I'm one that would naturally have occasional dream recall. I can remember dreams I had as a kid and dreams from quite awhile back, although its quite fragmentary. Mainly impressions/feelings/scenes. I've tried off and on over the last number of months to get nightly dream recall by setting intention and it usually had results if I stuck with it. At the end of November I finally decided to start a dream journal. When I wake up, I use my phone to record what I remember and write it down later. I've been using affirmations before I go to sleep. "My dreams are vivid and clear" "I remember my dreams clearly" etc.
It started out pretty good, I thought. For the first while I was getting 1-3 dreams a night. Then I settled into a pattern of sporadic and very fragmented recall during the week with better recall (usually only the last dream before I woke up) on the weekends when I slept in. I started getting up a half hour later during the week as it seemed this period was when I was getting the best recall. I even had a dream where I went out of body, complete with tearing sensations, blurring of vision, etc. Occasionally I'd get some recall when I'd wake up at night to go to the bathroom. These were much harder to retain though.
On Dec 31, I decided to get a little sterner with myself. If most people have 5-7 dreams a night, why am I just getting the last one(s)? I changed my affirmations to "all my dreams" and that night I woke up at 2am, 3:30am and 6:30am with dreams or partial dreams. The middle one was the clearest.
Well, its seemed to go downhill since then. I've noticed my recall has changed. Whereas before I'd wake up with a dream in my memory right there, thats not happening very often anymore. Now I wake up and my mind is blank and bits and pieces might come to me later or if something jogs my memory. My later dream recall is not there, even if I sleep in.
The last good journal entry was on the 10th, when I had a couple pages. Since then it has been quite vague/fragmented or no recall at all.
I'm trying to understand why this might be. If its a block, how do I figure it out? I don't really feel I'm frustrated and stressed about it. The only thing I can think of is that during/after the night of the 31st when I was up several times for a while recording dreams I kind of thought that it might be kind of tiring to be up for 10-15 minutes 4-5 times a night recording my dreams and then trying to go back to sleep. I've wondered if that "offended" my subconscious.
But I've tried to correct that. If getting lucid takes that, I'm ready for it.
Any ideas on what I need to do to keep this going forward?
It started out pretty good, I thought. For the first while I was getting 1-3 dreams a night. Then I settled into a pattern of sporadic and very fragmented recall during the week with better recall (usually only the last dream before I woke up) on the weekends when I slept in. I started getting up a half hour later during the week as it seemed this period was when I was getting the best recall. I even had a dream where I went out of body, complete with tearing sensations, blurring of vision, etc. Occasionally I'd get some recall when I'd wake up at night to go to the bathroom. These were much harder to retain though.
On Dec 31, I decided to get a little sterner with myself. If most people have 5-7 dreams a night, why am I just getting the last one(s)? I changed my affirmations to "all my dreams" and that night I woke up at 2am, 3:30am and 6:30am with dreams or partial dreams. The middle one was the clearest.
Well, its seemed to go downhill since then. I've noticed my recall has changed. Whereas before I'd wake up with a dream in my memory right there, thats not happening very often anymore. Now I wake up and my mind is blank and bits and pieces might come to me later or if something jogs my memory. My later dream recall is not there, even if I sleep in.
The last good journal entry was on the 10th, when I had a couple pages. Since then it has been quite vague/fragmented or no recall at all.
I'm trying to understand why this might be. If its a block, how do I figure it out? I don't really feel I'm frustrated and stressed about it. The only thing I can think of is that during/after the night of the 31st when I was up several times for a while recording dreams I kind of thought that it might be kind of tiring to be up for 10-15 minutes 4-5 times a night recording my dreams and then trying to go back to sleep. I've wondered if that "offended" my subconscious.
But I've tried to correct that. If getting lucid takes that, I'm ready for it. Any ideas on what I need to do to keep this going forward?