I was able to for the first time, force myself to stay in the dream and take control of how I moved and manipulate the things in the environment. Not very well, however.
In my typical dreams, I am merely presented with objects or people that are composites of memories, based on whatever chemical process happens to be occurring in my brain.
This time, however, I suddenly became consciously aware that I was in a store that specialized in holiday decorations, in particular, Halloween. I think the original process intended to evoke fear, but I picked up what turned out to be a very poorly made rubber Frankenstein mask.
The store turned out to be closed at the time and I was confronted by employees, but then I became aware they were actually lip-synced to a podcast to which I was earlier listening when I fell asleep. They were out of context with the situation my brain was processing, which emboldened me further to take control.
I raised my arms toward an open skylight in the store and floated up to the roof. I was out of their reach. I raised my arms again, toward the sky over the rooftops, and there I was, flying at will, over short buildings, and around taller ones. People below me were saying "Look at that asshole!" "What a dick!" Like they were jealous. It made me smile.
Then I suddenly became aware of my breathing. I tried to resist going toward what looked like a big wall, or super-sized television screen that was flickering and snowy. Then it disappeared and all that remained was the darkness of the inside of my eyelids. I was awake.
For a second afterward, I tried to slip back under the barrier and almost did. After a moment I had no choice but to open my eyes.
I hope I can do that again. I was drinking small doses of coffee and listening to podcasts before falling asleep. Somewhere in there is the safety harness of conscious awareness I can cling to as I descend into dreamland.
