I’m not asking for someone to interpret symbolism in my dreams, but I find that I always vividly remember my dreams. They always possess a relatively coherent plot too. They all have some degree of lucidity to them in that I have some control over what I do, yet sometimes it’s like I’m looking over my shoulder as I do things.
This is in contrast to other people I talk to who claim either never to remember their dreams or not have very vivid ones. This last sentence is key to my question:
What does my apparent ability to have more vivid dreams more frequently than people I know? Do I just have an active imagination? Is this because of some kind of sensory deprivation I experience in waking life? Is it because I don’t get enough sleep?
I don’t think it has anything to do with a vivid imagination-- if it did, popular authors and writers and other performers would have some damn remarkable dreams. And I get the impression that they’re like most people: generally mundane dreams with the occasional outstanding one.
Your more vivid recollection of your dreams may be a result of you waking closer to REM sleep than your acquaintances. If I’m not mistaken, REM sleep is the stage during which you dream. Wake during or just after it, and you have a greater chance of remembering your dreams.
As for why you’re lucid and the coherence of your dreams, maybe you’re just lucky. I spent many years not getting enough sleep, and I wasn’t any more lucid in my dreams then than I am now.