Thread: Balancing Awareness and Reflection-The key to attaining lucidity

In order to lucid dream, you have to be aware during the dream and reflect on this awareness to recognize what you're being aware of is a dream.

These two things must be balanced to have the best chance of LDing. Too much awareness leaves too little room for reflection and too much reflection leaves too little room for awareness.

100% Awareness/0% Reflection-You're so completely engaged in the plot of the dream that the concept of it being a dream never comes across your mind.
75% Awareness/25% Reflection-You're engaged in the plot of the dream. Then, something makes you step back and think "Wait, is this a dream?"
50% Awareness/50% Reflection-Your reflecting on everything you're being aware of and lucidity comes easily without need of a reality check.
25% Awareness/75% Reflection-You're reflecting when something you become aware of makes you think "Is this a dream?"
0% Awareness/100% Reflection-You're too deep in reflection to become aware of anything outside of it.

So with this knowledge, what do you do? Your analyze where you fall on the spectrum and make changes accordingly.

If you're so engaged during your dreams that the concept of it being a dream never comes across your mind, you need to be less aware during your dreams in order to leave more room for you reflect on what you're being aware of. To do this, try to be more thoughtful while falling asleep.

On the other hand, if you're thinking so much during your dreams that you're unaware during them, or if you're not conscious of your dreams at all, you need to be more aware during them. To do this, try to be more watchful while falling asleep.

Find the balance and you're all set.