Newb who'd appreciate some feedback :)

Hello there! I'm SnowyDreams, call me Snowy, and I joined today. I've been trying to LD properly for a couple of months -- ever since I saw Inception, actually -- but I've loved dreaming ever since I was little, mostly because I'm a natural at dream recall and often have extremely vivid, intricately detailed dreams.

So, the thing is, I'm usually faintly aware of the fact that I'm dreaming when I am. The need to RC is quite low since I recognize straight away that my surroundings aren't real - I have a tendency to create buildings and landscapes that I know that I haven't seen, or are quite impossible to achieve, in real life. There've been times when I've been completely lucid, accepted the fact that I'm dreaming, and just kept on going.

My problem is that I can't control my dreams. Or, more than often, I forget that I'm supposed to control them. I've tried several different induction techniques, foods that increase lucidity, etc, but so far, no progress. I've tried to WILD every single night now for about a month, and each time I either end up visualizing falling down a cliff or somehow end up in the middle of a dream. I've tried to do the thing with RC-ing IRL and then remembering to do it in my dream so that I can gain lucidity, but the only thing that happens is that I realize, "Ah, I'm dreaming", and then let my subconscious do the rest. In the morning I get frustrated when I remember that I was supposed to control the dream, not just realize that I was in one.

So, any tips on how to remember to control my dream? Should I just keep on going or is there a specific technique I should try? =)

You don't have to control your dreams when you are lucid. Have you read the dream control tutorial? I would recommend the dream content one too, because after you learn how dreams are made, you have a better idea of how to control them.

Write down some specific goals and pick one each night to focus on. It could be something fanciful like flying to the moon or something simple like rubbing your hands to improve clarity. Start simple.

Also, plan and practice a routine to perform as soon as you become lucid. It should include stabilizing the dream, becoming aware of your surroundings, and thinking about the goal you planned to accomplish. With repetition, you will train yourself to think "Ah, I'm dreaming" and then remember to start your routine.

I agree with sisyphus. Create some specific goals. You can imagine doing them throughout the day to practice. Just daydream what you think it will be like to be able to control your world.

Thanks for the tips! I already have specific goal(s) in mind - I'd like to be able to do more in-dream architecture in general, since I'm fascinated with the places and surroundings my imagination is capable of creating. The more specific goal that I've set for myself is to be able to get into the fic-verse for my novel, and potentially fill it with my characters, so that I can get more inspiration when writing. I've daydreamed about it a lot, of course, considering how I'm constantly picturing it when writing, but it doesn't help much.

The only time I've been able to control my surroundings was one time was when I entered a second level in my dream, being semi-lucid as I 'fell asleep' in my dream (I didn't recognize the first level of my dream as a dream) and somehow remembered that I was supposed to build something, but I couldn't remember what. I ended up making a random archipelago suspended in mid-air, but that isn't exactly what I'm looking for...

Thanks for the tutorial, I'll check it out ;)