Most of us think of our dreams as a mysterious part of the way that our minds work ? a natural occurrence which we can control no more than we can the weather. These trips taken by our subconscious while our bodies are at rest are thought by most of us as something which is not truly understood, much less within our power to shape. However, anyone can learn dream control and start deciding what happens in their dreams. This is possible thanks to the technique of lucid dreaming.

What does this term ?lucid dreaming? really mean and in what way does it happen, and what are the benefits to this? Are people really able to obtain control, and make their nightly travels in the dreaming arena into an ongoing, never ending adventure? Stay tuned to this article for your answers of these often asked questions on the topic of controlling dreams.

What does Dream Control Mean?

Dream control is something which is available to us through the use if lucid dreaming and grants us the ability to know, even while in the midst of a dream, to be aware that you are doing so ? this lets you start to take control over the direction of your dreams! Even while you are fast asleep, your mind can be in total control of what happens.

For the nightmare sufferers of the world, this can help them find a cure, and back to being able to sleep nice and sound again, and back to having pleasant dreams.

Common Ways of Inducing Lucid Dreaming

A very successful way to reach lucid dreaming uses binaural audio, with this you listen to 2 different types of frequencies simultaneously, for the purpose of altering the brain waves, to bring on a relaxed stage, and also the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep, which is where the lucid dreaming occurs.

Self-hypnosis and meditation were the methods used to induce lucid dreaming before binaural audio recordings became available on DVD and CD formats. Self hypnosis and meditation both work to achieve lucid dreaming, but they can take a while to master, making them not necessarily the best choice if you?d like to start lucid dreaming sooner rather than later.

Many additional techniques, since then, have been developed as methods for inducing lucid dreaming by those experts in both fields of psychology and science. And regardless of any of the earlier methods used the basic purpose still remains the same. To train the mind while in the state of sleep to be aware of being in a dream. The state needed to begin lucid dreaming.

This all starts while we are fully conscious, you have to have a key to use, as far as what to say or do, while you are dreaming, and that signals your brain that you are dreaming, and then permits you to control the rest of the dream.

This often comes down to you just saying to yourself, just prior to sleeping, that in a few minutes you will be dreaming, and that in the dream you will state something or do an action, and as this occurs, instantly you recognize you are dreaming.

Known as MILD (mnemonic induction of lucid dreaming) this technique was developed by Dr. Stephen LaBerge and it has allowed many thousands of people to begin lucid dreaming and using dream control to rid themselves of recurring nightmares and achieve a feeling of empowerment.

You can achieve lucid dreaming, by also keeping a record of what you remember about your dreams, upon waking in a journal or notebook, that you have by your bed. Do this enough nights and you will begin to recollect the facts you've written, and then you will start having dreams like the ones your wrote the facts about, which this can enable you to start managing your dreams.

With lucid dreaming you can go anywhere you desire, meet anyone you would like to meet and tame those creatures from your nightmares. Explore the fantastic imaginary worlds of fantasy and adventure of your dreams. Become a free spirit. Anything you want is yours and only limited by your imagination. You can be a free spirit, free of societies restriction, constraints and limits. With lucid dreaming you will be in complete control of all your nightly fantasies and adventures.

One word of caution, however. There is such a thing as too much lucid dreaming. Psychologists and other experts tell us that your dreams are sometimes your subconscious mind?s way of telling you some important things. So give yourself some time off to have naturally occurring dreams in between your incredible lucid dreaming experiences.