Thread: ADA: Right or Wrong for Lucidity?

Originally Posted by gbbr

I wrote the response in a hasty way. I wasn't meaning to contradict what you said. I did understand what you mean. I think my main idea here is that any of these techniques (self-awareness, environment awareness, mindfulness) come down to the very interpretation of the reader and they don't have to be mutually exclusive, and that each one of them can be practiced the wrong way if you end up excluding any part of your experience.

Okay, I think I figured this out: The self-awareness that I am discussing is not a technique about being aware of, say your body. No, it is a state of mind. It may be achieved by practicing techniques but it is not one itself. Self-awareness is not a thing you do, it is a thing you are. This might just sound like semantics to you, or may be getting lost in translation, but I figured I should clarify so that your upcoming experiment reflects this, and is not using self-awareness as a technique.

That said:

I think the truth, and what I plan to try out now, is a type of awareness which includes both and excludes none. I think this is what Sageous is pointing at. Technically, I made it a goal to experiment for two months with Sageous's version of being aware, and that is: simply knowing you are here, in the environment. I've done it before, for a very brief time and noticed incredible shifts in behaviour and perspective. As for how much it helps with lucid dreaming, we'll see. Thank you for your reply. This is a topic that interests me greatly and for a long time I thought that being aware means focusing on something (breath, sensations, body, etc), which made it incredibly difficult to maintain awareness when something else required focus (work, computer, conversation, etc). The way you put it: simply knowing, and not focusing on something, is very interesting and is something I want to play around with.

I am very interested in exploring this topic further and discovering together where misunderstandings lie in the guides, improving them based on our discoveries so that more people can better understand them and benefit from them. I will reply here by the end of the two months, or occasionally during them to update you on how maintaining this knowing of myself within my environment is affecting me and potentially my lucid dreaming. If you prefer I do it in another thread, let me know.

That sounds like a good idea, and also that you understand me (or certainly will). I hope you will report on this thread; it seems like a good addition! If I remember this thread right, King Yoshi and I came to terms finally when he acknowledged that ADA might not be enough on its own, but when practiced with a sense of self it could be a very useful tool.. I look forward to your results!