It's on the tip of my mind ...

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this and knows of a good way to get around it. When doing dream recall one of three things happen:

1. I wake up with memories of a dream, I sit for a moment, they congeal into a narrative and I write them down.
2. I wake up empty headed and disheartened.
3. I wake up, I know there was a dream, I have a vague hazy image in my head, but try as I might, it won't congeal into a narrative.

It's that third one that drives me nuts. Eventually the hazy image disappears and the dream is lost, but like a huge fish on the end of a hook, I keep trying to reel it in. Has anyone else had this? Are there any tricks to pulling back the memory?

just keep at it.
with time your recall will increase, if that is your intention.

I intend to, it's just frustrating and I was wondering if anyone had any tricks.

I find that my best bet at recall is to sit for a few moments immediately in the morning. Clear the mind and probe its depths for recent memory.

Consider things you often recall. If you often have dreams about school (like me), focus on that for awhile and see if anything comes to the surface. Do this for all the typical symbolism that occurs in many of your dreams. You can also think about recent dreams in case the content is similar or continual. These methods are best used if you're drawing a blank.

If you still can't recall anything, state the intention that the day's events will help you recall. I once had a dream wherein I was brushing my teeth. I only remembered that part when I started brushing my teeth that morning.

A big no-no is remembering large portions and leaving them until later to write down (if you keep a notebook). It is highly likely you'll forget it all. One day I will get a voice recorder, because I've forgotten portions of dreams even while I was writing them down.

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Originally Posted by Blaze

state the intention that the day's events will help you recall. I once had a dream wherein I was brushing my teeth. I only remembered that part when I started brushing my teeth that morning.

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that's a great tip. i almost always find that random stuff throughout the day brings memories of dreams flooding back. and not just from the night just past, but from days ago. 8)

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Originally Posted by dallen9998

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this and knows of a good way to get around it. When doing dream recall one of three things happen:

1. I wake up with memories of a dream, I sit for a moment, they congeal into a narrative and I write them down.
2. I wake up empty headed and disheartened.
3. I wake up, I know there was a dream, I have a vague hazy image in my head, but try as I might, it won't congeal into a narrative.

It's that third one that drives me nuts. Eventually the hazy image disappears and the dream is lost, but like a huge fish on the end of a hook, I keep trying to reel it in. Has anyone else had this? Are there any tricks to pulling back the memory?

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Instead of giving you advice (no need, everyone else gave you good ideas) I'll share some thoughts about this, if I may.
Have you ever been in a dream scenario, and know you've been there before, and know things about that situation that you don't know in waking life? This (IMO) is an indication that when you are 'in dreamscape', you are indeed experiencing life at a different frequency (for want of a better term), where time and space work differently, but exist nonetheless, and sometimes dreams are not just 'processing', they are living, like we do in the physical.
Do you get this?
So it is my opinion that when you have #3, and it 'escapes' you, it's because the memory is stored at a different 'frequency' (or some other nomenclature), and when you return you do recall what happened 'before'. So no dream memory is ever lost, it is just recalled with a different part of your mind, one that functions at a different level.
This is my theory, I have never heard anyone express anything like that before, so please bear with me.
I think if you continue meditating and cultivating trance states, you can improve recall (or the transitioning of the memory to what we call waking consciousness)- but if it doesn't work once, it doesn't mean the memory is lost- it just means it is out of reach at the moment- it'll come to you in due time.
So don't be disheartened, take is as a sign from the Universe that this is what you need to focus on (not the recall process itself, but the idea of discovering the 'greater reality'), and give yourself permission to take your time to do it, because it's not a 'instant' do a and b and 'pow' it's done.

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A big no-no is remembering large portions and leaving them until later to write down (if you keep a notebook). It is highly likely you'll forget it all. One day I will get a voice recorder, because I've forgotten portions of dreams even while I was writing them down.

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Oh man, I'm so guilty of both of those. I've had very vivid dreams and woken up mid night thinking "I'll write them down in the morning" ... yeah, that usually fails miserably. I've also forgotten dreams while writing them "And then I ... wait ... OH NO!" On the flip side, I've also remembered segways between dreams and been able to dig back pretty deep. (sometimes out of order). I'll have to try the affirmation thing. I admit I've been totally lax on that.

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Have you ever been in a dream scenario, and know you've been there before, and know things about that situation that you don't know in waking life? This (IMO) is an indication that when you are 'in dreamscape', you are indeed experiencing life at a different frequency (for want of a better term), where time and space work differently, but exist nonetheless, and sometimes dreams are not just 'processing', they are living, like we do in the physical.

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I'm not quite sure what you're getting at. Are you saying something along the lines of "even though I know I just got up and got a drink of water, I don't remember the exact details of the hall, refrigerator, or glass even thought they are there". Or are you refering to more of a "I had a dream, it's gone, but if I return to that dreamscape, I will remember it"?

If you mean the latter, you remind me of something curious. I've had a specific dream maybe twice in my life. It's night, and I'm on the side of a mountian in sort of an uncovered crevace. there's always a deep snow. The night sky is completely clear and the moonlight reflects brightly off the snow. I'm lying in the snow, totally relaxed. A light overtakes me and the sense of peace is just indescribeable. Since I've had that dream, every dream involving skiing or snowy mountains triggers this crazy response of "I GOTTA FIND THAT SPOT!", but while I'm awake, I've never skiied and actually kinda dislike snow.

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Are you saying something along the lines of "I had a dream, it's gone, but if I return to that dreamscape, I will remember it"?

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Yep.

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If you mean the latter, you remind me of something curious. I've had a specific dream maybe twice in my life. It's night, and I'm on the side of a mountian in sort of an uncovered crevace. there's always a deep snow. The night sky is completely clear and the moonlight reflects brightly off the snow. I'm lying in the snow, totally relaxed. A light overtakes me and the sense of peace is just indescribeable. Since I've had that dream, every dream involving skiing or snowy mountains triggers this crazy response of "I GOTTA FIND THAT SPOT!", but while I'm awake, I've never skiied and actually kinda dislike snow.

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I have a place like that, that I go to by going to my original home, and flying up. I then go up that mountain, and end up in a place that sounds a lot like that. I call it "fake switzerland". Maybe it's a collective environment and we've both gone there. I was there around a month ago and the snow was kind of half-melted.

Hmm, honestly, up until like 6 months ago I would've never concidered that a communal spot. But then again, before that I was kinda under the mindset that the astral realms weren't real and my dreams were nothing more than a mind sorting out information.

Ya never know.....