VagalTone's last word on becoming lucid

So, basically, i want to say that lucidity is a state of being, or you can call it a state of mind, a mindset. It's not a goal, not a technique. it's both the method, the path and the goal, all in one. So you accomplish (goal) lucidity by being (path) lucid (method).

That is not to say that techniques are not helpful. They certainly are, when they lead us in this direction of being lucid and not just wanting to be lucid for the moment of a RC. We must create the habit of being lucid, not the habit of being lucid for a few moments. And surely one should not try to only be lucid while dreaming. Then, it will never happen perfectly, because one always carry oneself into the dream. How can you expect to be unlucid during the day, and lucid at night ? Or rude during the day, and loving at night ? They will cancel each other, neutralize themselves

Basically, one has to learn to stay with the experience in an open, unprotected, vulnerable, accepting way. One has to learn to not use the moment as a means to an end, but as a journey with no end other than itself. Life has no meaning other than itself. It simply is and that is enough to justify its existence..
Each moment must be joy in itself and not just for the sake of the future reward, because then one will stay right here and no future promise or past regret will distract us from the joy of this moment, the joy of this integrity of being with the experience, completely available and connected completly loving, giving all your presence to life, not fearing or pushing away unpleasantness, or doing it less amd less.
If we chose to dissociate away from this moment, either by multitasking or by thinking about the experience instead of living it directly or by paying attention to something more pleasant or less boring, we are saying this experience is not good enough, and this habit of aversion and wanting will keep you distractible and restless. Therefore your presence will be much more difficult. So you must change it bit by bit.

When it is perfected, then your mind stays on track, wants to stay on track, and your intentions and purpose become crystal clear, and so lucidity has the chance to co-emerge. Indeed, it has to arise, as every condition is present for it to appear.
Singletasking is best for this. Multitasking comes from the rush to reach the next reward, that only comes in the next moment and so you lose this lucidity.

So, how can we better improve our night lucidity if not by being lucid always ?

Remember, its not a technique. It is a way of being. It is called mindfulness.
Tecnhiques can only point at it.
If you love your life with presence you will want to be present to love your dream life too.

Keep this close to your heart.

Really, really good... I believe you really captured the essence of what we are trying to do here...

So, as one gradually learns to direct one's attention and purpose and not be easily sidetracked by temptations, distractions, and endless conceptualization, then it is difficult to be controlled by the dream ( which, btw, is what happens in a nonlucid dream). The first tool to "control" the dream is to be able to use our attention in a unified, less fragmented style, and be able to direct it, either opening it to the entire array of sensations, or focusing it a little bit more around some particular ones.
That is how we interact with reality, by the way we manipulate our attention, intention and expectation.
As longs as these are hijacked by instinctive, habitual patterns in the waking state, so one can not expect a consistent, stable routine of lucid dreaming.
I think the state of lucidity is a state of interaction and playfulness with the dream environment. For this interaction you need a sense of control (that is, to have access to other options besides the automatic ones), moment to moment opennes to feedback from the dream, and the ability to self-regulate your actions accordingly. If this balanced interaction is lost, then either nonlucidity returns, or we wake up.
So, i invite you to practice this mindful interaction while awake according to your creativity and style *
(* Edit: ofc one good example of this interaction while awake is the practice of moment-to-moment nonjudgmental curiosity and openess to our experience and senses, aka mindfulness. The thread is lost when one becomes distracted by something which is not direct experience, like daydreaming. A creative way to this way is like Hukif does with gravity, using the sensation of weight as a portal to direct experience and to know which reality he is in. A reality check, whether sporadic or more continuous, is an interactive practice in this sense)

At last, one word that deserves further consideration is motivation. When one's motivation is somehow connected to a virtuous, more altruistic intention, then failure and procrastination have less power over us. Because when the motivation is large, the failure is shared, and so the fear of failure is less.
For sure one can realize wordly pleasures and satisfaction in the lucid state, but the possibility of boredom, dissatisfaction, and meaninglessness won't be too far away. If we can include these more hedonistic goals into a larger one ( whatever it is, that inspires us and is good for everyone, not just us ) it will be much easier to keep failure and success in perspective, to be patient and persist, to be fearless. That is, in a nutshell, to assume the control panel.

In my opinion, one can find all these features in the practice of dream yoga, and it should not be reserved for buddhist people, but for every open mind

Good knowledge VagalTone. Need some time to absorb it all. I may come back here to reply!

Vagaltone: "...hijacked by instinctive, habitual patterns in the waking state..."

I think you hit it on the head with this bit. It is our habitual actions that bring about robotic behavior rather than lucidity. We are programming ourselves throughout our lives to act in certain ways during certain circumstances. Being mindful, then, means making conscious choices rather than habitual ones, even if the action is one built by habit. This is lucid living: being aware of our decisions and consciously acting them out, with as little interruption from the monkey mind as we can manage.