Thread: Is Lucidity Dependent on Control Given to Dream Characaters?

Lucidity is just knowing you're dreaming. Its got no direct bearing in control. You could be completely immobile and getting toyed with for DC's amusement, but if you know its a dream, you're just as lucid as actually controlling it. Really what you're describing is dream control. Also, I think you're assuming too much sentience for DCs. Tell them they're dreaming and whether they believe it or not, its all just a convincing illusion. In a sense, there's nothing to help (though if it gives you warm fuzzies, don't let me stop ya) You are right that we are our own master in a dream. Where it seems you're not controlling it, your subconscious often is. I've probably missed the point entirely, so lets answer the question now.

No, I don't remotely fear DCs.

The type of control that gives power to DCs to keep you not lucid in a dream is Anxiety. It turns a dream pretty much into a nightmare are I don't like what is happening. This is when I am trying to control the outer environment and DCs which is out of my control so I feel like it is a nightmare. If on the other hand I become lucid and control my thoughts and emotions through awareness this is a different type of control and takes the power away from DCs to emotionally hurt me cause I know it is just a dream. So what I am interested in is freeing my nightmares and anxiety dreams by increasing my lucidity. If we still have nightmares or rushing dreams then we must be scared of DCs right? DCs are linked to our minds and lucidity. For example driving fast in a car which is one of my dreams at the moment is a nightmare for me but if I attained lucidity in it it would just seem like fun and the DC driving would not be hurting me anymore.

You must be scared of DCs in dreams you are not lucid in.

I don't deny that lucidity and dream control are linked, but one does not necessarily beget the other. Anxiety, fear and whatnot can certainly impede both, as well. And if lucidity helps you with nightmares and everything, more power to you. I was just pointing out what seemed to be a misunderstanding of terminology. Sort of like those who use sleep paralysis when they really mean simply being conscious whilst the body shuts down.

This idea about DCs apparently conspiring against you doesn't seem healthy, though. They're representations of your subconscious, not demonic creatures invading your head. Treat them as such and they shouldn't bother you. As for using lucidity to confront nightmares, its a good idea, due to having a more direct link ti your mind, but its not all you need to do. If you're feeling fear or anxiety, you need to look at why that is the case. Dreams can help identify the problem, but you still need to do the work yourself. And if there's nothing in waking life that you're scared or anxious about and its just limited to your dreams, then the only advice I can give is for you to stop fearing them. They're not real. After every nightmare presumably, you wake up fine? Then what's to fear if they can't hurt you in any fashion? By treating this as some grand monster that you require tons of lucidity and dream control to even remotely match, you are, in fact, making it stronger. I apologize if this is a bit of a mess; I've just woken up and my sister is playing loud music.

To conclude, because I've accepted my grand spiel above, I do not fear DCs, whether lucid or not, and I've been unmolested by nightmares for years.

I wouldn't say that being afraid of dream characters or giving them control is indicative of not being lucid, but perhaps having a lack of optimal lucidity. I think it would be more accurate to say that those things are a result of lower levels of awareness about the true nature of the dream. If we are allowing our dreams to control us then we are attached to the dream, or rather, the idea of the dream world being real.

I think that this parallels waking life as well in terms of the nature of our attachment to the world around us. It can be really easy to get lost in both our night time and waking life dreams, and in turn, lose sight of a greater perspective in which our worries and fears are unnecessary and trivial, because everything will always turn out okay.

I am totally scared of my DCs at times, even when I am technically aware that it is a dream and aware that the entire dream world is created by me; I am afraid of pain and my natural instinctive drive towards survival always seems to pull me back into fear mode, even when I know it's not real.

I guess it depends on how much control you're subconsciously giving them? I have three recurring DCs that have good control, and I can utilize them when I find myself unable to control something in my dream.

There's a woman who always knows where places are, so if I can't teleport there, I can ask her something like "Can you tell me where so-and-so is?" and she'll point behind me and BAM I'll be there.

There are two men. One of them is pretty talented at getting rid of undesirable things in dreams but he can't actually add things to the dream. The other has insta-godmode and I can bring him in to do anything if I'm lacking dream control.

But the trick is finding a way to summon any of them up.

I know they don't have that control without me subconsciously giving it to them, and when I remind myself of that fact, they tend to be good DCs and more agreeable.

Originally Posted by Ashikael

I guess it depends on how much control you're subconsciously giving them? I have three recurring DCs that have good control, and I can utilize them when I find myself unable to control something in my dream.

There's a woman who always knows where places are, so if I can't teleport there, I can ask her something like "Can you tell me where so-and-so is?" and she'll point behind me and BAM I'll be there.

There are two men. One of them is pretty talented at getting rid of undesirable things in dreams but he can't actually add things to the dream. The other has insta-godmode and I can bring him in to do anything if I'm lacking dream control.

But the trick is finding a way to summon any of them up.

I know they don't have that control without me subconsciously giving it to them, and when I remind myself of that fact, they tend to be good DCs and more agreeable.

This is exactly what I mean. Thanks so much for your help. I will summon these characters (not the exact same ones but ones I know that can do similar things) to add depth and integrity to my LDs and post again in the future. I am glad to know now that there is nothing at all to fear from DCs. Thank you all for your kindness.

In a dream I am not really me I am the lucidity. There is the whole environment my character and everyone else and it is all coming from the nature of my mind (the lucidity) in my body on the bed.

When I have a dream where I think I am my character and I have hope and fear for that character it is not being fully lucid and spontaneous. The only way to make it more lucid is to free some of the my hopes and fears. The work is then to free speediness, anxiety and fear from my dreams.

If I know this then an anxiety dream can open me up even more as it is going against the attachment to my character which is what we want. When I have an anxiety dream I am then quite excited because my lucidity becomes very strong and I am healing hopes and fears. I don't need to summon characters to help me as I can do that during the day or before I go to sleep. Then I will become like splodeymissile when he said:
"I do not fear DCs, whether lucid or not, and I've been unmolested by nightmares for years."

There's a trick in examining your hypothesis: you have to remember that different people often have very different experiences of dreaming, even when we're comparing lucid dreams. For example, it seems like when you realize that you're dreaming, you automatically attain full control over your environment—that, or you only consider yourself to be "lucid" at the point that you attain that full control.

My experience is more similar to what splodeymissile is describing: control and lucidity are independent factors. I often have dreams where I am in full control of the "narrative" of the dream, but I don't at any point actually realize that I'm dreaming. Some of us call this being "semi-lucid," because at some level, we realize that we're dreaming, we just don't make the conscious connection. On the other hand, becoming lucid—that is, realizing that I'm dreaming—doesn't necessarily mean I'm in full control of the dream. It can be very frustrating to realize that you're in a dream and not be able to exert the dream control that you want to. This is why many of us struggle with completing certain tasks like teleporting and summoning.

Also, I have nightmares, but I wouldn't say that I fear DCs. To me, a nightmare comes from the lack of control that I'm exerting in a dream; at that point, any feeling of fear begins to permeate the dream and impact the narrative. I don't consider DCs to be independent entities, so even if one of my nightmares has a focus on a specific DC, I still wouldn't say that I "fear DCs."

Originally Posted by Samael

There's a trick in examining your hypothesis: you have to remember that different people often have very different experiences of dreaming, even when we're comparing lucid dreams. For example, it seems like when you realize that you're dreaming, you automatically attain full control over your environment—that, or you only consider yourself to be "lucid" at the point that you attain that full control.

My experience is more similar to what splodeymissile is describing: control and lucidity are independent factors. I often have dreams where I am in full control of the "narrative" of the dream, but I don't at any point actually realize that I'm dreaming. Some of us call this being "semi-lucid," because at some level, we realize that we're dreaming, we just don't make the conscious connection. On the other hand, becoming lucid—that is, realizing that I'm dreaming—doesn't necessarily mean I'm in full control of the dream. It can be very frustrating to realize that you're in a dream and not be able to exert the dream control that you want to. This is why many of us struggle with completing certain tasks like teleporting and summoning.

Also, I have nightmares, but I wouldn't say that I fear DCs. To me, a nightmare comes from the lack of control that I'm exerting in a dream; at that point, any feeling of fear begins to permeate the dream and impact the narrative. I don't consider DCs to be independent entities, so even if one of my nightmares has a focus on a specific DC, I still wouldn't say that I "fear DCs."

This makes more sense to me now the more dreaming I am being aware of. I love the way you wrote this.

Now I see that not having control in a dream is a good thing. It is a starting point to accept the environment and dcs one is placed with as otherwise it will turn into a "nightmare" or anxiety type dream full of hope and fear of what is going on. Rather when I accept it as a dream through the skilful methods given here in dreamviews I accept my environment and dcs as I know it is a dream and start to get some control of my mind. My environment and dcs must be what is stored in my consciousness that I cannot do much about but I can change the way I deal with it. I realise that I am often unhappy in my dreams with what is going on and I am so caught up with wanting to change the future for my own liking that I don't realise I am dreaming.

Sorry,i havent read all replies but first post of DannyCool(but im not that lazy).i want to say that lucidity depends on how much control
is given to DC-s.'cause even after few moments you've become lucid you continue doing what youve doing(i hope it makes sense),and
sometimes depending on the activity you are doing you could do that activity for the whole time you are lucid(aka:no dream control,
feeling of being traped),it happened to me once.But i dont have too much xp(experienxe)with that topic.Usually my DC-s are quiet and calm
(like i am),and i have a lot of(not full DreamControl)Dream Control(i guess that is a good thing).but as everything lucidity depends on your
skill in lucid dreaming and dream scenario.