In my past experiences with LDs I have had limited control over the environments that I find myself in. In other words, even though I'm aware that I'm dreaming, and controlling my movements, etc., I'm still subject to the matrix that I've been "placed" in. I've come to feel that to some extent this is totally unavoidable. In other words, in order to have any conception at all of an "I" there must be some sort of environment for the "I" to reference. In some cases I have exerted my power and made the matrix change this way or that, but still the matrix remains.

Has anyone attempted to overcome this paradigm? If so, what did you do? I realize that it becomes at some point necessary to abandon the idea of a body, so what essentially occurs? Is it just a "feeling" of being present. What about colors?