Lucid Living

[Dust Mote]

Several years ago after dabbling in a few induction techniques, I came up with my own that I called: “Lucid Living.” The idea is to re-create during the day the same mental/emotional state that you experience in a Lucid Dream. This is the only technique I use, and when I get off my lazy ass and use it I will invariably have an LD within a short period of time. As a part of this technique I started to really think about what it means to be lucid. What is going on with my awareness? The first thing I noticed is the relative absence of mental chatter. While not completely silent, my mind was much quieter, and thoughts that did come into my head remained for a very short period of time. I also realized that the vast majority of my attention was placed on the world around me. But not all of my attention was directed outward. There was a small percentage that remained: “aware of being aware”. I had this sense of self; that is was me who was doing the looking around. It was when I lost that self-awareness that I then lost lucidity; either becoming consumed by the mental chatter, or becoming engrossed in the environment which led to becoming consumed by the mental chatter. So, how would you describe the state of lucidity? Anyone else doing a similar technique to Lucid Living?

[Abstract Fire]

That's a very good idea! But it might be a good idea to incorporate RCs during that, because that's a good dream sign and if you have an FA and start lucidly living, as you put it, you won't realise the difference. I would try this if my sanity didn't insist on me thinking about every single damn thing.

[Merlock]

If one can bring one's self to form a constant frame of mind dedicated to a concept (which is far from easy to do in everyday life) then I would suggest dedicating that state of mind to constant awareness. As I see it that is the most effective method for attaining lucidity simply because a constant frame of mind (given that one trains it to be truly constant) would allow for constant lucidity in dreams as well. Thus, perhaps I am wrong but I would think that such a mind frame would be more effective than a less..."precise" frame of mind such as recreating the feeling from the dream state. On the other hand, however, it is of course much dependant on a person's personal aspects. Thus, for some awareness may be more effective but for others feelings may be closer than thoughts and thus such a technique may work just as well especially considering the similarities.

[Dust Mote]

Abstract Fire: That's a very good idea! *But it might be a good idea to incorporate RCs during that, because that's a good dream sign and if you have an FA and start lucidly living, as you put it, you won't realise the difference.[/b] I do understand what you are saying but I have a couple of comments. Personally I am not fond of doing Reality Checks, either for myself or as a general practice for anyone. It’s my belief that RCs can be as great a pitfall as they are a benefit. I have lost count of the number of times I’ve seen someone complain of doing an RC in a dream and NOT becoming lucid. The mind is a strange thing and is capable of convincing itself of the darnedest things. In a dream someone sticks his right index finger through the palm of his left hand; doesn’t feel any pain, and doesn’t become lucid (and he didn’t even notice that he just put his finger thru his palm!). Reality Checks give us the opportunity to not believe them. It’s like looking at a fire and wondering if it is hot; then sticking your hand in it to check. Perhaps I am a bit biased because I have never had any difficulty differentiating between waking life and dreaming life. Whenever I look I immediately know which one it is. But it is my hope that by training yourself to assume a lucid frame of mind at all times, when you do it in a dream you will not have to question which reality your are experiencing. As far as your mind being too busy to do this; it can’t be any busier than mine. I guestimate that the amount of time I am lucid during the day is around 10 minutes total. Not much, but that’s all it takes for me to have lucid dreams. Merlock: I appreciate your comments and they bring up some interesting points. Adopting a frame of mind that is in a state of constant awareness is something I would compare to a state of enlightenment. And it is certainly a goal worth achieving. But I have had a few dramatic moments of enlightenment; some that have lasted for days, one lasted for 5 weeks. As I compare the state of mind during enlightenment to the state of mind during a Lucid Dream, I find that they have some similarities, but are not exactly the same. They are similar in that the mind tends to quiet down, and thoughts that go thru are much less consuming. But (for me) lucidity has this extra element of self-awareness that is lacking in enlightenment, or is much less noticeable. I think lucidity has a greater sense of immediacy, or a higher energy level, it feels more dynamic. (I’m not completely satisfied with this description, and you’ve given me something very interesting to think about) When I speak about Lucid Living as re-creating the same frame of mind as in a Lucid Dream, I am referring to the entire package of that condition; both the mental and the emotional conditions that exist during lucidity. It’s something I have put a lot of attention on and this state of mind is very precise for me; probably more so than my concept of enlightenment or my understanding for what passes as my “normal” state of awareness. But that is exactly why I started this post; to have people examine exactly what is going on in an LD. And it is very true, as you said, that much of this is dependant upon individual interpretation. Some will respond more favorably to the idea of consciousness or some other concept of awareness. Since I perceive differences between total consciousness and lucidity I simply wanted to present the idea to give others a chance to examine it for themselves. Whether anyone accepts or rejects my ideas, it is the self-examination that will ultimately prove to be of benefit.

[Charybdus]

I think I am able to reproduce alot of the feeling, or concentration might me a better description, of what my body 'experiences' when I re-arrange my world during a LD. The word 'focus' gets thrown around alot (i.e. "Ghost"), but it seems I can focus so deeply that I forget about all that is taking place around me. The same focus is what I use to effect changes in my Lucid world. In the waking state, if I do it for to long, I feel drained. But it affords a means of concentration that I still cant quite put into words. To me, this sounds similar to the "Lucid Living" you are speaking of. Maybe it manifests itself differently for everyone... C

[Placebo]

Well, being free of mental chatter is something I get from polyphasic sleep. And then again, it's easy to have a low level WILD with polyphasing. One thing I tend to remember from the really good lucid dreams - awe. Being amazed at the beauty and intricacy of the scene, and disbelief that it's all in my head. Unfortunately these lucid dreams end quite quickly, with me staring stupidly at everything.