Losing Your Control in Lucid Dreams

Lucid dreaming is when a dreamer realizes that he or she is dreaming. One of the features that people love best about lucid dreams is the ability to be in control of the dream. Lucid dreamers can often indulge their wildest fantasies or make the impossible possible. Why would anyone want to give up that control?

For many reasons but mainly for knowledge. The ancients used to advocate that the secret to wisdom was to "know thyself". The dream is the best way to get to know your self without risking embarrassment, finances or breaking any social taboos. Lucid dreamers also let go of controlling the dream in order to find creative inspiration, explore the nature of reality or, they believe, to communicate with others.

Who's In Control?

In reading several books and websites on lucid dreaming, one aspect comes across again and again from a wide variety of lucid dreamers - that they know they cannot be entirely responsible for their dreams. There is some sort of collaboration going on. The lucid dreamer can try to manipulate the dream all he or she wants, but the results tend to be completely unexpected.

For example, people in lucid dreams often exhibit a life of their own. Even if you argue with the dream person that they are merely figments of your imagination, they argue right back. They often try to do things just to spite your intentions or they present you with a better alternative than what you originally wanted.

Dreams often repeat themselves, including lucid dreams. It seems as if there is a message being presented again and again until the dreamer finally pays attention to it. For example, this writer has certain nightmares that repeat. When lucid in these nightmares, I can often wake myself up. But the next night, the nightmare returns. I find that the best way to work with this sort of nightmare is to let it play out but with the knowledge that it's only a dream.

Out of Focus

Another reason why letting the dream flow as it will is beneficial to lucid dreamers is that it makes the dream last longer. A usual problem lucid dreamers have is being so excited by realizing that they are dreaming that they immediately wake up. In order to have fun with lucid dreams, you need to remain dreaming for as long as possible.

According to Robert Waggoner's Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self (Moment Point Press; 2008), focusing on one object causes the dream to collapse. The lucid dreamer is urged to look about and even turn in a circle every once in a while to keep from waking up. You may find that there is much more going on in the dream than what you were originally focusing on.

Image of an air traffic controller by Mark Brouwer for Wikimedia Commons.