A "reality check" for dream control.

[Trinsonian]

I'm curious to know how much power we actually have in our LDs. I just learned about dream stabilization and wasnt aware that it was a factor. Dealing with something this surreal, its difficult to know what the limits are, if there are any? For example, do I have a choice what I dream about, or do I only have the ability to become aware that im dreaming? I've been trying to go back to my "white space". I wanted to continue where my first lucid dream left off. Is that realistic, or is there no such thing as "realistic" in these terms?

[Scionox]

Everything is possible in the dream, the only limit is the limit that you expect by yourself to be, if you expect it. It is definitely possible to return to previous dreams if you can recall them in detail, and even if you don't, you can try asking your subconscious to recall them.

[Zoth]

Picture it as a movie: if you can imagine it, then you can do it. Depending on your budget (read, confidence), you can make a movie with better or worse quality. As you build experiences, it's easier to go for an Oscar with an extremely ambitious dream control. If you fail, Hollywood tends to forget quite fast, so you can always try again

[Sensei]

Yes, but when you start messing with reality you might wake yourself up little by little. Working on dream control and stabilization is a great thing! Join my class next time around if you need help! (Or just ask me any questions. ) What do you normally do when you become lucid? Most people either just go with the dream or the dream falls apart by itself for the first lucid dreams. My first fully awesome LD was about 5 minutes of lucidity. It was what hooked me to LDing. Piqued Interest - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

[yuppie11975]

Picture it as a movie: if you can imagine it, then you can do it. Depending on your budget (read, confidence), you can make a movie with better or worse quality. As you build experiences, it's easier to go for an Oscar with an extremely ambitious dream control. If you fail, Hollywood tends to forget quite fast, so you can always try again I thought this was excellent. Think of lucid dreaming as its most basic form. Your imagination. Anything you can think of, you can do. So essentially, there are NO boundaries.

[Trinsonian]

You guys are great. A reply to Brandon, I haven't gone lucid really any at all. I think maybe 4 times in my entire life including my first induced LD. When I get lucid, I either instantly lose the lucidity because the dreams change, or I wake up by unintentional destabilization.

[Hugh]

Always set yourself a goal - though base that goal on your current ability level and what you hope to achieve. Nothing too ambitious, but something to look forward to achieving. I'd say there's no limit like the fellas above me have, it's just all about what you believe you are capable of creating within the confines of your own mind. Just think of the weird and wacky dreams you've had in the past, perhaps some that relate to one another; is that not enough to show you what your mind can produce? If you've seen it, have a good mental image of it, and of course believe it's possible, you'll surely enough be able to conjure up the end scene of your last dream and continue from there - I'd say always think in a future sense, lay everything you expect to happen out, rather than focusing too hard on the here and now. Know something will happen, move onto the next part, and so on and so forth.

[IronicAtheist]

I normally don't exert much control myself when I'm lucid.... However interestingly enough, my dream self exhibits loads of control when not lucid. My dream self tends to fly, also once I pulled a shotgun out of thin air. But whenever I've been lucid, I've been more worried about stabilization and exploration. This way I can build a sort of tolerance for messing with the dream scape, to avoid waking up. This latest lucid though, I woke up because I did the reality check where you plug your nose and close your mouth and try to breathe. It worked, but it caused me to wake up. But I'd really assume that you can control the entire dream scape.