Thread: Lesson 1: What is Dream Control?

Welcome All:

Hello everyone and welcome to my course, Dream Control+. In this class, I will be teaching many different types/styles/methods of dream control. Along the way, I will also cover many different aspects of lucid dreaming in general. Hopefully, I will be able to help you all out with your lucid dreaming goals and assist you on your way to becoming a master of lucidity.

First off, be sure to check out the other classes as well. With the new structure of the DVA, students will be able to attend a wide variety of classes and not feel overwhelmed. The instructors are well versed in their respective classes and you can certainly learn a lot from them .

Types of Dream Control:

There are many ways to go about dream control, but each technique falls under two simple categories. "Passive Dream Control" (Indirect) and "Active Dream Control" (Direct).

Active Dream Control is directly and forcefully altering/controlling anything in your dream scape. You could simply use your mind or your body to perform Active Dream Control.

Here are a few examples:

1. "I was walking along a sidewalk and I noticed it was really dark outside. I looked up into the sky and decided I would raise the sun. I held my arm out in front of me and imagined the sun rising. I slowly raised my arm higher and higher as I noticed the sun slowly rising from behind the mountain. Once my arm was directly overhead, the sun had fully risen and it was now daylight."

2. "I noticed a giant panda was now standing in front of me. I could see murder in his eyes as he whipped out two sets of nunchaku. I decided it was time for a battle. I shouted the name of my sword and threw my hand out to my side. I imagined the sword and soon felt the cold steel against my fingertips. I gripped tightly and swung my sword around in a menacing manner!"

3. "As I stood starring into the night sky, I thought it would be even more lovely with a few more stars. I held my arm out in front of my vision. I then began to draw stars in the night sky with my index finger. Soon the sky was sparkling with many brilliantly lit stars."

Some Pros
- It is quick and to the point.
- It requires less strategy/planning/and improvisation than Passive Dream Control
- With practice, you can enter "god mode" and get that feeling of being all powerful.

Some Cons
- Active Control can be quite frustrating at first as it takes some practice to really get the hang of.
- Trying too hard can actually cause false awakenings or cause you to wake from the dream state altogether.


Passive Dream Control is indirectly taking control of the dream elements. Basically, you are tricking/manipulating your own mind and environment into doing the work for you. Passive Dream Control is a lot like becoming an actor in your dreams. This is my personal favorite type of dream control for several reasons. Which I will explain later.

Here are a few examples:

1. "I had successfully completed my WILD and was now standing in my room. I already knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to fight a large group of ninjas! I ran outside and looked around. I noticed there was a random DC, who I have never saw before, walking into the woods. I ran up to him and shouted, "Damn you, Joe! Why did you steal ALL of the Dragon Ninja Clan's gold? Their leader has sent the entire clan to hunt us down. They will be here any minute!" I told Joe to follow me and we ducked down behind a long. A few moments later a huge band of ninjas came running over the hill. I looked at Joe and nodded. We both leapt from behind the log and took off running toward the ninjas."

2. "I looked around and something just didn't seem right. I performed a nose pinch reality check and realized I was dreaming. I decided to stay at the party and see what I could get into. I looked around and noticed an extremely attractive female sitting in the corner of the room. I walked over with confidence and said, "Hello, Alexia. I didn't even see you come in! Btw, we still need to finish what we started last night." I winked at her and held out my hand. She smiled, took my hand, and I lead her to the back room. We sat on the bed and I asked, "Did you pick up that bag of weed I asked you to?" She pulled out the bag and rolled us a blunt. We hit it a few times and began kissing. We proceeded to have sex for a good while."

3. "I saw the giant robot approaching and I got an idea. I decided to try and control the robot to destroy the city. I held my hands out in front of me. I began pushing imaginary buttons and using an imaginary joystick to try and control the robot. I simply mimicked the robots movements with my hands and soon the robot was moving along with my movements. After a few moments, I noticed I was now actually holding a remote control in my hands. I proceeded to smash several buildings with the 60 foot tall machine."

Some Pros:
- Its a very simple concept with a lot of leniency. Just become an actor in your dreams.
- It can be very fascinating to see how your dream changes/reacts to your actions.
- The dream does all of the difficult work for you, while you enjoy the effects. Because you allow the dream to shape the way for you, it rarely causing stability issues.

Some Cons:
- Passive dream control involves "playing along with the dream" or acting as if the dream world is reality. Without practice, this can sometimes cause you to lose lucidity.
- It isn't always as instant as active control and sometimes you have to really sell the acting job.


Practicing Both Types of Control

Like everything else in the world, practice makes perfect. You may decided to try out passive dream control and find out it works really well for you. That doesn't mean you shouldn't practice active control. There are many skills you will want to develop for your lucid dreams. One of the most frequently used skill, is flying. Everyone wants to fly right? You don't want to have to trick/act your way into flying with passive control. You want to just be able to take off at will and control all aspects of your flying. Otherwise, you may be stuck in flight mode, or end up somewhere you don't want to be.

For any skill such as flying, that will recur very often in your dreams, you will want to master these with active dream control. That way, you can just do it. For random ideas or infrequent actions, passive dream control will be mush easier. It is always a good idea to practice both types of control during your lucid dreams.

Active Dream Control Practice

- Start Simple
Try to start with something small and simple. If you want to summon an object, try something easy to process...like a pencil. Once you have completed that, move on to a bigger/more elaborate object. Don't get frustrated and try to have fun at all times.

- Use Your Hands
If you want to change an object or alter a dream scene slightly, try to use your hands to do this. Like with the "adding stars" example, your hands can be very beneficial in a lucid dream. I have molded a white car into a snow leopard with my hands.

- Imagine Your Control
While you are performing your actions, imagine what will happen. If you are trying to summon a sword, imagine the appearance of the sword. Think of what it will be like to feel the sword in your hands.

Use Your Voice
- I can't imagine how many times my voice alone has helped activate dream control. If you want a sword, throw out your hand and yell out, "Sword...appear," or something similar. Don't be afraid to call out/commentate what you are doing. It will only help you with your dream control.

Passive Dream Control Practice

Reality Practice
When you are within the dream state, pretend as if it is just an alternate reality. Regardless of your beliefs on the dream world, pretend as if the dream characters around you are real. The more you treat DCs as if the are real, the more willing they will be to help out and go along with your passive control practices.

Experiment
Don't be afraid to try out many different techniques with passive control. Become an actor in your dream, but don't be limited to a single role. You can act friendly, act like a dictator, and everything in between. Don't be afraid to branch out and really figure out what works best.

Confidence
This goes with Active control too, but be confident in your approach. Expect the dream to do the work for you and it will. Sound and act convincing with your dream acting. You don't have to be a good actor...you just have to act like a good one .

Reality Check Repetition
Like I mentioned before, its not overly difficult to lose lucidity when you are acting along with the dream. It is always a good idea to perform reality checks, periodically throughout your dream. This will help keep that, "I am dreaming" thought implanted in your mind.

Closing Notes
Well, that is all for the written part of lesson one. I decided against writing a syllabus as I plan on just winging it . Planning really isn't my style and I figure I will stray off course anyway. I will put up a few threads that you guys can feel free to post in. I will also be holding a chat session or two every week in IRC. There we will be able to get some more direct interaction. I will answer questions, go over the lesson, and just talk about lucid dreaming ! I look forward to it and I will announce the times for the chat once I figure out when I want to do it. Good luck to everyone and I hope you return for more...Dream Control+!