This was a dream question sent to me for answer: If you’d like a chance for your dream question to be answered find out more about the The Dream Download™ here. This topic also features in my book Answers In The Dark: Grief, Sleep and How Dreams Can Help You Heal.
“What is it called when you know you are dreaming and you can do whatever you want?”
A dream where you become aware of the fact you are dreaming is called a Lucid Dream.
Some people actively encourage lucid dreaming, becoming “awake” in the dream and using the opportunity to ‘play out’ their part for a meeting the next day, or to see what it would be like to walk through walls! I know of someone who will carry a newspaper under their arm in a dream, and if they don’t like the way the dream is going, they simply read the newspaper which prompts an exit from the dream.
It can be a handy technique for resolving nightmares, and more research is being done to understand if or how Lucid Dreaming could be used to treat, for example, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); teachers like Charlie Morley are doing some incredible work in this arena. However, it must be done safely and in the right circumstances. Changing the ending of a real life event through a dream isn’t always the best way to come to terms with it. Seeking professional help in these cases can be useful.
Regular lucid dreaming can take time and practice, so don’t be disappointed if you don’t have lucid dreams as often as you’d like or have tried to become lucid but have been unsuccessful.
If your lucid dream happened spontaneously, or is happening on a regular basis, you might find keeping a dream diary useful to see if there is a pattern as to why it happens when it does; I offer a template in my book Answers In The Dark.
If you really want to try lucid dreaming, it’s important to consider why you would want to control your dreams and what you’re trying to achieve; I would always recommend you do this under the guidance of a teacher. (At the time of writing, Charlie Morley mentioned above is actively running workshops).
You can allow your mind to roam freely in dreams which of themselves can tackle problems and find answers too. Your dreams may be useful to you without telling them how you want them to end, but lucid dreaming can certainly help take charge of their content if you want to, and under proper instruction.
“Inception”
You may have “woken up” or at least believed you were awake, then actually realised you were still dreaming and then woke up. This type of dream within a dream was the basis behind much of the plot in the movie “Inception”. The idea of mutual dreaming – where two people can experience the same dream at the same time – also featured the film. Depending on how this dream pans out can suggest whether or not you’re going through a period of stress (e.g. If what “wakes” you in the dream is frightening, for you to then realise that as also a dream) so it’s worth noting that in your dream diary if you find that helpful in understanding why it happens when it does.to that when you wake up too.
Delphi is the author of Answers In The Dark: Grief, Sleep and How Dreams Can Help You Heal, out now on Amazon and Hive. The Dreams Maven™ is part of the Helping You Sparkle™ portfolio. You might also like Monday Mojo™.
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The 4 am Mystery: That’s an actual thing by the way. Even before a global health crisis, people found themselves awake in the middle of the night. Answers In The Dark aims to join the dots between sleep, dreams and our mental health, specifically how grief shows up, even if no one has died.
It explores some of the Big Myths of sleep, offers a Sleep Cycle Repair Kit and tips on how to decode your own dreams. Out now on Amazon and Hive.
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© Delphi Ellis, updated 2023 – please note this content may also appear elsewhere as promotional material for Answers In The Dark.
The Dreams Maven ™ 
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