How to Cause Re-Occurring Dream characters
So I think after a recent dream two nights ago I've accidentally stumbled across the way to organically cause reoccurring dream characters. I'm not sure if this counts as an instance of "dream control", since this method I've found is a non-lucid method, so sorry if this is in the wrong subforum.
This builds off of my last post as well, describing the Surreal Feedback Loop: basically I noticed that elements from my dreams that I incorporated into my artwork began to re-occur in my dreams more than usual.
Overall, the DC's that I find most interesting are the ones that re-occur most frequently, the ones I spend time in the waking world thinking about and pondering the personalities and motives of. Dream Characters that I share with my friends, or that I create art of, or that I incorporate in gaming come back in dreams more frequently than other DCs.
Basically my theory is the more you get to know and understand the character in the waking world, the greater your chances of meeting them again in your dreams are.
So, if you dream about a DC that you wish to dream about again, I recommend the following steps:
1) If they had a name in the dream, remember it. If they did not have a name, give them one. I think that this ultimately stems down to the idea that humans like to label things by nature. If we have a name for a thing, we can more easily conceptualize it, and therefore it is more likely to re-occur in a dream.
I had a dream long ago involving a middle-aged Persian gangster from Milwaukee, as a relatively unimportant side character. Recently, in my notes I decided to give him a name, "Hashem Malwaki", merely because I liked his distinctive appearance and wanted to use him in a game, and about a month later I saw him in a dream once more, even using the name I had given him in his notes, calling himself "Mr. Malwaki". So it seems to me that naming does help in a character appearing once more.
2) Figure out why they are doing what they are doing. Not in a symbolic or dream interpretive sense, mind you, but figure out what they are doing and why they are doing it from the DC's own perspective. This should help to characterize them, giving them motives and giving meaning to their actions. This helps solidify them in your mind as a conceptual being, helping you know who they are and what motivates them forward.
Some of the most persistent reoccurring DCs I have are a band of Croatian spies (why they are Croatian is a question I have no answer for). Their actions are surreal and bizarre and I find it fun to ponder just what it is that they are up to, and why on earth they do what they do. Unraveling the vast, Croatian Dream Conspiracy is thus something I find fun to do, and the more I ponder them and their actions, the more they show up, giving me more to ponder over, giving them even more presence in dreams (there's a reason i call it the Surreal Feedback Loop).
3) Figure out what their personality is. For the same reason as #2. The more you know about them, even if it is details you are guessing, or inferring, or just making up, the more you strengthen them as a concept in your own mind and the more likely they are to show up in dreaming.
The DC that reoccurs most often for me is the character I know the personality of the most. Izra’il, the Angel of Death, who is, personality wise, usually joyful and forthcoming, though he is saddened and frustrated at times by the fact that most people fear and hate death, and by extension, fear and hate him. The more I understand his personality, the more he reoccurs in dreams.
4) Make artwork of them. Any artwork. Literally anything will do, from drawings to short stories. The more you can reinforce what they look like or who they are in your mind, the stronger they become as a concept to you.
And I do mean artwork from any means. Even video games will work. Recently, I took four random minor characters from four different dreams and used them as inspiration for the four characters in my party in the video game Divinity: Original Sin 2. And despite being really minor characters in their original dreams, they all showed up in a dream together two nights ago, thus prompting me to realize how important characterizing DCs while awake is to them reocurring in dreams.
5) Repeat 1-4 As Necessary. These steps should essentially cause a Surreal Feedback Loop to occur. The more you characterize your DC, the more likely they will show up in future dreams. When they show up in future dreams, this gives you even more opportunities to characterize them further, and strengthen your understanding of the character even further, which should cause them to reoccur even more in dreams, in a feedback loop of dreams-influencing-art-influencing-dreams-influencing-art-influencing-dreams.
And that's the process I have found. I hope someone can find it helpful or useful in some way!!
