@SUNDANCE You are welcome. Be very aware we are all different and the approaches and methods work differently, but we can try to help each other with some common things that sometimes work.
I've been a dream walker for a very long time and still wish a lot of things were different, or better under my ego control. I came to the conclusion (after a memory check proved something) that I have different functional parts of myself, that have their own agendas, memories, intents, etc. Sometimes we agree and get along, share our goals or intent, but mostly we do not. That is mainly my fault for not gearing my waking ego mind to be more like any of the many versions of myself that are adept, and in charge in the dream realms. Thus, asking for things and being nice to them sometimes gets me what I want. I call them,
them, for a reason. We are the same entity, of course. So it isn't like they are foreign or malicious entities of some kind, but they do have control over most of the skills and abilities, and they refuse to give much of that up to the waking ego mind because these parts of myself know me better than I know myself.
So, a fancy way of talking about how different these altered states are compared to waking awareness.
When you simply let go and become that part of yourself that is active in dreams, you often also lose what you were wanting to do in the first place, so your intent and desires are often gone with that union. The more your ego/waking mind becomes like your dream minds, the more things align and the more control you have, because you are then united and share the same thoughts and interests. So it isn't that we are chasing after and controlling the dream consciousness, but it is more like surrendering to these altered states and becoming them. We learn and understand how they function. Less of our waking crud consciousness means more of the skilled and powerful selves.
If you get to the point of reason and thought while dreaming, just ask yourself some simple questions and see if you know the answers. Mine were things like "Do I own a car?" "Where do I live?" "What year is it?" "Who is currently President?"...
You might be surprised at how much you don't know, or don't have at your disposal in those altered states, and how much these altered states don't care about things we care about while we are awake and in the ego mind. I had no clue to any of the questions, and it caused me to be launched out of the dream mode, because the dream consciousness sent me to the place where I know the answers, my waking mind. So, it gave me the answers the only way it could. That was a lesson in how that particular dream zone functions.
I'm sure you've noticed that the dream awareness is not judgemental about much of anything. You can be talking to a rock, that rock is talking back, and a purple flying elephant cruises by, and it doesn't phase that awareness at all in the sense that it isn't even surprised or reacting the same way you would while awake. You can be stuck and moving slowly, while something is frightening and chasing you, and the choices or critical/rational thought is offline. Forcing that rational thought to be active usually wakes you up.
The other thing that I try to preach, is that the waking ego mind and your body have these filters, locks, and blocks in place for everything that isn't physical, or anything not a part of the obvious borders of this place, the limits of this world/realm/dimension. On one hand, they keep your energy contained so you don't subconsciously dial 9-1-1 using telekinesis, or harm others, or otherwise upset the status quo of the world manifesting things.
These locks, blocks, and filters are usually also turned On during dreaming, but we can peek past the limitations of time, share in other people's dreams, and switch to other altered states more easily. Many people end up bypassing some of the locks, blocks, and filters by creating a tulpa, egregore, or servitor outside of the lock, block, and filter zone, or participating in existing versions of these energetic bubbles that exist and are constantly being fed by the masses.
I bring up these locks, blocks, and filters because they have moving goal posts that will step up and interfere with your practices if you get too close to them, or try to cross them. These systems will distract you, make you tired, depressed, or feed you with nonsense that drags you down some fantasy rabbit hole, just to keep you from bypassing any of the locks, blocks, or filters.
These systems have so many ways of manipulating things that it is simply amazing, and no, I have not figured out how to shut them off, or why they are there (other than self-preservation/protection), or whether or not they are installed, evolutionary, or what.
So, if you start tripping up, not remembering dreams, losing any skills you feel you have gained, it is likely the lock, block, and filter systems stepping up to do what they do.
