Remember how I said *anything* is possible in a Lucid Dream? Well, it is, but only if you *believe* that. What you believe in a Lucid Dream is very powerful, because your thoughts will create that reality virtually instantly. And this includes limiting beliefs too. As Henry Ford said: “Believe you can, believe you can’t; either way you’re right!” And don’t forget: “the impossible is achieved by those who believe it possible.”

For example, you might be merrily flying along and think, “but this is impossible” – only to find the next moment you are plummeting to the ground – because you just *made it* impossible! But wait, you rethink: “it was possible a moment ago, so it must be possible after all.” Ah, now you’re flying again! See what I mean?

This has more subtle implications when we start to attempt greater dream control. Initially we may need to use tricks like looking away and back again to convince ourselves that the change we desire is possible. With more practice however, we can focus the power of belief and *will* changes to happen as we’re looking at them. It’s more convenient and it’s more fun to watch. Because I have to say, morphing dream objects, characters and environments looks *really cool!* (As does creating out of thin air.)

In your initial Lucid Dreaming experiences, you *may* have only limited control, but this is mostly due to unfamiliarity. We have become accustomed to the limitations of physical life. But as you try a few things and you start to find anything is possible, your confidence builds. And what is confidence if not a *belief* in your own ability?

It’s important to be very careful what you believe about Lucid Dreaming, especially to begin with, as it will affect your experience. Don’t take all the information that you read on the subject at face value if it implies a ‘cannot’ – you could just be blindly picking up someone elses limiting beliefs.

For example, can you say your own name in a Lucid Dream? Yes! But an early dream researcher and author wrote that you couldn’t, and whoever believed him couldn’t either! But dream researcher Stephen LaBerge put this superstition to the test without believing it and of course succeeded. Like Stevie Wonder said: “If you believe in things that you don’t understand, then you suffer. Superstition ain’t the way.”

Another example I’ve seen online is “lucid dreamers do not have complete control over their dreams.” This is truly a terrible thing to tell beginners, because they might believe it and not even try! No, while it’s certainly true that not all lucid dreamers have complete control, I want to stress it is a *learnable skill*! I’ve had many Lucid Dreams where I’ve created the dream landscape *as* I’m walking through it, and countless others where I’ve changed *any* facet of the dream I like.

So that’s the Third Key to Lucid Dreaming: *BELIEF*. Use it, don’t be used by it.