Originally posted by MagicMan
My question now is, to progress from being able to wake myself to being able to control my dreams, do I basically just have to tell myself in the dream that I can control it?
Yes, that's pretty much it. Once you realize you're dreaming, it's pretty easy to give yourself superpowers. It is possible to know you're dreaming and to not have full control over your dream, but once you realize that everything you see is just an illusion you pretty much have the freedom to do whatever you want. You just need to actually believe you can do it. If you have lingering doubts, you may find yourself not able to do something. But if you have confidence in yourself, and if you truly believe what you want to happen will happen, it will.

Believe me, it is loads of fun! You can fulfill your wildest fantasies, and it doesn't matter what you do since none of the people around you are real. If you have the ability to figure out that you're dreaming, you should find it pretty easy. Try keeping a dream journal and doing reality checks too. That will increase your chances of becoming lucid.