Thread: ADA Motivation

So the first entry:

Ok, so I did my conscious trip to the supermarket. I noticed a café nearby and decided that anything with a counter would do for good examination of items. At the supermarket – felt a bit strange and shy because I wanted to do my ADA/RCs, there were a lot of people around, but went on to complete my mission.

At the supermaket, ADA/RCs: mood examination – usually not shy in dreams. Clothes examination – had my recent shoes, they fit well. Items examination – lots of dirt on the lettuce (possible sign something is wrong!) Finger count on one hand – 5, ok! Other suspicious events – ran into a neighbour, who behaved as weirdly as I did. It could well be a dream, so be on the lookout!

Day2: I had a bad day for RC because I had to rush a lot. I know this is exactly when you are supposed to stop and ask yourself if it is a dream….

ADA/RC store: went there with bf who wanted me to hurry up. Possible sign that this is a dream. I examined him, and he didn’t quite look like himself. (He has the flu!). Don’t remember anybody having flu in my dreams. Looked at my shoes – had my winter shoes. Suspicious. Spend some time reading signs, nothing changed.

This night: non-ld, toy store dream. Was with family friends that I see once a year - a very strong dream sign. The store was actually in an apartment, and later looked more like kindergarten. Toys looked interesting, some kind of a lego computer and other toys for young children. Toys always look a bit strange in real life too.

I have lately been doing ADA during commutes to and from work, and today I went on a walk outside during lunch break. During my outside walk, one of the things I paid attention to was my shadow: it was close to noon so it was a short shadow, and as I walked around the building it switched sides where it was of course. When I came to one side of the building, I noticed I had two shadows: one very distinct on the side that I would expect and the other about 180 degrees from it. I considered that I might be dreaming, but then discovered the truth: I was next to a side of the building that had very reflective windows, and the sun was reflecting from those windows, so I had one shadow that was more distinct facing toward the building (that was the shadow caused by the sun directly) and the second much paler shadow facing away from the building (that was the shadow due to the reflection of the sun). Pretty cool ADA observation! And if I had not been practicing ADA I would have totally missed it.

@ JoannaB. That is indeed a very cool ADA observation! I have wondered if there are any shadows in dreams, since there is no light to produce them. Would be interesting to check this out in an Ld.

Day3:
Was quite aware today, did a number of RCs, and noticed lots of things while outside, including the sky, the wind, smells, people, my hands, shoes, clothes.

Store ADA/RC: Spent some time looking for something extraordinary, a guy was staring at me, I went away and secretly counted fingers. There was a red balloon at the ceiling, it was attached to a pipe and was moving a bit. It was out of human reach and looked a bit like some TK may be happening. I had to make sure that this wasn't a dream, so quickly read a label, it didn't change. In the meantime, I remembered a fragment from a dream a had last night. It had to do with some cookies on the bottom of a cup of chocolate.

Update: I haven't forgotten about this thread, just decided to put all entries together. So here's how it has been going:

Day 4: This was a great day for ADA, especially during a walk outside, I noticed lots of small but fascinating details about the environment and it has been a really pleasurable time. I also managed to remember a dream I had during the night.

Day 5: Was in bad mood, no supermarket trip today, did some RCs though
Relevant dreams: was dreaming of food

Day 6: While in the store, doing my ADA, RCs, I noticed the word "dream" written on an ad. It was absolutely crazy, and I really felt I could be dreaming. There were also lots of coins on the floor. Looked at my hands but everything seemed normal.

Dream: was shopping for some tea cups/ dishes

Day7: abandoned RC and ADA today, was feeling a bit unwell and low on energy

Day8: Did some RCs, realized how bad my RC routine has recently become. I should have been doing RC upon seeing a DS. I must go back to looking for my DS, in addition to store checks. Did RCs during day, mostly finger count, and a bit of ADA in store, nothing unusual spotted this time.

Day9: beginning of day, somewhat bad ADA and little RCs, I was overexcited with the recent ld night. Later, did a few had RCs, skipped the store, and had to cancel a walk outside because it started raining, RCed just to be sure it is not a dream.

Day10: Was feeling dehydrated, which does not happen in dreams, I also got a headache. Did ADA as much as I could but I felt quite tired. No store, but went to other places, where I looked closely at people, and I kept asking myself if this is a dream. Also checked hands, saw a sticker with B6 written on it above a gate, RCed, because it was suspicious. Looked at the moon, full moon and very large, wondered if this is a dream again.

Day11: A great day for ADA. The weather was perfect so we went for a nice long walk. Tried to pay attention to everything, also RCed a lot. Did some RCs in the store as well, but forgot to RC in the cafe.

Relevant dream: was in a supermarket, there were strange veggies but I thought they were Chinese (dream logic fail)

Day12: Was too emotional, and spend my time during the day following distractions. As a result no Ada, and only one RC.

Day13: Had lots of stuff to do, only did a few RCs

Day14: Forgot to RC in the shop. Had some thought about how sloppy and disorganized I have been in the last few days about my lucid practice. Decided it is time to start all over again.

Day15: Did lots of RCs, and committed to doing more in the future

Dream: was in a shop where they sold all kinds of items to help you achieve lucidity

Concluding remarks:
Overall, I think those days make a good sample that correctly describes my average behavior. On some days I was very motivated engaging in lots of ADA, RCs, while on others I was busy and forgot to RC. But even in those days, I had at least thought about lucidity so dreaming was not completely forgotten. During the period 16-31 May, I became lucid during six nights, having a total of 13 lds (3 of which very short), which is an encouraging number in any case.

What I would like to do in the future is to continue with a decent amount of RC and ADA as much as possible. Becoming aware that I am dreaming while looking at items in a dream store has still not worked out, so I must put more effort into that, until it becomes a habit to constantly question my environment.

Trying to improve my daytime awareness, so I decided to keep a daily log of my awareness exercices/RCs. Hoping that doing so will help me remember during the day.

I set a goal to try and remember to RC at least 5 times a day, when I find myself in dreamlike situation/place.

I didn't remember 5 today, I think it was 3-4 but it wasn't bad for a start. I was out at the bank and a person was staring at me, it seemed odd and made me RC. A few other times I realized my awareness had dropped and a did a 'reverse reality check' to make sure I wasn't in the dream state.

Recently, I've been doing some ADA. I might join in and make a habit of it.

I have been doing ADA for about 10 days and i'm already remembering to stop and look around, feeling the breeze on my skin. I have also started to remember alot more than I did 10 days ago. I RC more than I should but its not getting in the way of my usual life, its becoming my usual life.

I may join in and make a diary for how my day has been.

All right, after things went so well, I kind of became lazy with my RCs and ADA, so I need to get back on track.

I give myself five days to do some decent ADA/RCs and then will report here.

I really need to get into ADA again, had a go before but couldn't keep it up, think I went too far too soon, it was tiring me out. Tried a few bursts last few days such as when I'm walking about.

@ JoannaB. That is indeed a very cool ADA observation! I have wondered if there are any shadows in dreams, since there is no light to produce them. Would be interesting to check this out in an Ld.

This just reminded me of a LD I had several years ago. I was walking down a road and became lucid, I looked around and saw my shadow being cast on the ground as I usually would, but when I looked in the sky the Sun was in an entirely different place to where it should be to cast that shadow. I also looked at my watch which claimed it to be 9:00pm (after looking at a midday sort of sun). I remember standing there finding it really curious that the sun, my shadow and the time were all completely contradicting each other.

I really need to get into ADA again, had a go before but couldn't keep it up, think I went too far too soon, it was tiring me out. Tried a few bursts last few days such as when I'm walking about.

Hey Shantak! I also don't do ADA 24/7 but in the least try to find some periods when I do notice more details about the environment. If I have the time I do some ADA walks, those are my usual walks, but I pay much more attention to everything then and in a relaxed manner too. I also try to take 5-10 mins a day to simply relax and stare out the window or in transportation, etc.

This just reminded me of a LD I had several years ago. I was walking down a road and became lucid, I looked around and saw my shadow being cast on the ground as I usually would, but when I looked in the sky the Sun was in an entirely different place to where it should be to cast that shadow. I also looked at my watch which claimed it to be 9:00pm (after looking at a midday sort of sun). I remember standing there finding it really curious that the sun, my shadow and the time were all completely contradicting each other.

Thanks for sharing that! It is very interesting that the subcon was able to produce these three references of time so well, even though they were not synchronized. Also it's amazing you noticed all three. I saw this comment late yesterday, but was too tired to reply. I was going to say that I still haven't paid attention to shadows in my dreams. Then this morning, I had a short ld that I don't much remember, just that I looked at shadows and they kind of looked the same. I think this was inspired by your comment here, so thanks!

So here is the summary for the 5 days of ADA (5-9th) July. I started quite enthusiatically, but then some unexpected stuff came up, so my concentration was not as good as as I had hoped for.

Day 1: very enthusiastic, I did some RCs and also noticed dream signs that overlap with real life. I also wrote my goals for July.

Day2: Despite distractions, I did as much ADA and RCs during the day as I could. I took a long walk outside and noticed all kinds of small details, even counted the number of trees on the street. Overall, it felt very nice and relaxing. Also saw some DS.

Day3: Again, especially when outside I did lots of ADA. (I kind of feel bored doing ADA at home, unless I am looking out the window or cooking, which is a must as I dream of food so often)

Day4: remembered to do a morning RC, but as whole this was a very busy and tiring day where I couldn't dedicate much time to ld practices.

Day5: did just a little bit of ADA, mostly watching things from the window.

Results: A total of 9 lds for the period 5-9th July (5 of those were micro-lds). Apart from lds, I think that ADA helps me a lot to deal with stress. I suppose it is so because it activates alpha waves the way that I do it - as if watching fish in aquarium.

Comments: I have to admit that I still have not made it a habit to RC in the supermarket, and only occasionally do RCs there. However, I try to do some ADA at least daily, and especially in the summer have incorporated it in walks outside or jogging. Quite often I listen to my footsteps, and hum a mantra in my mind "I am dreaming", this always improves my mood and helps me to focus better. While daily life can be quite distracting at times, finding a few mins to become aware of one's surroundings is not a problem. The real problem is remembering to do it.