How to learn new skills

I found myself in a lucid dream last night. After I had my fun flying around on a broom stick (it obviously wasn't 100% lucid because I can't remember where or why I got the broom stick) clothes lining people, I decided to dedicate the rest of my time to learning new skills. So I tried to conjure up a fireball with my hands to light up the dark room I was in. I couldn't do it. Then I tried a skill that I have done before, I tried walking through a wall but I couldn't do it at all. It was pretty frustrating. The only superhuman dream skill I have is flying, and I learned that accidentally when I was flying in a non lucid dream, then became lucid in mid air.

The next skill I want to learn is how to make a fireball with my hands (so I illuminate dark rooms and burn DCs who mess with me), how can I do it though? I know that once I start to do it, its just a matter of practice, but how do you make that first step?

I can somewhat relate to this as I've struggled to do certain things, I've found that starting at basics helps me, as its easier to have confidence for something thats mundane and not too important if it fails. I've been wanting to try casting a spell from a game (to learn more things) and can certainly relate that to the fireball you mention. My plan is to find a precise spell from a game and try to mimic the actions to produce it, i.e. copy the hand movements of the caster, maybe even try and make the noise for it with my voice as well and expect the casting effects to appear around me.

For lighting rooms for instance I would try the light spell from Skyrim (forget its name). I'm sure theres probably plenty of fireball spells in games though I guess that useful only if you play them. This is something I have no actual experience with though, just something I want to try and my ideas on it.

Yeah I think it was the fireball spell in Skyrim that gave me the idea. I use a 1 handed weapon when I'm playing skyrim, I'm gonna start using magic from now on to see if that'll drive the skill into my subconscious. I suppose to start, we need to learn how to make those energy ball things appear in our hands (what you see when you have magic equipped in skyrim).

I'm half tempted to have a go at this, if I get a decent lucid soon (not very frequent at the moment). Personally I would raise my hand into my view like you see on Skyrim (first person) expecting to see the flame, then draw my hand down like happens when you hold the button for casting, then release. I've used "Fus Ro Dah" before and it worked, I saw an energy field leave me and go foward, the effect was weak though, perhaps the strength of just "Fus Ro".

With all the games I play though I really can see casting spells as a useful tool which is why I'm wanting to try it when I get a chance.

The trick is confidence and becoming used to the dreams world.
You will always struggle at first since you are not accustomed to the dream world.
It's always good to start with what I call passive dream control, this is were you trick yourself into believing that you are a character who is capable of doing the action you wish to commit. For instance when you wanted to light a fireball you should have told yourself that you were a character from skyrim, perhaps a mage or an adept warrior. By introducing these thoughts into the dream world you are accepting the reality of the game into your dream. You will less likely doubt that you can truly light a fireball because you have told yourself that you are a mage.
You can repeat this process with anything, turning into a bat (you can say that you are a vampire) or walking through walls (you could say that you have the power to turn into a ghost). You can even use a wand or something you are familiar with to grant you powers in a dream

The second more advanced type of dream control, which one acquires over time anyways is active dream control. This is were you when you face a problem in a dream, you reinforce the idea that anything is possible within a dream. Instead of living a different role and having to trick the dream and yourself you just tell the dream that you are in full control.
The best way to do this is by stating that 1) The dream is fully a construct of your own brain 2)nothing can harm you in the dream 3)everything is equally easy to accomplish, to yourself whilst in the dream. Reaffirm this loud and clear and hopefully you should be confident enough in yourself to be able to perform anything task.

There are pro's and con's to both methods of dream control. Passive can be exciting and extremely handy when you are beginner, but it requires you to constantly adapt to a character if you wish to have control. Active control is simple and allows you to truly do anything, if done right and with confidence tasks can be performed much quicker and with less hassle than when using passive dream control, however you do miss out on the charm of immersing yourself into a character.

I tried that passive dream control technique yesterday but it didn't work. I didn't say "I'm a mage" or anything like that, I just kinda pretended I was a character from skyrim and I held my hand out like they do in the game. Do you need to actually say it out loud "I'm a mage"?

You should yes, you want to try immerse yourself as much as possible. If you don't then you will immediately create a scene in which your mind will doubt itself, you need to be sure that you are playing as a mage, at least until you get a bit better at dream control.

My tip is: imagine it several times during the day. Imagine all the movements and thoughts as if you were making this. Then, in the dream, you just have to replicate what you've imagined.
This worked for me on some of my experiences. Like bending the street as in the Inception movie. I always wanted to do that. Then, one day, i stop for a moment to just about about me bending the street. How could i do this, the movements i should do, the feeling, etc. The next lucid dream i had, i made it easy right on the first attempt.

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Originally Posted by dutchraptor

.../If you don't then you will immediately create a scene in which your mind will doubt itself/...

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Talking about DILD's, I found it easier to perform such dream powers when I'm immerse into dreamscapes which have not much connection to my "normal" waking life world. i.e. It's easier for me to trick my mind when I'm in an ancient castle in stead of my grand parents house. Perhaps that's why it's not difficult to do such things when I got into a DEILD because of I don't have the thought that "this is the real world" in the first place.

Hypnosis is another route you can take. You would make a script on how you'll be able to unconsciously re-learn the experiential data within your unconscious with ease and emphasize on how your mind can then find ways to deviate from what you knew before to presumably have better perspectives on learning skills. Overall, with any method you use, you should heavily consider letting the unconscious do the imagination for you while you give out the words. When people use willpower alone and try to dominate over what their unconscious can imagine for them, they either have a long and lengthy mental battle with no luck, or it eventually gets through (while being exhausted and frustrated), or they're just lucky and it gets through just fine.

It's not just about imagining it, there's a different between wanting to have a new skill and being committed to reaching it. And in order to do that, you have to keep showing your mind that you are ready to learn and how it's going to be beneficial to you. If you "sorta" want the skill or "kinda" want the skill learned, you'll get what you put into it.

I thought you meant real skills :(

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Originally Posted by Excruciation

I thought you meant real skills :(

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Lucid dreaming is a real skill. :)

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Originally Posted by CrimpJiggler

Yeah I think it was the fireball spell in Skyrim that gave me the idea. I use a 1 handed weapon when I'm playing skyrim, I'm gonna start using magic from now on to see if that'll drive the skill into my subconscious. I suppose to start, we need to learn how to make those energy ball things appear in our hands (what you see when you have magic equipped in skyrim).

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Haha first time I heard about fus ro da I was like hey that's one of my powers that I use for fun. Though I've never had to shout anything for it. Of course that's because it is an old power of mine from before oblivion even came out.