Why do you want to Lucid Dream?

Hello,

So you've heard of lucid dreaming. You looked it up, read a little, found it interesting, and now you are here reading this. Why do you find it interesting?

Why do you want to control your dreams?

For some, it is a competition with others of their degree of control.

For some, it is a derived from a dissatisfaction with their current life and wanting to live out their desires.

For some, it is derived from their deep desires to do vile things they would never want to suffer the consequences of.

For some, it is a spiritual journey of the self.

What about you..?

~

It's pure entertainment for me.

I recently have been attracted to a certain girl's feet, EDIT: i think I will save the embarrassment, an delete what I had written...

I'm writing a novel, and I'm hoping I'll be able to use lucid dreams as inspiration; meeting the characters and visiting scenes from the book, etc. And dreams absolutely fascinate me! :)

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Originally Posted by Hot Chocolate

It's pure entertainment for me.

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You find controlling your dreams more entertaining than not? Why?

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Originally Posted by LucidDreamWeaver

I recently have been attracted to a certain girl's feet, what better way to keep that desire alive than dreaming that she could control me with to her slightest whim, the slightest move of one of her toes!

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I can sympathize. I'm a huge fan of the legs and feet. Though, I don't make an effort to dream about them..

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Originally Posted by Taromon777

I'm writing a novel, and I'm hoping I'll be able to use lucid dreams as inspiration; meeting the characters and visitng scenes from the book etc. And dreams absolutely fascinate me! :)

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Ahh, this is a surely good idea. Hell, the famous Frankenstein novel was written after Mary Shelley. I think John Lennon also said he wrote a song in his sleep, I cannot recall which one.. maybe "Tomorrow"..?

~

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Originally Posted by O'nus

You find controlling your dreams more entertaining than not? Why?

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It's not just about the control, increased awareness is just as important, if not more important for my enjoyment. I find it hard, if not impossible to enjoy something without concentrating on it. I can't enjoy music with an absent mind. Neither can I enjoy my dreams with an absent mind. Of course with the control comes the ability to do anything you want, anything that you find entertaining.

I'm trying to have a LD because it seems so amazing and fun. :banana:

It's really fascinating, you have a good chance of having a great, interesting adventure, just before your normal daily life starts again (which is also great, of course) .
You can explore places you'd like to go but never will, you can meet persons you'd like to meet, but never will.
I also really enjoy normal dreams.
Our mind is so fascinating and creative when we're dreaming

Probably the last 2. Not necesarily vile things, but things which would have unacceptable consequences in waking life (i.e. jumpig off the top of a skycraper won't kill me in a dream.)

I'd like to control my dreams for mainly fun. Seeing a great movie and then living it that night, who wouldn't love that? Also acting out real life situations and composing music from inside a dream are some of my goals.

For me,

I lucid dream because it's like training in my sleep. I exercise both willpower and my capacity to create and perceive new and compelling environments. I become better at "being aware" and influencing this alternate reality through that awareness, thereby giving myself a rough gauge of how much I improve over time (as the differences in results are perceivable).

I do it to make myself more than what I am.

Well my friend told me about lucid dreaming and, being a big fan of dragons, I thought the idea of being able to summon a dragon at will was absolutely kickass.

Of course I have a few other fantasy's I would like to play out in a lucid but the dragon idea was the main thing that sucked me into practicing lucid dreaming. Although, after being here for a couple of months I've picked up an interest to the popular idea of sharing dreams so that idea keeps me motivated also.

Only reason I could think of right now is to help gain control over my life.

Possibly learn more of myself in the process but, yeah that's pretty much it.

To do what only gods can do. To make, explore, feel new landscapes, new dimensions. To do stuff that movie executives spend the GDP of a small country on to see come to life, every night.

That's why I lucid dream.

Also, relations with women.

I want to lucid dream purely for fun. We sleep for roughly a third of our lives, and about 20% of that is REM. Why go through life having four dreams a night, never remembering most of them, and never experiencing the wonders of lucidity and dream control. When you can master lucid dreaming and do amazing, thrilling things while we lie there, completely immobile?

Not a tough decision for me to be honest. :cheeky:

I lucid dream for several reasons:

Its more constructive than just sleeping.
Its a nice challenge.
The unknown interests me.
To do the impossible

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Originally Posted by sol

I lucid dream for several reasons:

Its more constructive than just sleeping.
Its a nice challenge.
The unknown interests me.
To do the impossible

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I saw your username and avatar/picture/thingy/whatever and thought, "hmm, this guy looks like he's in to science and a lot of the same stuff I am." Then I read your reasons for desiring lucid dreams and found that those, too, were also identical to mine.

Escapism is my main reason for lucid dreaming. I sleep a lot because of this, and also listen to a lot of music and watch movies - anything to keep the mind occupied. I feel like I'm stuck in a rut, for fear of sounding like a cliche. So I like the idea of living out a life of my own satisfaction while asleep. So when I lucid, I like to live out life how I wish it would happen. And yes I'm aware this sounds really sad :P

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Originally Posted by Stygian

I saw your username and avatar/picture/thingy/whatever and thought, "hmm, this guy looks like he's in to science and a lot of the same stuff I am." Then I read your reasons for desiring lucid dreams and found that those, too, were also identical to mine.

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Lol nah, Sol is just a character from a movie and I thought a cool blue kinda thing would look good as an avatar. Cool we have the same reasons though

~ Got nothing better to do while im sleeping. :sleepmeditate2:

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Originally Posted by LucidDreamWeaver

I recently have been attracted to a certain girl's feet!

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Hmm. Feet.. Will look into this.

This is a really interesting topic. Hmmm why do I want to lucid dream? I want to lucid dream to conquer my fears. I'd like to be able to control my dreams and use my abilities. I'd like to use a better Kamehameha for once. I'd like to go Super Saiyan for once. I would like to explore some certain areas I had in dreams before that I couldn't reach. I would like to walk in a dream with out watching my self like I watch a movie, etc.

Freedom.

Couldn't most posts in this thread be summed up with this word? :)

Well said.

Here's mah reazun.

http://a4.typepad.com/6a01287679a177...b1a4970b-500pi

I suppose I have a complicated relationship with lucid dreaming.

I used to have sporadic lucid dreams involuntarily back before I even knew what they were called. After learning about them, I think I was initially drawn in by the promise of fantasy, and essentially being able to do whatever I could imagine. As a kid (and even nowadays) I have had a very prominent imagination. Having access a venue in which these things could become "real" was like discovering the greatest treasure the world could offer.

It seems however that for the past few years I have not been lucid dreaming for this reason at all. Rarely do I use my lucid dreams to "play" anymore, which a part of me is disappointed about. As some of you may or may not be aware of, I have been trying to do experiments in which I am objectively testing the relationship OBEs/LDs have in regard to the waking reality. This endeavor has completely taken over why I lucid dream.

I am not sure why I am so obsessed, but some core part of me feels that it is extremely important that I see this experiment though to the end, even if only one time. Why it's so important...I am not sure if I have figured that out yet. Perhaps it is something as simple as the need to satisfy my intellectual curiosity. I also suppose it could be fueled by a desire to make lucid dreaming "more real" than it currently is (or is thought to be).

Then again, maybe it is more basic than that. I am having a hard time articulating what exactly I want to say, but its like we all have a necessity to be "awed" by something...something that is real but at the same time beyond what we currently now. This state of wonder is important to us (or me at least) and maybe this endeavor is me trying to find that for myself.

I honestly do not know at this point.

Basically just to understand my mind more.. Freedom like a lot of you have said.. I want to do things that I could never really do, fight my fears.

Why do you see a movie?
For enjoyment, to do and see things everyday life cannot provide to you.
I'd like to ride alongside the Rohirrim, explore places like the Stone of Tear, or the White Tower, or the Shire. See the places you read about in your favorite books, and become part of that world for a time. I want to blast baddies away with super powers, swing around a city like Spiderman, visit ancient Rome and do battle with the gods. Have fun with exotic beauties (:p). There are so many things I want to do, they are really too limitless to list.

The real question to ask yourself is why WOULDN'T you want to lucid dream?

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Originally Posted by XeL

Freedom.

Couldn't most posts in this thread be summed up with this word? :)

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yes, freedom is another thing!


I'm not THAT crazy over feet, it's hard to sum up what it is, in text :cheeky:

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Originally Posted by Exdream

Why do you see a movie?
For enjoyment, to do and see things everyday life cannot provide to you.
I'd like to ride alongside the Rohirrim, explore places like the Stone of Tear, or the White Tower, or the Shire. See the places you read about in your favorite books, and become part of that world for a time. I want to blast baddies away with super powers, swing around a city like Spiderman, visit ancient Rome and do battle with the gods. Have fun with exotic beauties (:p). There are so many things I want to do, they are really too limitless to list.

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I think you are right to compare lucid dreams to movies and entertainment. Though, our mind is not simply just that. It's like a reflection in the water that taunts with us and plays with our emotions. It's an unconscious mystery that we will always strive to understand and adapt to.

Why do you like certain movies?

It's a question profoundly directed towards your self. Why do you like anything? Who are you?

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The real question to ask yourself is why WOULDN'T you want to lucid dream?

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Well, some people, like myself, don't usually lucid dream anymore because it feels like you need to let go more often.

Perhaps some of us actually have control issues or feel that they need to let go. I feel I over-think things too much in my life and need to let my unconscious flow free more frequently than not.

Do you agree..?

~

For me, it's fasinating the things my brain can produce with not much information from the outside world. Controling it, is like a skill I can develop as an equilibrist can perform once he/she has developed such human hability.
Mainly for fun I think.

I want to do the things I can't do irl.
Since I was a little kid I have been dissapointed at reality because I couldn't fly, fight against monsters or such.
Having been a devoted gamer for more than 10 years, I want to experience the excitement "for real". Sci-fi battles, zombie apocalypse, fantasy rpg, fly, superhero/villain - you name it.

Mainly just for entertainment.
like putting yourself in a movie, I suppose.
But it's also really fascinating, the way the brain lets you do stuff like that.
its an escape and gives me something to look forward to about bed.
plus, you can eat chocolate cake allllll night long and not put on a pound. =D

For fun:content: And because I often wake up with a desire to punch myself for not doing certain things in my dreams lol.

Exploration mostly (just to see what dreams are like), but I also enjoy creative dream experiences, such as meeting characters from movies, etcetera.

To explore the dream world, and have a vacation from the waking life. Maybe recover from the previous day in a nice way.

So far it's been mainly out of wonderment for me. When I found I could "wake up" but still be in a virtual world, I was ecstatic. I even did a victory dance. I suppose I enjoy experimenting with my consciousness and manipulating my own reality. I find myself actively seeking out sleep paralysis these days, it's brilliant! :) I'll probably lean more towards investigations in the next few months, things like talking to DC's, trying to find a dream guide, if such a thing exists for me, and testing my mental faculties in dreams.

It's by far the best and fastest way to rule the universe.

Why do you find it interesting?

You can do virtually anything you please. The possible, the impossible, the unrealistic...it's all within your power.

Why do you want to control your dreams?

For fun, mostly. To do impossible things (like plummet 50,000 feet to my doom), to do pleasurable things (get a massage, lie on a beach), and to live out life-long desires (visit my personal paradise).

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Originally Posted by O'nus

Well, some people, like myself, don't usually lucid dream anymore because it feels like you need to let go more often.

Perhaps some of us actually have control issues or feel that they need to let go. I feel I over-think things too much in my life and need to let my unconscious flow free more frequently than not.

Do you agree..?

~

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Perhaps, by letting go do you mean just letting it happen and not having any control over it? If so, that isn't the way I picture lucid dreaming. Most people can't have consistent lucid dreams without exerting a measure of self-control (WILD attempts, dream journal, reality checks)

There are going to be times when real life is gonna become too busy to try lucid dreaming, but considering the fact that lucid dreaming isn't an every night thing for most people, you can still attempt to have them and your unconscious will flow free undisturbed the nights you don't.

it's a step on my journey, a reflection as you said. I look into the pool and wonder which is the reflection and which is the real image....

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Originally Posted by Exdream

Perhaps, by letting go do you mean just letting it happen and not having any control over it? If so, that isn't the way I picture lucid dreaming. Most people can't have consistent lucid dreams without exerting a measure of self-control (WILD attempts, dream journal, reality checks)

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That is true, for most people. Though, I think that with enough experience, one will attain an easy frequency of lucidity. Myself, I feel I have them too often as I exert too much control in my life. I do not think it is good for me. I have been trying to lucid dream every night for almost 12 years.

In fact, it came to a point where I would be too anxious in my conscious life and look forward to sleeping. I made an effort to become tired and facilitate my lucid strategies rather than enjoy my conscious life. In my opinion, you can be addicted to anything, including lucidity.

Lucidity requires moderation as well.

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Why do you find it interesting?

I find it so interesting, because dreams in general can be just so...surreal. You can expect a million things to happen in a dream, and something totally different occurs, if you know what I mean. They are so wack...it's so cool! With LD's, you can be even more aware of these oddities because you know it's a dream...and will, right then and there often times, notice those oddities. That is one of the many reasons I can think of as to why I find them so interesting.

Why do you want to control your dreams?

It's so enjoyable to be able to do stuff you never can do IRL. It's so cool to just be able to do that through an often realistic-feeling way, in LD's.

Why do you find it interesting?

Simple, it helps me to test ideas for class, things I know about the world, have fun and explore things I can't while awake.

Why do you want to control your dreams?

Well, to do all of the above stuff, otherwise, my normal dreams are about daily stuff that will bore me to death, not to mention I don't learn anything while having non-lucids or not controling them, so controling is the best way to get out of that.

At first, I got into lucid dreaming because I figured that if I were going to waste a third of my life sleeping, I might as well use it to do fun and fantastic flights of fancy. When I started reading up on lucid dreaming, I realized just how fantastic an experience it really was and now I am determined to have as many as possible.

I am interested in LDing for many reasons. I suppose the main thing that drives me to LD is the similarities that LDs have to a near-death-experience. That's not to say that it is the same, but there does seem to be many parallels. The obvious being the mere fact of being able to experience something outside (or at least seemingly outside) of our bodies.

I am also fascinated by the human brain. So that plays a role as well.
You could say that I seek LDs as an investigation into my existence. Oh, and because they are just so damn cool. :cheeky:

I've got lots of reasons. I want to be able to do stuff I can't in real life. Some of this is for entertainment (like having super powers and blasting stuff). I guess that ties in with doing stuff without consequences, because I don't think many people would appreciate me blasting down their cities :P

It's also partly for understanding myself better. I want to be able to know my inner self better and just be happier as a whole. I also want to explore the unusual, like dream sharing and that kind of stuff. I want to experience it all.

And of course, there is the whole not wasting a third of your life thing :cheeky: I agree with it, we have to sleep so much, why should we not have fun doing it?

I draw a lot of inspiration from my dreams, which is really useful as I'm a writer. They've inspired many short stories, paintings, and much more. They've also helped me to come to a lot of realizations about myself that I was relatively unaware of previously.

Crazy monkey s*x of course :D <3 <3

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Originally Posted by fy_iceworld

Crazy monkey s*x of course :D <3 <3

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Just like God intended.

Fun, exploration of the dreamworld and its quirks, and just to be goofy in general. I love making plots and stuff in my dreams.

Doing stuff you can't do in real life while being asleep :)

Exploring extraterrestrial technologies.

i like to find answers and to understand more about myself, but to also just feel the freedom of doing whatever.. like i've asked the questions whats the meaning of the life and a voice out of nowhere it was almost a whisper but very clear and distinctive, it said something to the description "your soul does not understand something about virtue/value, and your body does not understand something about virtue/value, you can choose what might make sense but lol, i feel like i got an answer and i was happy, i couldnt have gave you a clear defination on what virtue meant before my dream, but when i think about it now, i feel as i got the answer i wanted.. having good virtues and values is essential in being a good person and living a good life.

Shits and giggles

everything is possible in lucid dreams. i like that feeling of freedom.:nodyes:

Its like playing a computer game like Gmod, only your in it. Its just pure fun!

A sort of spiritual journey. I want to conquer my fears such as extreme heights and flying/falling. I want to battle with titans, beasts and things that are in movies. I like to see other worlds and basically I want to better understand myself.

To discover the intriguing place we visit every night.

Well, I've never had a lucid dream but I'd want to have a lucid dream to control my dream (like a lot of people I'm guessing). Kind of like having the feeling of being the "god" of something. To be able to do stuff in my own reality others can't to is fun to :D... Kind of like an unfair advantage over all others :twisted:

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Originally Posted by Smuds

To be able to do stuff in my own reality others can't to is fun

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I can totally relate.

Freedom & Awareness. On dreams, and waking life.
I want to wake up and see with all of my consciousness all of those precious events.

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Originally Posted by Smuds

Well, I've never had a lucid dream but I'd want to have a lucid dream to control my dream (like a lot of people I'm guessing). Kind of like having the feeling of being the "god" of something. To be able to do stuff in my own reality others can't to is fun to :D... Kind of like an unfair advantage over all others :twisted:

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Its like a kid opening presents on christmas morning, same feeling exactly the same feeling.... makes me think that when we are kids we have something that we loose over the years :)

I enjoy consciously seeking other celestial travelers. Also, IndigoGhost makes a good point! I am constantly perplexed and excited to run across unexplainable spirit-machines!

To fly.

I thought about it a bit more. I like to play video games, and what other game is as immersive, realistic, open-ended and generally awesome as lucid dreaming?

The whole idea of lucid dreaming really blew my mind the first time I heard about of it. Sounded so amazing that you could be concious in and control your dreams. For me, it wasn't even so much of "wanting to fly" and do that stuff that first sparked my interest, it was more of wanting just experience it what it was like and to achieve having a ld. When I had my first one, it blew my already high expectations out of the water.

For the lols. And, in theory, to escape from my boring life, but my LDs are usually just as boring.

When I was younger lucid dreams were a lot of fun I could do a lot of things, mostly I'd just destroy everything with little effort :D.

However lately my lucid dreams have become painfully boring :(, I am unable to create things by thinking of them and I am unable to remember peoples faces I try to think of celebrities and friends etc and I can remember their names but have no idea what they look like. It is like part of my brain is not working.

I am unable to change where I am, pretty much the only thing I can do once I become aware that I am dreaming is walk and run, I feel trapped in a dream a very boring one!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

"The realm of mere images can be the door to truth"
~Thich Nhat Hanh

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Originally Posted by Gibbs

When I was younger lucid dreams were a lot of fun I could do a lot of things, mostly I'd just destroy everything with little effort :D.

However lately my lucid dreams have become painfully boring :(, I am unable to create things by thinking of them and I am unable to remember peoples faces I try to think of celebrities and friends etc and I can remember their names but have no idea what they look like. It is like part of my brain is not working.

I am unable to change where I am, pretty much the only thing I can do once I become aware that I am dreaming is walk and run, I feel trapped in a dream a very boring one!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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I think it's because as we get older, we learn more about the world and how it operates. Therefore, dreams tend not to be as fantastic as they would have been in youth, when the young mind would much more readily have accepted something like a giant sea monster (random example). They say it's harder for adults to learn new things than for kids, and I think the same theory applies here. It's much harder for adults to let go of the rules of reality they've been teaching themselves all their life- even in dreams.

Mine can sometimes be a bit boring too, but I don't mind. I'd recommend maybe using some different methods of control, like asking DCs for a magical item (but you'll have to ask it like a serious request, as if it's a real thing), or directions to the nearest monster that needs fightin'. Best of luck!

EDIT: Oh! Welcome to the forums by the way!

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Originally Posted by Gibbs

When I was younger lucid dreams were a lot of fun I could do a lot of things, mostly I'd just destroy everything with little effort :D.

However lately my lucid dreams have become painfully boring :(, I am unable to create things by thinking of them and I am unable to remember peoples faces I try to think of celebrities and friends etc and I can remember their names but have no idea what they look like. It is like part of my brain is not working.

I am unable to change where I am, pretty much the only thing I can do once I become aware that I am dreaming is walk and run, I feel trapped in a dream a very boring one!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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Strengthen your resolve. Come up with specific dream goals and affirm these to yourself every night. Try to get in the habit of stabilizing your dreams the moment you become lucid--wake up your senses by tasting something, feeling something, smelling something, etc. Your memory does not function as well as usual in dreams; in fact, LaBerge suggests that if you're having trouble remembering the last 5 minutes, there's a great chance that you're dreaming. Therefore, you must drill your specific dream goal(s) into your head, especially if it's becoming a problem. Try this link.

Another option is to try and let your subconscious fill in the gaps. Instead of actively trying to summon people and objects from scratch, leave it up to chance a bit. Maybe instead of trying to make someone magically appear, you walk around a corner or open a door and there they are. Concentrate less on specifics and focus more on making your goal a reality. Rationalizing your goal may make it easier, too. Another useful link.

I want to lucid dream to recall those dreams I've had. So I can conquer them.

ethan, i am kind of where you describe,
connecting dreams with awareness and being awake and being alive
as well as having fun, learning, expanding consciousness
it's my path... or part of it, anyway

I want to make the most of my life, both waking and sleeping. I want to take advantage of all the amazing things this life has to offer, including dreams of all kinds.

I am just SOOOO bored these days that I wanted to do something challenging to my life XD

I'm just trying sth new XD

(srry I just HAVE to use this :) :banana:)

I want to lucid dream for fun.

You have the freedom to do whatever you like :)

The reason I lucid dream is because of what I see as a great opportunity for experience that would otherwise be unavailable in a more realistic setting. I enjoy the feeling of freedom that comes with the possibilities of the dream worlds. I also like to look at it from a scientific point of view and experiment with consiousness. I make comparisons between real life waking experience and the experiences of dreaming. The potential for creative endeavors is awesome and that is exactly what I'm attempting to tap into.

Why do I want to control my dreams?

Why not? :D

Taking advantage of my sleep time to experience flight, casting fireballs, visiting other planets, summoning creatures/people, walking through walls, getting rid of nightmares etc...

That is one aspect, there are so many more pros and (in my opinion) no cons. It's a phenominon that needs to be explored much, much further!