Thread: "Attention / Awareness off" switch? Potential implications to lucidity

Raphael, I think you nailed it. This is not the muscle memory, that aspect is pretty automatic. Still, I do not feel keyboard or the mouse until I shift my attention to them. It's the focus and engagement which draws the attention away from everything. The disbelief is suspended in both games and movies. Possibly even in dreams, since they also kinda follow a plot.

I've tried it today again, and it's almost impossible to keep the observer kind of attention when I'm intensely focused on the activity. I think reality checks and dream signs may attempt to counter this state of enthrallment and restore awareness. Affirmations seem to work in between, but not during the intense moments.

The fact of acting with such high level of engagement is pretty disturbing. Even if I try to keep awareness, that intention is washed away once the intensity of the engagement picks up.

Who else can relate, let's figure out what's happening here!

It's too early to tell, so I'll post this more as a note to myself.

Today I tried to clip a penny next to my monitor as a reminder to become aware. And half way through a game, I realized that this penny is a symbol, a token which stands for something else. this made me realize that a lot of talismans, religious imagery and sculpture also stand for something, and also acts as a reminder to maintain awareness in our daily lives. I've never though of that like that before.

Late in the day, when I took a couple valerians and a melatonin pill to calm down (i'm adjusting my sleep pattern), I suddenly realized that I'm seeing "the big picture" - the visual field that I was was aware of was about 6x the size of the usual one, and the attention was diffused yet present . I saw the whole picture before me, and also became aware of space, the multitude of objects and their arrangement. This is a quite new feeling, maybe it's the sedatives Yet now I'm somewhat capable of seeing this way, because I know how it feels.

I played a couple games with this awareness, and with headphones off, and the results were better, although I still could not stay aware through the whole thing.