Dream Control Techniques

Twinkling your nose like Samantha in Bewitched might not work, so try these dream control techniques to make things happen in your dreams instead.

I always wanted to be Samantha.  She really had things all figured out.  No magic wand necessary to make her wishes come true.  A simple twitch-twitch and she was good to go.

To have that same kind of control in your dreams is as close as you can get.   Even better, the experience feels much more life-like than simply daydreaming that you could have that kind of control.

The following dream techniques should be practiced during the day to help you improve your control while you sleep.


Visualization
Use visualization to get what you want in your dreams.  To practice this technique, find a few times a day where there are no distractions and think of something you wish you could do or someplace you'd like to be.  Close your eyes and actually picture your goal taking place.  Keep your eyes closed the entire time but expand the detail of your vision as much as possible.  Are you inside or outside?  What's the weather, who is with you, what are you wearing, how do you feel, what do you see?  Try to put colors to the picture.  Just completely focus on your vision for several minutes.

This is a great trick that works well for meeting your real life goals.  If you can picture it, psychologists suggest you are more likely to make that thing happen.  The same works for your dreams.


Ask for It
Again, in a quiet setting with limited distractions, practice asking for what you want out loud.  It might seem strange at first, talking to yourself about what you want, but it helps affirm in your mind what you want to have happen.  Nothing wrong with giving your brain a little hint.  Start with just a sentence describing your goal.  Expand the sentence to several sentences.  Use lots of descriptive words.  See if you can talk about what you want for several minutes.

It's one thing to have secret thoughts about your dreams and desires and another to say them out loud.  It might make you feel selfish or self-conscious but this is why most people don't get what they want in real life, actually.  They're afraid to ask for what they want.  If there's something you want to dream about - say so.  Claim it.  State it out loud!  No one else has to hear you.  The exercise is simply meant to give your inner self all kinds of clues and direction.

Combine Visualization and Verbalization
Once you've practiced the first two techniques a few times, put them together.  Start with verbalizing what it is you want and then move into visualization.  Together, the exercise gives you a cohesive picture of the dream you want to take place.

Perform this routine before going to sleep.  When you find yourself in the dream you were hoping to have, use these same techniques to make things happen in your dream.  If you find yourself inside a forest and you can't see the sky but really wish you could, verbalize what you want to have happen and then visualize it taking place.  See the trees above part to allow sunshine or a view of blue sky.

Practicing dream control techniques during the day will make those skills available to you in your dreams.