This is a sort of little mini-guide to remembering your dreams that I once posted up on the forums at dreamjournal.net, but I’ve decided to post it here as well because I think it could really help some people with their dream recall. It’s quite a different way of looking at the issue than I think most people typically see it, but it’s how I worked it out for myself (and if anyone’s ever read my dream journal, you’ll know recall is a strong point of mine!).
A question: What is your strong point in remembering dreams?
I ask because I’ve noticed the different ways people type up their dreams. Some go into great length about physical detail such as scenery, for instance, whereas others focus mainly on their emotional state at the time. Others may write paragraphs on their hindsight reactions while barely mentioning the dream at all, while yet others may focus entirely on the plot of the dream to the exclusion of description.
Some people also seem to remember (and describe) people and characters better than whatever else was going on around them, while others have better luck recalling the place, time or events.
I thought it would be useful to post this idea here to help people pinpoint what their strength in dream recall is. I think once that’s identified it might help to focus on it as a guide the next time you’re trying to remember what happened. (Of course, I don’t know if it’d be of any real use, but it seems like a good idea to me!)
For example: How well do you remember one aspect of a dream as compared to another? Rate them out of five. A score of five would mean there’s nothing or very little to improve on, whereas one would mean you can’t remember that aspect at all.
CATEGORIES
- Setting: (time, place, background info, etc)
- Physical imagery: (scenery, colours and so on)
- Emotional state of mind:
- Characters/People/Animals:
- Plot: (main events, action)
- Theme: (similar but not limited to “genre” ie, revenge, death, true love, adventure and so forth)
…and if anyone can think of any other categories, feel free to add them on!
For instance, this is what my personal recall ability would look like:
Setting: 5/5
Physical: 4/5
Emotional: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Theme: 4/5
Now it’s your turn. If it does nothing else, at least it lets you know what specific areas you most need to concentrate on in remembering your dreams.