so what is the general concensus of what should be done when one doesnt remember any dreams from the night before in regards to a dream journal?
I still write in my dream journal even on the days I don’t recall any dreams because I like to take notes so I can try to improve my recall. For example, if I know that I dreamt but just can’t grasp the memories, I’ll write exactly that. Or if I have zero memory, I’ll write that down too. I even write down when I had a memory but was too lazy to sit up and write it down and consequently forgot it in the hopes that I won’t make that mistake again. 
I also keep track of my bedtime and waking time each night to see if the length of my slumber affects my ability to recall my dreams.
Don’t despair over your lack of recall; I recently went almost two weeks with zero recall, I’ve only ever had one low-level LD, still can’t recall a minimum of one dream per night, and I’ve been keeping my DJ for about five months now.
If you need advice on remembering your dreams, check out The BIG Remembering Dreams Topic - Part 2: [The BIG Remembering Dreams Topic - Part II)
Part 1 is here:
https://community.ld4all.com/t/the-big-remembering-dreams-topic/7050
There are many people (myself included) who have posted similar topics:
https://community.ld4all.com/t/dream-recall-has-left-the-building/13007/5
https://community.ld4all.com/t/remember-your-dreams-a-technique-that-has-worked-for-me/13553
There is much more advice on the forum and it’s not too hard to find. Good luck!
What’s the consensus on remembering dreams…with your eyes open or closed or both? I’m trying to think how I usually do it and I know that if I lie still and try to remember with my eyes closed sometimes I fall back to sleep and then I tend to forget the dream I was trying to recall, but then again if I open my eyes I can get too distracted by real life and not remember either. Although I guess remembering doesn’t necessarily matter either way because sometimes in the middle of the day when I’m wide awake something will strike me and give me a flash of a dream memory.
I just thought about how we say our eyes are open or closed when it’s actually our eyelids…I guess that old 80’s song by Kix “Don’t Close Your Eyes” would sound dumb if it was “Don’t Close Your Eyelids”.
I think the consensus is : with your eyes closed. You more hardly remember and visualize images if they are open.
hi,
I have DJ since 3 months and i can remember atleast one dream every night sometimes 3 to 4 dreams.
I’m worried about last week because i did not remeber any dream (thats 7 nights with none dream recall). Whats happening?
Hi lots of |'s. (what kind of name is that anyway?)
That’s called a dry spell, and mostly it will pass pretty soon. It might work if you force it, by using a technique (like waking up during the night) or using certain substances (like b6 vitamins). But of course there’s no guarantee.
Xetrov,
lots of |'s is kind of pseudonim, which can be written but not read. actually it does not mean something.
and 10x for giving me accurate reply. I didnt know that such phenomenon exist. is there some more information about this dry spell: when it occurs, how long it continues, why … etc.
It depends form person to person. Personally, I have come to understand that I have ups and downs in DR, it seems to variate somewhat comparable to a sine. At its depth, I can have like a week of bad recall (never zero, but that might be because I practise recall for 3 years). At its top, I dont have to do anything to remember many dreams I had during last night’s sleep. Im not sure why this phenomena exists, just that it is temporary, so dont worry too much.
What exactly is it about dream recall that’s important to LDs? When reading about LDs I often come upon stuff about dream recall and I’d like to know what the connection is.
My best guess right now is that the better DR you have the more chance of LD you have but I’ve always been really good with DR and the only LD i’ve had was a few weeks ago when I was on hydrocodone for pain from my wisdom teeth operation.
Lexman098,
Having a good dream recall doesn’t give you better chances to have LD’s. For instance, there are tons of psychanalytical DJ’s, with no one LD inside.
A lot of people believe that when you have a LD, you must necessarily remember it; which is wrong, especially when practising DILD. A LD may end up in a normal dream, and you’re likely to forget it. Moreover, you’re doing a lot of things in dreams or in hypnagogic state that you can’t remember later, if you don’t train your dream recall. That’s why there is so much stuff about DR when talking about LD’ing.
This topic has reached 10 pages posts, and will be locked.
This is part 2 of the BIG Remembering Dreams topic.
Part 3 can be found here.