Loafs Dream Control Guide: Everything You Actually Need To Know

Loafs Dream Control Guide

Here is my guide to dream control. I will explain what I do, what I believe, and give a few tips here and there, as well as explain the kind of dream control that us pros use. :cackle:


So You Want To Control Your Dreams

It doesn't matter if you can induce a lucid dream by blinking 3 times, or if you have to build up to a lucid dream each week! If you can't control your dreams, you are not going to have much fun.
Initially when controlling lucid dreams, its difficult. There is so much that can distract us. Sometimes things just don't happen the way we want them to, or they refuse to occur at all! Fact is, its your fault. Its not the dreams fault. Its YOU. Its not that you are unskilled, or that you've got a lot to learn. Its just you are thinking too much. I know it sounds contradicting for me to tell you not to think when you are focusing all of your thought power on creating an object in your dream, but in the end its true. Fact is, you don't need to learn all of these long boring techniques and methods on how to make things appear behind your back, in your pocket, in the babies nappy, and up your uncles womb. All you need is a little belief and respect. Here is how...


Belief Is Everything

I will say it once, say it again, and die with the words stamped onto my tombstone. Believing in your competence and control is important. Never doubt your ability to control the dream. Believe that you can control it, because the cold hard facts are that you can control it. When that hot babe you want to appear on your bed doesn't show up when you close your eyes and focus, its because you are doubting yourself. Maybe even subconsciously you have second thoughts about your ability in creating things in the dream world.
Here are some things to remember:

Dream control goes wrong when you doubt yourself-- there is absolutely no reason the thing you want to do in your dream won't work, unless you think otherwise.


Don't question your ability to create or control something. Don't think it will work. Don't even assume it will work. KNOW IT WILL WORK. Because if you do, it will. And I can promise you that.


Respect Your Dream

I find that you must work with your dreamworld to get the most out of it. Think of your dream like its an entity. You must care for your dream world. Respect the dream world for the adventures it gives you, and the worlds it lets you visit. It doesn't matter what content you dream about, whether its murder, sex, or you being King-Kong smashing up NY. But never get angry at your dream world, or it will get angry at you. Work with it, feel it, talk to it. Understand your dreamworld, and controlling it will be easy.
Additionally, you may find it a fun dream task to get to know the personality of your dream. Is it angry, sad, happy, or scared? Is it in a silly mood? Does it want to tell you something?

Treat your dream with respect. Know it as a friend. Only then can you control it with complete ease.

Never get angry at your dreamworld. Work together.


Other Tips

Sometimes its hard to get objects to appear in front of you. Try making them appear out of sight first.

Dream objects come and go regularly. Maybe what you want is already there? Reach down to the ground without looking and feel around for the object you want.

Ask DCs for things if you need them.

Want to control dream events? Counting down will help convince you something is about to happen, and allows the dream to suddenly focus on what you are thinking. Think of something you want to happen, then count down from ten aloud. Once you reach 1, you better prepare for it to happen.

thanks for the info

This is one killer guide. I don't know what else to say, as it's already been said above. This should be put in some kind of "lucid dreaming newbie resource list", as this would answer a number of questions new lucid dreamers have when they come across a community like this.

Thanks for the advice Loaf that was real helpful.

I disagree. Belief and expectation are important, but not everything. Dreams aren't that simple.

I have flown literally thousands of times, and a few months ago while lucid, I jumped off the ground with no doubt in my mind whatsoever that I'd fly just like any of the hundreds of times I'd done it before.


I didn't.

Yeah, I'm with Naiya on this one.

Belief isn't the end-all be-all of dream control. Actually, it's just a subset of archetype control at its core. . .

Well clearly I beg to differ.
You controlled the dream fine, its just you probably freaked out that you were in the air and fell. Thats an entirely different basket of flowers altogether.

No, that's not how it happened. I was standing on the ground, jumped into the air fully expecting to take off--and fell right back down.

Why would I freak out by being in the air? I've done it tons of times. :P

Interesting. I guess there are exceptions. But ever since I had confidence in my dream control skills, its always been that simple for me. :?

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Originally Posted by Loaf

Interesting. I guess there are exceptions. But ever since I had confidence in my dream control skills, its always been that simple for me. :?

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Well, keep in mind that everyone is different. There is no silver bullet of dream control. Belief may play a large part in control, but it isn't going to work 100% of the time...which is why it is good to know other methods of dream control for when your primary one fails.

I totally agree that confidence is a huge part of it. Just not the only factor in dream control or having success.

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Originally Posted by Loaf

Interesting. I guess there are exceptions. But ever since I had confidence in my dream control skills, its always been that simple for me. :?

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Yeah, that's because you built up strong connections with that method of control, allowing it to work better and better each time you pulled from that 'belief' schema.

Belief is actually an exceptionally good form of archetype control, if you can manage to keep at it for long enough. It's just not the answer to successful control.

Mzzkc, if you have a link at hand, I'd like to learn about this Archetypal control. It sounds very interesting. :)

There's no decent thread on the subject. As far as I know, The Cusp discovered the idea, and I've found it to work beautifully for many routine tasks.

I can explain it to you in more detail elsewhere. I don't want to clutter up Loaf's thread.

I think it is the answer to successful control. I think the way you perceive a dream changes how you control it too, which is why I think people need to treat dreams themselves like entities or creatures.

If you fail at first like Naiya did when controlling something (in this case flying) and then lose confidence, you won't achieve much. Sometimes when using this control, it doesn't quite work initially. But I just try again and it works.

I may be wrong or right, but I believe if you think there is more to dream control than just belief then for you there will be.

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Originally Posted by Loaf

I think it is the answer to successful control. I think the way you perceive a dream changes how you control it too, which is why I think people need to treat dreams themselves like entities or creatures.

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I don't know about you, but when I start treating something like it's its own entity, it basically takes on a mind of its own. If this...thing has thoughts contrary to my own, wouldn't that dampen control?

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If you fail at first like Naiya did when controlling something (in this case flying) and then lose confidence, you won't achieve much. Sometimes when using this control, it doesn't quite work initially. But I just try again and it works.

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Or, if you fail, you could try something entirely new and different. Pick up some random thing or pull out some arbitrary device from your pocket and do something with it. If you find a bit of lint, make like you're throwing a grenade and see what happens. Expecting nothing can be just as fun as expecting something. If expectation isn't working out, instead of bashing your head against a wall, give something new a try and see if you like it. You may very well discover a solution. It could be roundabout, but you can still enjoy it. ;)

I would call this more the exception than the rule, though. Sticking with one technique will yield better and more consistent results. But no matter how good you get, no matter how skilled you think you are, there will be times when something just won't work. For that, knowing how to adapt and how to improvise is a very useful skill. Not to mention, at times, willing your way through everything can destabilize the dream. Expectation is important, absolutely. But there is more to control than just expectation.

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I may be wrong or right, but I believe if you think there is more to dream control than just belief then for you there will be.

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The title of the tutorial seems a bit arrogant..."EVERYTHING you need to know." We learn more about dreaming and how dreams work all the time. I wouldn't shut out other information pertaining to dream control just quite yet.

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Originally Posted by Mario92

I don't know about you, but when I start treating something like it's its own entity, it basically takes on a mind of its own. If this...thing has thoughts contrary to my own, wouldn't that dampen control?

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No, the dream works for you. Thats the mindset you create.

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Originally Posted by Mario92

Or, if you fail, you could try something entirely new and different.

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In my experience, this never has.

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Originally Posted by Mario92

But no matter how good you get, no matter how skilled you think you are, there will be times when something just won't work. For that, knowing how to adapt and how to improvise is a very useful skill.

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Getting bad vibes there.
I've done the roundabout, Mario. This is the easiest way to do things, and its totally reliable for me.

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Originally Posted by Mario92

The title of the tutorial seems a bit arrogant..."EVERYTHING you need to know." We learn more about dreaming and how dreams work all the time. I wouldn't shut out other information pertaining to dream control just quite yet.

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You are reading into that more than you need to. I don't see how I am shutting out information. Just sharing my 2 cents on how everyone makes something that is potentially very simple over complicated because of lack of belief. If you can imagine, focus, and know it'll work it will. Maybe it just takes time for that confidence to embed itself into everyone. Or maybe you need to learn about the nature of your dream, because as crazy as it sounds, dreams do have a personality-- whether its just a reflection of your subconscious feelings or not.

Great tutorial Loaf! But I have to say it's easier said than done to be totally confident in yourself :)

Very true Banana. Especially when you are in the lucid, it can be tough.

Good tutorial but I would like to change out the word belief with 'Trust' or amend it with that word as a addition.

Just trust that things will go as you want. Trust that the ultra delight chocolate cookie is in your back pocket and reach for it. Trust that you can change dream to another just like that. Trust that the bear means you no harm and go hug and roll around with him/her. Play around with a hearth full of trust to see things come into place as you will.

I like that, Nighthog. I see where you are coming from, and I agree with it.

Ok it was pretty easy to be confident :P Last night I an awesome LD. I tried a few new techniques. Partly this one, I didn't think that much about how I was doing stuff, I just trusted that I would be able too. I also convinced myself the dream was going to last for a long time (which it did) and I tried a flying technique that my noob friend evolved in his very first LD last week. It was about thinking that you were pushed into air from your armpits, sort of like rockets or something planted there. It turned out to give me pretty good balance and it was easy.

I also tried to raise a temple or something from the ground just trusting I could. Instead a bunch of tools started working and bricks started rolling together and they built a small house for me. I think that was (partly) a success.

this i what im always telling people, great post loaf

I don't understand how this "belief" aspect is debated. Under what circumstances would one who has utter belief in their capability to achieve something in a lucid dream fail?

Exactly, if you concentrate and trust the dream there is no reason why you fail. Remember the dreamworld is made by your mind. Its your mind stopping you doing what you want to do.