Monday 28 July 2008

Improving Dream Recall

One of the main issues that currently prevents me from having regular lucid dreams is my lack of dream recall. It's very rare that I manage to recall a dream. Failure to recall dreams means that I can't complete a dream journal and therefore can't identify dream signs and will be much less likely to carry an awareness in to my dreams.

Last week I tried a couple of techniques to improve my dream recall with very positive results.
1) Mnemonic Induction Of Lucid Dreams (MILD).
I have been aware of this technique for a long time and used it in a half hearted way. This technique is basically about conditioning your mind prior to falling to sleep. I wrote an article on the subject (click here to read it) which helped me focus on the topic, but the key to success is to believe in it and put importance in achieving results using it. The first night I tried it I woke after my first dream and recorded it and then woke later in the morning and recorded a second dream. That represents massive progress for me.

2) Drinking Water To Wake
I find that when I go to bed I fall to sleep before spending very long at all using the MILD technique. I introduced an additional method as a backup and again had great results. Just before going to bed I drank between half and three quarters of a pint of water. This results in waking during the night to go to the toilet and provides additional opportunities to recall dreams. The first time I tried it I dreamt that I was about to perform on stage in a band, but I needed to pee. As I walked to the toilet in my dream I woke up. This highlighted another potential benefit of this method, needing to pee could be a dream sign. Now I plan to do a reality test whenever I go to the toilet. Having woken to take a pee, you also have another opportunity to practise the MILD techniques as you fall back to sleep. If I wake up after only a couple of hours, I also drink more water to have another waking.

Using the combination of these techniques I have gone from hardly ever recalling my dreams to recalling at least 1 most nights. I will continue using the techniques and see if the effectiveness drops off over time. I will record these and any other techniques I find useful in my article on improving dream recall.

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