in a tent, even just in a different
position on your bed. See how it affects your dreams, they might just be more
memorable!
Drugs and excessive amounts of food can often distract your mind when you sleep
and keep the focus on your physical self. Often these variables can have adverse
affects on your dreams, so avoid anything that will alter you negatively before
you sleep. If it bothers you when you are awake, it will bother you in your
dreams, too!
The amount of time you sleep also decides what you will recall upon awakening. Try sleeping about 4 or 5 hours, and then awake and record your dream, and sleep for another hour or two. This can be difficult when you first begin it but once you adapt you will find that you dream recall turns out much more vividly!
It is important that when you awaken from a dream, you make the transition as gentle and smooth as possible. If you are used to an alarm shocking you into awareness, try awakening to your internal alarm clock some morning. As you awake, it is imperative that you not move from the position you awoke in! Lie still and breath deeply, calmly, as you call back your dream. And whatever you remember should be recorded in a dream journal of some sort. Keep in mind that dreams love attention... the more of it they get, the more vivid and fulfilling they will be. As you slowly recall bits of dreams you will see that day by day your dream recollection expands and improves
January - To dream of this month, signifies financial gains, a mystery will be solved and beware of a false friend nearby.
February - Usually associated with health problems and many worries. There is hope for beneficial events to come.
March - To dream of the month of March portends disappointing returns in business and enemies could cause damages.
April - It signifies that much pleasure and profit are in the horizon, but if the weather is miserable, it is a sign of distress.
May - To dream of this month denotes prosperous times and pleasure for the young. Do not be discourage.
June - Will have good earnings but must rely on own good judgment. Avoid rivals.
July - To dream of July, foretells unusual gains in all undertakings. Use caution in your affairs.
August - Overall a positive month . All will go well in life, will take a long trip, and will receive unexpected good news.
September - To dream of September means good luck, changes for the better and desires and hopes will be accomplished.
October - To see yourself in October means you are enjoying the fruits of hard work and will make lasting friendships.
November - To dream of November ,augers a time of happiness and success in all affairs.
December - It is a month that foretells accumulation of wealth, but loss of friendship. Will be very fortunate in love affairs.