I've been aware in my dreams all my life, of what was going on, that I was asleep and dreaming. When I was little, I thought thats just the way it was, everybody did that. I think I was 7 the first time I actually "used that" to my advantage. I remember in the dream, simply changing the contents of a basket I saw on the ground. How did it make me feel? Safer. It made me less scared to go to sleep, but also opened a lot of doors for me psychically. That's why learning everything you can about astral shielding, is so vital.