register something into memory. The arousal that occurs
during the dream state—and  it is absent during the other
stages  of   sleep—is  the  probable   basis  for   whatever
ability we have to remember our dreams.

Vigilance for Dreams

     If  we wish  to remember our dreams,  we  need  more
than a conviction of  their value and an awareness  of  the
ease with which our dreams escape  us. Vigilance  is  the
basic   strategy—a   vigilance  adapted    to   the  peculiar
elusiveness of dreams. In such  a   planned  watchfulness,
no time of day  is unimportant,  but let us turn first to the
time when we actually dream.
    Nocturnal  vigilance   means  more  than  waiting  until
morning to try to  recall our dreams. We  have  seen  that
laboratory     investigations   indicate   that   dreams    are
forgotten while we sleep. Thus, the morning recollection
of   dreams   has    inherent   limitations.  But  the  dream
laboratory has  something else  to teach us. Experimental
subjects  have been trained  with some  success  to  wake
themselves  up after each  dream.  Such training  depends
both on hypnotic suggestion and also on the experimental
conditioning   methods   in   the  laboratory.  The   results
attained    by    these    means   provide    an   encouraging
example  of  what  it  is  possible  to  achieve  in   a  short
amount   of    time    but    with   highly   expert   personal
guidance. Relying on our own resources,  we will be able
to achieve as much, but for us it may take a bit longer.
    Because  we have seen that dreaming itself  is a partial
wakening, it comes as no surprise  that we are capable of
learning  to  wake  up  after a  dream. As far as waking up
several times during the night  is concerned, we often do
so,  but  we  fall  back  to  sleep so quickly  that  we  have
forgotten the dream by morning. Once we have seriously
undertaken  the  challenge  to  remember our dreams, we
are  full of expectancy  as  we  fall  asleep  at  night.  Our
intention   to  be  on   the  lookout   for  dreams   and   to
remember  them  brings  auto-suggestion  into  play. Our
expectancy creates the basis for nocturnal vigilance. Our
task,  then,  is  to  develop  it  and  use it to our advantage.

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