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How To Control Your Dreams?
Denys Chumak

Denys Chumak

16 Oct 2023

How To Control Your Dreams?

Have you ever gone to sleep expecting to wake up in the middle of the night with a solution or revelation? Perhaps you're facing a tough circumstance in your life that you're finding difficult to understand or a tough choice you need to make. If you understand how to control your dreams, then your dreams can be a source of knowledge and direction.

You may teach your mind to be attentive during your dreams and even to consciously direct them by using practices like reality checks, intention setting before bed, and dream journaling.

Dream Interpretation: Why Do We Dream, and What Does It Mean?

Have you ever questioned whether you have any control over your dreams or why you dream? People have been captivated by dreams for ages. Scientists have some beliefs about what dreams could represent and how you might be able to affect them, even though they still don't fully understand why we dream.

Why do we dream?

Several popular ideas explain why humans dream, including:

1. Memory consolidation: Dreams may aid in the processing and consolidation of our daily events and recollections. While we sleep, our mind connects the dots between experiences, memories, feelings, and sensory information.

2. Emotional control: Dreams may aid in the processing of feelings and mood management. The subconscious mind can process anxiety, trauma, worries, and other emotional events through dreaming.

3. Solving problems: Our minds may use our dreams as a means of working through issues we encounter throughout the day. Dreams' strange and fantastical qualities enable our imaginations to form novel and uncommon connections.

4. Meaningless: According to some scientists, dreams are random and have no real significance. They are merely an effect of other sleep-related procedures. Although conceivable, this idea fails to take into account how vivid, intricate, and deeply personal dreams may be for many individuals.

Also read: Why Do We Dream? A Theory On How Dream Protects Our Brain?

How to control your Dreams?

Some people engage in lucid dreaming, a method for becoming conscious and in charge of your dreams. You can become aware of your dreams and possibly have an impact on them if you regularly practice reality checks, intention setting, and meditation before bed.

Most of us will always find dreams enigmatic and uncontrollable. You might, however, learn more about your waking life's emotional experiences, hopes, anxieties, and other elements by examining the themes and symbolism in your dreams. Maintaining a dream diary and analysing the meanings can be a very insightful exercise.

How to Become Lucid: Methods for Managing and Guiding Your Dreams

Being conscious of your dreams while you are still asleep is the first step toward clarity. You can discover strategies to affect your dreams in addition to becoming lucid with practice. Here are a few techniques to help you take charge of and make sense of your dreams:

Checks of Reality. To develop the habit, ask yourself frequently if you are dreaming when you are awake. This habit could activate when you're dreaming, enabling you to recognise when you're asleep. To feel weightless, try switching a light switch, double-checking the time, or jumping. You're likely dreaming if something is off.

Recall dreams. As soon as you wake up, write down your dreams in the dream journal you keep next to your bed. By doing this, you can train your mind to recall more specifics from your dreams. The likelihood of experiencing lucid dreams increases with your awareness of the telltale symptoms of a dream.

Premeditation. Before going to sleep, picture yourself in your dreams waking up and becoming coherent. Say something aloud, such as "I will know I'm dreaming." You can use this deliberate intention for your dreams.

Veracity Steers. Select an item, such as a jewel, to stand in for your objective. Hold it, look at it, and see yourself being clear-headed. By physically enacting your intention, you raise your chances of having lucid dreams.

Wake Initiated Lucid Dreams (WILDs). When you go to sleep, lie still and maintain mental awareness even while your body drifts off to sleep. You can go straight into a lucid dream by doing this, which enables your mind to enter a dream state while retaining awareness. Despite being difficult, WILDs can result in extremely vivid, clear dreams.

You'll be able to identify when you're dreaming and even control your dream experiences with consistent use of these techniques. Although achieving complete lucidity requires commitment, even modest improvements in consciousness and memory can offer a valuable understanding of your own psyche and spiritual path.

Also read: The Science Behind Lucid Dreams

Using Lucid Dreaming to Gain Guidance and Personal Development

Have you ever questioned whether you have any influence on your dreams? Yes, it is possible to achieve this through lucid dreaming. With enough effort, you can even intentionally control the events of your dreams while you're asleep. A useful technique for discovering more about oneself, facing anxieties, and unleashing creativity is lucid dreaming.

How to Bring on Hallucinations

You might attempt the following methods to raise the likelihood that you will experience lucid dreams:

Reality checks. Throughout the day, check in with yourself to see if you are dreaming. This is a behaviour that can help you recognise when you are dreaming.

Dream memory. As soon as you wake up, record your dreams in a dream notebook. This enhances your ability to recall dreams and recognise reoccurring themes in your dreams.

Illustration. Imagine yourself realising you are dreaming as you go off to sleep. A mantra such as "I will know I'm dreaming" should be repeated. This helps you to concentrate on experiencing lucid dreams.

Wake Initiated Lucid Dream or WILD. While lying in bed, let your body unwind and your mind remain focused. This enables you to enter a lucid dream state straight from a level of consciousness as your body goes to sleep. Although it requires practice, this has great potential.

Also Read: Why do we dream?

Opportunities and Development

The opportunities are infinite if you become proficient at lucid dreaming. One may:

1. Confront your anxieties in a safe environment. Overcoming them in your dreams can assist in lowering anxiety levels during the day.

2. Make use of your imagination. Lucid dreams are great for imagining new concepts, solutions, and artistic or musical creations. Keep a dream journal to get inspiration.

3. Learn more about who you are. Aspects of yourself or your life's journey may be represented by the things, people, and events in your lucid dreams. Consider the significance and advice included in your dreams.

4. Discover a sense of belonging. When you feel lost or alone, talking to dream characters or your inner guide might help you find your way. Dreams might provide the answers you're looking for.

You can master the art of lucid dreaming by using the techniques regularly and by thinking critically about the significance of your dreams. Lovely dreams!

Conclusion

In this blog, you have to understand how to control your dreams. You really can have power over your dreams now that you know this. You can control your dreams by training your mind to become conscious and lucid during sleep. This may be achieved with patience and practice.

Once you recognise that you are dreaming, begin to practice reality checks, keep a dream journal, and see what you can accomplish. You can also take the help of DreamApp to analyse the symbolism of your dreams. The possibilities in your dream world are only limited by your creativity. Why not give it a try since you have nothing to lose? Happiest of dreams and exploration!

FAQs

How to control your dreams, especially through lucid dreaming techniques?

The ability to lucid dreams can be acquired via a variety of methods, including reality checks, keeping a dream journal, and daily mindfulness exercises. These techniques assist you in realising that you are dreaming, which enables you to manage your dreams.

Why do we dream, and how does it relate to controlling our dreams?

Dreaming is still not fully understood, but it is believed to serve several purposes, including processing emotions and experiences. Learning to control your dreams, particularly through lucid dreaming, can be a way to explore your subconscious mind and gain insights into your thoughts and emotions.

Can controlling your dreams help interpret dream meanings or symbolism?

Yes, when you can control your dreams, you have the opportunity to interact with dream elements and symbols consciously. This can aid in understanding the meaning behind recurring themes or symbols in your dreams, providing insight into your subconscious thoughts and emotions.

What are some common techniques for achieving lucid dreaming and dream control?

Common techniques for achieving lucid dreaming include reality checks (habitually questioning if you're dreaming), maintaining a dream journal (recording your dreams regularly), practising meditation and mindfulness, and using mnemonic induction to enhance dream recall.

Is it possible to learn how to control your dreams, or are some people more naturally inclined to do so?

While some individuals may have a natural predisposition to lucid dreaming, you can learn how to control your dreams with dedication and practice. It may take time and patience, but the techniques and methods mentioned earlier can be effective for most people in achieving dream control and lucid dreaming experiences.

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16 Jan 2025

dream-about-militia-capturing-loved-ones
Being chased by murderer
Darkness
Family
Police
Trapped

Dream

A group of bad guys like a militia took a lot of males including my dad and brother. The males they took were on their knees and they started to kill them using machetes, directly into their necks. My mom and I were observing all these crazy act from a high building. I yelled at my mom to please let me go to the police. I knew I could make it to the police station to save my brother and dad. I was so frustrated because she didn’t let me go . She was afraid I might get captured and killed. So I went to the roof of the building to see if I could access the police station but the darkness of the night didn’t allow me to see forward. At the end they all got killed and the people that were on the top of the building didn’t allow me either to go to the police. They put traps or say things for Me not to go. So we all can survive .

16 Jan 2025

dream-about-parallel-worlds-and-falling
Abandoned home
Alien
Husband
Grandmother
Children
Stairs

Dream

My dream started off, it seemed like I was in kind of like a parallel world, one of the houses that I grew up in, like a log cabin, and each room I would go in would be different than it was when I was little, and there were like more beds in there, like maybe more people or more siblings or something, and then I kind of jumped to being in a room with who I thought were my kids, I didn't see their faces, but they were being really rambunctious and like broke this plant, like they were very careless, and then I went to carry the plant down the stairs, and the stairs were the stairs that I got pushed down, yeah basically pushed down when I was a child, anyway, the dirt fell down the stairs, and then my grandmother, well we kind of jumped in the dream, and then my grandmother went sliding down the stairs, fell, and then I called for my husband to come out, and he was kind of being grumpy about it, but finally came and helped, and then like I saw her like slumped over at the bottom of the stairs, and then the dream jumped to me and my husband living in California in some random house on a hill, and then we watched some either like alien ship launch or rocket or something, while we were out there, we, I don't know, went to take the garbage out, there were, he had brought the mattress out to the side of the street, and then while we were talking, and this face would start changing, like into like people that I knew, or I don't know, like scarier faces, I guess, and what was face changed into some face, I don't remember recognizing, and then I just woke up to this feeling of, of, it's almost like grabbing my throat, someone grabbing my throat, or pinning me down, but it was like I felt this really big don't touch me in the throat area of peace, and then I woke up very panicked.

16 Jan 2025

Fear
Angry at mom
Friend
Car
Crying
Family

Dream

First it was animal crossing and I was being chased by scorpions so i when into villager’s house to hide, then sometimes i would lay on their bed and they would lay onto of me making me unable to leave the bed. But when I came out of their house the scorpion was still there. I tried a different strat of catching them carring a flashlight, it didn’t work. Then I started looking for them in the rain and they got smart and would bring another big with their claws, release it when I’m about to swing my net and I capture that instead then the scorpion stings me. Then the dream switches. I’m about to get tattoos one on my arm of a lion and the other one of me and my cat. But the one of my cat requires them to break every bone in my arm. I sketch of where I want the rainbow lion tattoo, only realizing I drew it too low on my arm. I go to the bathroom to clean it off. After I’m done I think of shower then my mom starts knocking on the door saying there’s no time. I go out and quickly grab my bag, my phone charger and my winter jacket. I get in the car only realizing have way that I forgot my glasses. Then on my jacket I see a case of my spare glasses, “Oh I’m fine I found my spare glasses, I forgot I left them in the car haha.” Then when I get to the destination it was my choir group having dinner at a place similar to Apple Bees. I sat in the middle of the booth next to my friends, and I thought to myself “Gosh I feel stinky, did I even put on deodorant? My hair looks greasy doesn’t it…” Then my mom and my sister were also there and my mom started talking for a toast. In the middle of it I just angrily say “Oh shut up!”. I get scolded by my dad of not treating mommy that way then I get upset and lock myself in the bathroom forgot I took a burrito with me instead of leaving it on the table. I take a bite of it then remember I’m not supposed to eat in bathrooms. So I wrapped it in its wrapping the best I could and shoved it in my pocket. Then my mom knocks on the door saying she’s sorry and we need to talk to my sister cuz she’s crying. I wash my face and I’m like “fineee”. Me and mom mom go into her room, she’s on her bed crying with her cat ontop of her. She turns around and says “This was supposed to be Lee’s special day… And you had to go around and ruin it.” I say nothing as my mom taking over the conversation, she tries to explain her actions, there was a little back and forth. Then my sister says “See that’s your problem!” Then the dream switches and I’m a deer specialist Bambi and other people that are always baby animals. We are behind some bushes and a scientist tells us to duck all the way to the floor and cover our ears. Then the ground opens and out comes out a giant dish then it has some square holes on the size of the cylinder under the dish. “Test one!” The scientist says. The dish rotates a little and a giant pink boom wave comes out of it, I could feel it on my chest and the tree would shake from the released pressure. I say “omg that’s so loud that’s scary.”, someone else says “Don’t stand up or you’ll be cut in half.” “o-oh” I say. “Test two and this one goes ove the whole country!”.. the same boom happens. And now we are free to go, they show us up how the dish works, then one of the workers tripped over wires and shut the whole thing down “Oop! My bad” he says then turn is on again. Then a bird crashes into the dish’s and doesn’t the boom again. “You might want to see a real scientist.” I say. Her “Oh I plan too”. Then she goes and meets a professor that looks like Einstein. “Let me introduce you to my daughter” they both say at the same time. Then they realize their daughters already know each other and are a mirror image of each other. The look at the giant coins that are the size of their bodies, they have the same last name, “oh that’s kinda creepy” he says. “Any way I was planning on analyzing this thing tho know what’s wrong” she says. “No no you got it all wrong, analyzing is when you already know that problem” the professor says. Then the dream switches and I’m on my bed, I think I woke up, it was still dark outside so I thought it was probably 5am. I looked at my hand and there was a tiny scorpion on my middle finger I scream, I proceed to slap my hand against the wall. I look at it again and it’s still there I scream again then I accidentally wake up.

16 Jan 2025

dream-about-weird-coworkers-children-and-violence
Being chased by murderer
Violence and death
Abandoned home
Sister
Airport
Baby

Dream

I had 3 interesting dreams last night. In the first one, I was with my old coworkers at my house. It all just felt weird to me, like I was the odd one out. One of them, Janiqua, who was my closest friend at the time, explained to me that she’s sorry because they have inside jokes and lore that I’m not aware of. The house was a mess and nobody helped me clean up. In the second one, I was in an airport. This random man was pushing a stroller with I think two kids, but I only remember one. He asked me for directions to his gate. We got to his gate and he was handling something on his phone so I watched the stroller. The child was really really small with kind of a big head. I assumed maybe she was born prematurely. His gate number wasn’t for an airplane though, it was for a boat. The man boarded first without the stroller and the baby. The platform was swaying badly and the stroller nearly fell out the door but I caught it. I was stressed and scared and kept thinking that this has to be the wrong gate because of the danger. In the third one, I was in a classroom with Jack, the UK guy that broke my heart, and Cam, his friend, along with random other guys. My sister Teri was there, on a table, acting strangely. She was on all fours and acting really sexual. Of course the guys enjoyed it, but I pulled her aside and asked “what’s wrong with you?”. The dream suddenly warped to seeing this character Neal Caffrey from a TV show I’ve been watching starting acting strangely as well. In the show, he’s never killed anyone. But in my dream, it was as if he had a breakdown. He started shooting people dead in front of me. He tried to hurt me but somehow I managed to get into a room and close and lock the door long enough to call 911. It was the first time I used a phone in a dream. It took forever to type in 911 because I kept messing up, but eventually I did it, to Neal”s dismay. I tell the officers “you need to come to my address, there’s a guy, Neal Caffrey, and he’s already killed multiple people, he’s trying to hurt me, get here quickly!” This is how I found out I was back at my own house even though the interior looked nothing like it. Neal runs outside and to the right down the street, in the east direction. I contemplate chasing after him to keep track of him, but I see the lights of the police coming down from north to my house, so I take one last glance at Caffrey and stay to tell approaching officers he’s on foot. I don’t remember anything else after that except being scared out of my mind.

16 Jan 2025

Argument
Apartment
Basketball
Party
Relationship
Guy

Dream

I had a dream where I was watching some people play basketball, I guess, and there was this one guy that I thought was cute, and we started talking, and then we started kind of seeing each other off and on, and I invited him over to like my place and whatnot. She was not happy about it, and she was kind of like trying to stop me a little bit and find out where I lived. She ended up coming to my house as a party or whatever, and tried to find out if he was with me, and like cheating on him, or cheating on her with me, which he wasn't, because they were separated, and there were times that she would just kind of like try and go over to my house, and she wanted me to go over to like their place, because it was really weird and kind of complicated, but they like still kind of got along. She seemed to be a little bit more accepting of the fact that their relationship was over and that he's kind of moving on, and he and I seemed to be really compatible, and everything seems to be working out, and right before the dream ended, I was at their sort of like penthouse mansion in a city. It was weird. I was like on top of their roof while the two of them like argued. I watched both of them argue about everything, and it was just really, really strange.

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