Wow, long post.heh.
Welcome to DreamViews Shimrod.
Well, REM stands for rapid eye movement and you dream during REM.
I think it is possible to dream out of REM.
Starting a detailed dream journal will help your dream recall and it helps you find dream signs which are very useful.
I guess reading weird stuff would help to give you weirder dreams. I often have weird dreams based on things that happened to me earlier in the day.