Learning to Control Your Dreams

June 19th, 2007

This article is part of the series Mastering the Art of Lucid Dreaming.

As you grow more proficient at becoming lucid within your dreams, you may find it takes some practice before you're able to influence things within the dream or even to control your own actions in the dream. Being lucid simply means being aware of the fact that you're dreaming. There are many levels of lucidity, and some of them come with more control than others. Having a lucid dream doesn't always mean you'll have control of the dream, but with a bit of practice you can learn how to gain control of your dream self as well as the dream environment and everything in it. That's when things really get fun.

As soon as you achieve conscious awareness within a dream and have taken steps to maintain that lucidity, immediately remind yourself that you are in complete control of your actions and reactions. Quickly assess the dream scene — don't spend too much time looking around or you may get caught up in the dream and lose lucidity — then make a conscious decision about where you would like to go within the dream scene and what you would like to do. Make a determined effort to take that action before becoming involved in anything else within the dream. You may even want to make an effort to take a meaningless but deliberate action, such as jumping up and down, simply to prove to your mind that you are in control.

When you encounter something you normally would fear in your dream, make a point to stop yourself from becoming afraid. Take control of your actions and your reactions by facing the object of your fear and stating clearly to it that you are dreaming, you are not afraid, and you are in complete control. This will not only serve to convince your mind that you're in control of the dream, it also will reinforce your lucidity as you acknowledge you have no reason to fear because it is only a dream.

Step 1: Controlling Your Dream Body

To practice controlling your dream environment, you should first work to control your own dream body. It's easier to control your own actions than to control the other elements of your dream world, so it's best to start there.

In manipulating your dream body, you have a surprising amount of flexibility. Begin by attempting to change the clothes worn by your dream body simply by consciously willing it to happen. Try changing the color of your clothing, then attempt to change the style of the clothing.

Use the same technique to alter the length or color of your hair. Try making yourself taller or shorter. Change the color of your eyes. For fun, try consciously willing yourself to grow wings, a tail, or extra arms and legs.

Remember, your dream body is just a projection of your mind, so project anything you want and see what happens.

Stay tuned for the next article in this series, which will describe Step 2, how to control your dream environment.