Yes more awareness haha coming from someone who is easily distracted/slighty ADD, lucid dreaming training is very healthy for me.

I do think RC are important as I do them everyday, but mainly to train my prospective memory side and for that critical thinking. I think awareness can be trained well in meditation as you say, and it doesn't have to be seated but can be walking meditation.

Then we need to combine awareness of everything around us (what we see, feel, hear), as well as critical thinking. So awareness/focus (meditation) + Critical Thinking (Reality checks) go hand in hand and are perhaps incomplete on their own? You seem to be on to that already Metaphysic ^_^

I don't know, just thinking I need more practice with everything anyway.