Thread: How do you become "Aware all the time"

Originally Posted by mandy2583

Well I just read a thread that says you should try to become aware all the time? How do you do that?

Learn how to become aware.

Then do it all the time

Very funny Dizko but Im asking how???

Oh sorry, try this video, it should help. Heck, watch the whole series.

I think what they mean by that is:
Try to always "question your sorroundings", like, if your in a library, dont just accept that your in a library. Try looking at a book, if it has an understandable title, and try to believe that it wont.

If a wall has a crack in it, try imagining the crack getting larger, and if it does- well your dreaming.

Be aware of anything suspicous, ALL the time.

Here's a thread I started a while back called "What does "becoming more aware of waking life" mean to you?" http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...ad.php?t=64144

It got some good responses, so you can see at least what you should be aiming for It seems to be, mostly, the consciousness of every decision that you make and every thing that you perceive, and the reasons why.

You see, this is a problem. I live in my head when I'm awake!

i like to do it like this:

become aware of sight: what are you really seeing around you, colours, details, forms etc... then pay attention to the sound, smell, touch and taste.

then try to observe what you are thinking about at that moment.. usually due to observing the material, there isn't too much mental noise.. but when you notice the mental noise, it goes away,.. and if it doesn't it's fine, it doesn't need to.. as long as you notice it.

then become aware of the is a general attitude, or FEELING.. "i'm in a hurry" or "why am i wasting time on this" or "i want to be home", "I am waiting for something" "I am happy".. or something like that.. .as soon as you become aware of that background thought, it dissolves, leaving you at peace and more aware..

then try to become aware of your self. who is this me? i like to take the role of the observer, you let your brain do the task at hand, for example walking, and just keep your attention on non-thought..




this is a kind of meditation for awereness which i do as often as i remember to.. if repeated it becomes easier to do, and quicker.. and perhaps it could become a habit. I need to do it more often.

Originally Posted by Seamuslee

I think what they mean by that is:
Try to always "question your sorroundings", like, if your in a library, dont just accept that your in a library. Try looking at a book, if it has an understandable title, and try to believe that it wont.

If a wall has a crack in it, try imagining the crack getting larger, and if it does- well your dreaming.

Be aware of anything suspicous, ALL the time.

Yes, that are the basic instructions for dream yoga practitoners. It's more or less the same as doing RCs frequently and making it a habit to question your state. As soon as it becomes a habit, you'll do it in your dreams too and become lucid.

That's not an easy thing to keep up though. Imagine working on something, learning, etc. where you really need to focus and keep up questioning your state. You wouldn't accomplish much. Imagine a surgeon trying to question reality while working on your body. You probably wouldn't want that.

If you want to test your concentration, go out but think about absolutely nothing (suppress thoughts). You'll see how difficult concentrating on one thing for a longer time is.

Notice the world. Notice details, notice the looks on people's faces. Notice your own thought patterns. Become absorbed in the moment at least once a day -- this means to abandon all thought and just BE and FEEL. Notice the light, the way shadows lay.

Originally Posted by gigaschatten

Yes, that are the basic instructions for dream yoga practitoners. It's more or less the same as doing RCs frequently and making it a habit to question your state. As soon as it becomes a habit, you'll do it in your dreams too and become lucid.

That's not an easy thing to keep up though. Imagine working on something, learning, etc. where you really need to focus and keep up questioning your state. You wouldn't accomplish much. Imagine a surgeon trying to question reality while working on your body. You probably wouldn't want that.

If you want to test your concentration, go out but think about absolutely nothing (suppress thoughts). You'll see how difficult concentrating on one thing for a longer time is.

'course, if you have a thought intensive job you could always just do it outside of work. However, chances are your dreams are going to be ABOUT work since it consumes so much of your brainpower...

Took me a while, but I found the original topic talking about the levels of Lucid Dreaming Awareness.

http://www.dreamviews.com/community/showthread.php?t=36173

Very much so worth a read.

Spoiler for Arby's Levels of Lucidity:

Levels of lucidity


The know all, encompass all, definition for lucid dreaming has always been “Are you aware?” But, it’s often not that black and white. Where do semi-lucids fit in? Where can you find all the variations in non-lucidity? There is a vast grey area that has rarely been addressed. This system has been created to attempt to organize and categorize that grey area in relation to the white and the black and so to make it easier to understand and use.

By strict dictionary definition, yes, there isn’t much between awareness and being unaware. However, there is much more to lucidity then can be expressed by a simple definition. A foremost factor when you think of the “lucidity” of dreams is how much that you realize you can do and how well the world conforms to fit you. In a dream where you are completely unaware, you will not realize that you can do anything. You may not even have control over yourself. In a dream on the opposite end of the spectrum, you understand – fundamentally- that you can do anything. This system is built upon that.

Before continuing, I would first like to address one very important point. In our dreams, rarely is the world as it would be normally. There are many weird things that happen that are natural to the dream. These are the things we do not control and compose the “reality” in the dream. These are the Laws of the dream. Gravity is a good example of a law. In a dream, gravity can be different then the normal world. Often it is less. If gravity was half of what it is normally without any intervention, that would be a natural law of the dream. If you were to change it then it would then not be a natural law anymore. Laws can be anything. They can be naturally occurring super powers, bodily mutations or the fact that pink elephants do indeed exist. Understanding the laws and how you effect them is crucial in your understanding of your lucid level.

The Levels

0% - (Non-lucid)

* You have no control over any aspect of the dream and you are not aware you are dreaming at all.
* This is pretty self explanatory. It’s like watching a movie.
* You can't even control your own actions.

It’s often accepted that you get many of these dreams per night but fail to remember most to all of them. This can be attributed to the lack of engagement. Everything that is happening goes “into one ear and out the other” because you’re not really paying much attention.

10% - (Non-lucid)

* You are still blissfully unaware you are dreaming.
* All that you do to effect the dream is limited and far between.
* Any control you exert on the dream generally governs your own actions and decisions.

Getting this level is rare because of how awkward it is. There is generally no precedent for “watching a movie” then every so often making the character do something else in your experiences. When this level does occur, it often will simply slide towards 0 or the 20-40 range and you will not remain in it for long.

20% - (Non-lucid)

* You do not know you are dreaming.
* You control most of your own actions but the dream still pulls you along the path that it follows regardless of your personnel goals.

30% - (Non-lucid)

* In a perfect 30, you think you are in real life. You act and usually even make decisions as if you were in real life.
* This is the level that most FAs start out on.
* You have full control over yourself but you must abide to all of the laws of the dream. You can only jump so high, run so fast and can’t make things randomly appear.

Now, here’s where the laws really come into play. If gravity was lower, you could jump higher and still be within the laws. If you were a star athlete, you would be able to run faster and if you had magical conjuring powers, you could make things randomly appear. These powers however would feel natural, normal, every day. They are what “should” be happening in the dream.

40% - (Partial-lucid)

* You begin to realize that it is a dream on a subconscious level.
* You are bending the laws every so often but in small ways and you normally don't notice much of it

For an example I’ll use my handy gravity scenario. You have to jump farther then you would normally be able to in the dream. Instead of finding another way around, you jump and make it! Here you’ve either bent gravity or your ability to jump. Normal circumstances tend to resume after the occurrence and the dream continues without a hitch.

50% - (Partial-lucid)

* You have realized it is a dream on a subconscious level.
* The laws start to bend more in your favor. You could find yourself (moments before just an average human) wall jumping between buildings and jumping gigantic distances on a regular basis.
* The dream laws however, stay intact for the most part.

Here, when you are faced with an obstacle, your gut tells you that you can overcome it because in the back of your mind you know that it is just a dream. If you follow your gut and go for it, the dream will usually play out according to how your gut predicted ignoring most laws.

60% - (Semi-lucid)

* You know it is a dream on a subconscious level.
* The laws of the dream begin to crumble and be replaced by what’s convenient.
* In the 60% range, you only effect smaller things or things on a small scale.

Now, it is often wondered how semi-lucidity can exist. Don’t you need that conscious awareness of the dream state that comes with full lucidity to choose what you do in a dream and have control of your surroundings? No. Simply put, a semi alters the dream by solving all problems. Lets use the typical nightmare scenario. You are running away from a monster and come to a brick wall. You look to the sky above it and think “I need to get up and over that NOW to avoid the monster behind me.” Then somewhere deep inside you think “I could get over that if I flew”. Your dream then manifests itself to that reality and your feet leave the ground. Your mind must already be assured in the fabrication of the dream for this to work however. You must also fail to realize it's a dream on the conscious level when everything does the limbo under the reality bar.

70% - (Semi-lucid)

* You know it is a dream on a subconscious level.
* You are now doing things in the dream that blatantly contradict reality but still sort of meld into the fabric of the dream.
* The dream laws are all but ignored when they get in your way.

79% - (Semi-lucid)

* The peak of semi-lucidity right before you break the barrier of awareness.
* You pretty much know you are in a dream already. So much so that even the use of the word “dream” would dump you right in full lucidity.
* Your dream conforms exactly to what’s convenient.
* You are so engaged with the dream world that events in it can affect you as they would in real life. You get blaring emotional attachments to DCs and events can trigger actual bodily reactions such as mass adrenaline release.

80% - (Full-lucid)

* This is a lucid with a problem.
* You have realized that you are dreaming but fail to control it.
* You can barely control your own actions (If at all!)

For example, you could panic about not knowing how to move your “dream limbs” and are therefore not be able to.

85% - (Full-lucid)

* You know it is a dream.
* You can control most of your actions but there are laws that severely restrict you or work to ruin the dream.

Examples could be that you are moving as if you were walking through wet cement (really slow movements) or an occurrence such as falling into the sky when you become lucid without logical cause. (both are real situations members have had)

90% - (Full-lucid)

* You know you are dreaming at a conscious level.
* You can control your own actions but nothing else.
* Your actions are all restricted to what the laws allow.

92% - (Full-lucid)

* You have the ability to bend some of the physical laws but still cannot make major changes to your reality.
* You can jump higher but you still cannot ignore gravity completely(flying)

94% - (Full-lucid)

* You can bend and perhaps break most of the minor physical laws.
* You can generally fly at this level and you are about as over-powered as a well-balanced superhero

96% - (Full-lucid)

* The majority of physical laws bend and often break whenever you try and go against them. You still cannot touch many of the fundamental laws however.
* Here is the level where you can contradict reality by summoning things out of thin air.

The fundamental laws contain the things that tend to make the dream world unstable if they are toyed with. This includes things such as time, what you are (transforming into an animal or object) or attempting to get 360 vision.

98% - (Full-lucid)

* You can break all physical laws and can bend most fundamental laws.

Here is where you can do pretty much anything but there are a few elusive concepts that still slip beyond your reach.

100% - (Full-lucid)

* The dream is at your command, SIR!

There is knowing that you are dreaming, then there’s Understanding that you are dreaming. You are the latter. You know you can do anything at a whim and are able to do so. You can manipulate the dream world fully. I think we all know what this level is all about so I’ll leave it at that XD

And finally...

110% - (Super-lucid)

* This occurs when you dive way too deep. You realize that its actually you who is generating the textures, colors, sound ect. You then attempt to consciously fill in everything in the dream.

Here's a little oddball. Its unstable and doesn't last very long. Our conscious mind is not nearly as efficient/powerful as our “dream mind” So, when we get passed the baton and attempt to maintain the perfection, we utterly fail. This usually leads to the dream imploding and you waking up. The best thing to do when this happens is to let the dream fade away and become vague enough with the eye candy that you can support is consciously.


This is also the level the VILD begins on. Regaining control can be done in much the same way as entering a VILD.

End Notes

This system originated from my very own DJ (kept with pen and paper, not on this site). I started marking the lucidity levels down along with everything else. It worked so well that I thought I’d share it. =D Its main purpose is to tell a while lot about the dream without the dreamer having to go explaining a lot. Helps communication =D.

If you like it be sure to use it in your journals =P

You probably noticed a sharp decline in control from high Semi-lucid to low Full-lucid. This is because full lucid presents all those mental barriers (the foremost being placebo) that restrict what you can do. On that note, in no way does a higher percent mean a better dream. Its simply a classification. A 100% can become boring while the movie playing in 0% can be quite enjoyable.

Comments/Constructive Criticism is appreciated. I want to know if this is actually helping anyone. =)

Hope you like it.

Cheers.

Originally Posted by Oneironaut_Benny

Took me a while, but I found the original topic talking about the levels of Lucid Dreaming Awareness.

http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...areness+levels

Very much so worth a read.

The thing to remember about levels of lucidity is that it is a very, very subjective concept. There's no way yet to objectively say "Hey! I was 84.69% lucid last night!" So I think for one's personal dream journal purposes, or to communicate the idea that there is a gradient of lucid awareness and that it's not simply a black and white phenomenon, the concept of levels of lucidity is a good thing. I usually just call it high and low lucidity, because I personally don't need much more out of it. Though arby did a great job, such paradigms are far from an all-encompassing, objective, calibrated measure of one's lucidity.

I'm pretty sure the OP was talking about raising awareness in real life, not lucid awareness although of course the goal is for that awareness to transfer.

Yes you are quite right Shift. However with Arby's levels of lucidity perhaps out of sheer coincidence I had also come up with a similiar scale of the levels or awareness one has during a lucid dream and my chart was strikingly similiar.

However like you said there is a Low, Medium, and High level of awareness I was simply thinking that the link I posted may be a beneficial tool to look over. Ideally however if one was trying to be more aware in waking life it's quite simple.

You would have to pay greater attention to details such as when you are driving pay attention to what you drive by, streets you take, shops you pass, the leaves on the trees, decorations, the grass, objects in yards, the setting sun, etc. If you are paying attention to a larger number of things in your waking life this will inevitably carry over to your dreams as well.

Basically if one was to gain a constant state of paying attention to ones surroundings this would ideally have quite a beneficial effect on your level of awareness in the dream world.

It's also important to pay attention to meaning and reason- WHY are you doing the things you are doing. WHY are people reacting the way that they are? So many of my regular dreams involved stupid adventures or goals. For example, I know someone is going to try to cut my hair if I take off my hat. The wind blows, and I fear the hat falling off. I'm paying attention to the hat, to the scissors, to the wind, but I'm not stopping to go- WAIT, who is it that's going to cut my hair? Why the hell would they care about my hair? Where am I, really? Is this how I would usually react to someone trying to cut my hair?

Originally Posted by Shift

It's also important to pay attention to meaning and reason- WHY are you doing the things you are doing. WHY are people reacting the way that they are? So many of my regular dreams involved stupid adventures or goals. For example, I know someone is going to try to cut my hair if I take off my hat. The wind blows, and I fear the hat falling off. I'm paying attention to the hat, to the scissors, to the wind, but I'm not stopping to go- WAIT, who is it that's going to cut my hair? Why the hell would they care about my hair? Where am I, really? Is this how I would usually react to someone trying to cut my hair?

Exactly! I think getting beyond the task at hand in the dream to question the reasons behind it is so important! I LD all the time and still struggle with this. I may be aware enough to realize that everyone I see is a creation of my mind in my dream, but still be doggedly persuing some nonsensical goal! At times I am able to break free of this dream-goal nonsense, but so often I get sucked back into it, even believing that the goal is important to my waking life and that I chose it with a clear mind!

Originally Posted by Shift

It's also important to pay attention to meaning and reason- WHY are you doing the things you are doing. WHY are people reacting the way that they are? So many of my regular dreams involved stupid adventures or goals. For example, I know someone is going to try to cut my hair if I take off my hat. The wind blows, and I fear the hat falling off. I'm paying attention to the hat, to the scissors, to the wind, but I'm not stopping to go- WAIT, who is it that's going to cut my hair? Why the hell would they care about my hair? Where am I, really? Is this how I would usually react to someone trying to cut my hair?

Sounds like something out of Alice in Wonderland.

Originally Posted by TuckleRooster

Sounds like something out of Alice in Wonderland.

As it should- a book/movie about dreaming and lucid dreaming

Indeed, Alice and Looking glass were good books, wonderful for a lucid lover.

On topic, I advise searching dream yoga if you haven't already. BillyBob has a in depth guide on it.