Never feel present in dreams and how much dream journal time

Quest for Lucidity
1

Hello,

I am very excited to have found this fantastic forum. I tried to teach my self to lucid dream a couple of years ago but abandoned the practice. I would really like to start again but I have 3 quick questions that are really bugging me and I was wondering if I could get some feedback. I apologize in advance if these questions are obvious or have been answered before, I tried reading through previously posted material but I am still a bit confused.

During my previous go at lucid dreaming I got to the point where I was having low level lucid dreams 2 or 3 times a week. I knew I was dreaming and could control my own movements but not the dream world at all. The reason I abandoned the practice was I couldn’t spare the time to fully record my dreams. In the beginning it was not a problem since my dream recall was poor and I only could remember bits of each dream. Soon however, (when I gained my low level lucid ability) my dreams were very detailed and I was spending 30 - 40 minutes in the morning recording them. I unfortunately could not spare that much time and I had to discontinue the practice. My question is, is it possible to go far with lucid dreaming if I only write in my dream journal for 10 - 15 minutes after I wake up? I have read certain sources which state that it is essential to be as detailed as possible while others state that it is not really all that important. Any advice?

Also, do very advanced lucid dreamers continue to record a dream journal? Does it not become necessary at a certain point? or if one stops recording a dream journal does the ability to be aware of your dreams fade away?

My last question is the one that I am especially confused about. I found in my previous experiences that while my dream recall improved dramatically I never really felt present in my dreams. I found this very frustrating as I could remember an enormous amount of detail, but It always just felt like I was just “remembering” not “experiencing”, like I was recalling something that happened a month ago, or at best a week ago. I hope that makes sense, has anyone else had this experience?

Is this simply a matter of not enough practice with dream recall? or is this a limitation of dreaming and it never really feels “that real”. Will I ever feel “right there” in a dream the way I feel “right there”, like I do in real waking life? According to what I read on this forum these things get quite real.

Sorry again for the naive questions, any help is much appreciated!

Best, Luke

2

hey luke and welcome :thumbs:

10-15 min should be fine im kinda yelouse :tongue: i only remember fragments
so my answer is yes.
make a note of the most important things
also try telling yourself before going to sleep that you will be aware in your dream
it might help.
do reality checks and follow any tips on this forum…
i cant give better answers yet im not so experienced but i think more people will reply and help you out in anyway the can.

hope i helped you a bit :happy:

greets fanta

3

Hello and welcome :smile:

On weekdays I usually have worse dream recall, but even so I write them down in my DJ in the subway, while I’m going to the university :wink: You can write down as much or as little as you want. Try to remember as much as you can and write down as much as you like/can. As fanta said, 10-15 minutes should be enough.

I know what you mean about feeling there. For me that’s one of the big differences between normal dreams and LD’s. In a normal dream you aren’t conscious, so when you wake up it only feels like a memory. In a LD however, as you are conscious, you are present at the moment the dream is happening, so you feel like you’re actually there.

This may increase with lucidity. Even if you’ve only had low level LD’s, they can get better. I’m not that experienced, but I’ve had a few precious moments of higher lucidity and it’s so much more increadible than low levels.

Anyway, good luck! :happy:

4

Thank you for the quick replies and welcomes, Fanta and Mattias. I’m glad I will have enough time to pursue lucid dreaming and that my problems are not too unsual. Fanta, don’t get discouraged about only seeing fragments. I had zero dream recall and got up to a lot of detail as I mentioned before and am now back to zero dream recall or tiny fragments due to neglect. Mattias, that really makes a lot of sense about dreams being a memory since you are not in control of them. I never thought of it that way before. I’m impressed you can write your dreams down on the subway, I’m a former New Yorker myself and I could never get it together to do that. Anyway, thanks guys!

Best, Luke