Shadow memories

[jzinser]

Ok guys, so its been 3 weeks since I started M.A.P., I've been doing the exercises everyday and combining them with some O.B.E. work from other books.

I have had about 6-7 short OBE's in the last few weeks and my dream memory is definitely improving. However it is always the same, OBEs feel extremely vivid and 'real' (I know they are)... but as soon as I wake up the memory becomes a bit blurry and distant, like something that happened a long time ago.

Does this get better with practice? Can shadow memories eventually become crystal clear if we work on them enough? And if so... what do you recommend to make these more "alive"?

Thanks!!!!

[CFTraveler]

This is normal. It gets better with time and practice, however these types of memories do not become uniformly clearer to remember. It does however, get better, you start noticing more.

[ButterflyWoman]

Also note that just because you can't consciously access the memories doesn't mean the memories are not present and stored in your subconscious.

[jzinser]

Thanks to both!

Yeah of course it is stored somewhere, but if it is not conscious it is like it never happened!

[ButterflyWoman]

but if it is not conscious it is like it never happened!

Not quite correct. Things in your subconscious affect your waking life, and sometimes are recalled at interesting times. I often have dreams I completely forget until they come to pass, and then I'm like, "Oh, yeah, I dreamed this..." That's just one example. I've also had various kinds of visions and OBE experiences that I kind of know happened but of which I have no conscious memory, and yet, it seems that some (all, maybe) of those experiences created a kind of "map" or "guide book" or similar, which is accessed by various unconscious means (suddenly just "knowing" something about a situation, for example, or just "knowing" something is the right thing to do, the right decision to make, etc.).

So I have to disagree with you that something must be present in the conscious awareness for it to be meaningful or useful or whatever. Yes, I get that people want to be able to consciously explore these things, of course. But just because you don't remember doesn't mean it wasn't valid, real, and meaningful, or that it's not affecting you in various ways. Your conscious awareness is just the tiny tip of a very big iceberg, after all.