Side effects of ADA?

Before KingYoshi did the ADA thread I was already practicing something similar: inspecting the world carefully and taking notice of every detail. It really helps me DILD much better.

However, I observed some side effects, actually getting progressively worse, once I started doing ADA:

1. Real life seems more and more unreal and dream-like. With ADA a can almost simultaneously see every corner of the peripheral vision, and I notice how low the visual processing capabilities of the brain is. EX: when I am typing this passage and my eye is looking at the last word I am typing, I focus on other parts of the page without moving my eyes and it seems that the text is morphing like in dreams. Another thing is noticing periodic blanks and "noise bursts" in the visual field.

2. Dreams become more and more real and RL-like. ADA makes my subconscious expect to get more detail, so more and more RCs progressively start to stop working in my dreams. First goes palm-piercing, then finger-counting, then light switches, then text morphing. The only things left are nose-pinching and telekinesis.

I'm just curious, did anybody else notice the blurring between reality and dreams after practicing ADA? Or am I trying too hard to notice everything and interfering with the world model perception of my brain?

I started practicing awareness about 1.5 years ago, and never really noticed any improved or decreased realism, both in dreams or waking life. ADA is a form of awareness practice which involves using it all the time, which for some people may be too much and cause a slight blurring of realities - on the contrary, not practicing awareness enough can also do so, because you're not sure if you're dreaming or awake until you observe things around you. It's a fine line to draw.

There shouldn't be a problem with it unless it gets to the point where you're standing still for a few minutes, raising your awareness and doing a bunch of reality checks just to see if you're awake or not.

Yes, I sometimes do exactly that, doing a bunch of reality checks. However it seems that I sometimes never do so in dreams! I sometimes get extremely busy with tons of stuff in dreams making it impossible to do ada and go lucid in them.

Isn't questioning reality very seriously supposed to be good?

ludr is right. When you start questioning reality, there is a higher chance that you'll do so in dreams. I suppose it would be a side-effect if there are several important things you do during most days but for most of us, we are trying to achieve that state of mind so we can become lucid easier.

Well, your reality checks will never fail for you in waking life, so be sure to perform a few if you think you are dreaming. For the dream state, I always go with the nose pinch RC. It has never failed to work in the dream state before (for me anyway). It is my most trusted RC and I always perform it several times in a row. If it seems to be getting worse as you practice, go ahead and take a break from ADA for a bit.

I read KingYoshi’s guide and I understand it but, how much should I practice ADA?

Sorry for going nearly off-topic. I just do not think this question is thread worthy.

As much as you wish. Even a little practice can help boost your awareness. I say, start slow, see what it does for you, and just build from there.

Here is a cool tip for the general Lucid Dreamer (New/pro)...

Here is a really cool trick I started doing which has boosted my LucidDream count really high, cause it covers a few different tricks.

When I very first started off, I got a sharpy and wrote the words "Aware-RC" on the top part of my hand. I always wrote it on a sticky-notes and put a note on the front of my monitor (hanging off the side of it), put one on my bedroom door, and on my front door.... This way every time I saw a note, I remembered to [1] Become aware that I am awake, and aware of my surroundings / details. [2] To do a quick little reality check, which takes what, like 3seconds?...

The cool part about it being on your hand, is;
[1] The more you look at your hand (since its with you everywhere you go) you will remember to do these things more frequently.
[2] When you get in the habit of looking at your hand, your mind will pick it up as something you are thinking about and/or taking notice of, which 90% of the time, will get transferred into your dreams. You will either have dreams of you looking at your hand, just because you do it so much in waking life. Now, when you are sooo use to using the words "ADA-RC" on your hand, and its not there in your dream, it will trigger lucidity (if you catch it, which 90% of the time most people do). ..and If you have a dream with it written on your hand, well, there is your dreamsign.
--- I use to write ADA-RC-###. Of course every time I re-wrote this on my hand the ### would change to some random numbers.. That way when I had it in my dream, I would be making sure that when the dream recalled the events of me looking at my hand in the past, the numbers didnt match from waking life, so it would trigger lucidity when I noticed the error.

.... Now, the only side-effect of ADA is at first you may get a headache; trying to constantly notice every little detail, thinking about what all there is around you that you can notice, that you can become aware of.. The only thing that should be on your mind, is that you are aware that you of being conscious and aware. Then just slowly look around you, dont think about the stuff, just take notice of it. Just take notice of your sense of smell, taste, feel, sound, sight.. Dont think about what to notice...

Here is a cool tip for ADA.. Just remember your 5 senses, and focus on what each sense is experiencing.. Think about the sense itself, not whats causing the sense to trigger...
Example [Sound]: You hear a beeping sound.. Listen to the sound itself, listen to where its coming from. Do you notice the pitch? The echo? The distance between beeps? Just "listen" to it.. Now, dont think about what would be causing this beep. Dont think about where its coming from.. Just notice it. How about that white noise you have in your room that you never notice cause its always there.
Example [Smell]: Just smell the air. Notice the its aroma. Notice how one spot where your standing smells different from the other? ... Dont think about whats causing the smell. Dont think about that if you move the smell might change.
....... If you can see the pattern, its all about "noticing", being "aware" that you have 5 senses. The key is to use your 5 senses. To be "AWARE" that you are using your 5 senses. this doesnt require thinking about what you can use your senses on, it doesnt require thinking about whats causing your senses to act a certain way...

People try sooo hard to ADA, they try soooo hard to think about what to notice, what to become aware of..

Its about being aware of that you have 5 senses and are constantly using them (people just dont forget), being aware that you are conscious and aware... That is the secret to ADA

No, it is not that I find ADA hard. In fact I do it naturally for a long time.

The sticky note thing won't work for me. I don't want my parents to know about LD - it is a secret that only I and my friends know around here (look at the lucid dreaming translation thread, china is a LD info blackhole). Is there some sort of more, um, discreet kind of reminder?

There certainly other ways you can remind yourself to RC/practice awareness. If you have a cell phone, you can set alarms on it throughout the day. You could also take a sharpy and just put a small spot on your hand. It would of, of course, symbolize the same things as full blown writing, but it is more discreet. Your parents likely would never see it, but if your parents did ask, "What is on your hand?" You can simply say you rubbed it against something. Play it off as a black smudge. Many people like to set up "triggers" as well. Like any time you hear your name, or walk through a doorway, or something similar. Any time one of these things happen, perform your ADA/RC.

I like the way you think, Siphorix. I've had something similar written on my hand (near the base of the thumb) so I notice it when I'm typing. I'm getting more and more into the habit of questioning reality now. There is a small question I have though. Once you have your first LD and experience how realistic it is (or so I've read), does it get easier to question reality during waking life? I'm assuming it would be but you can understand if it's hard for someone who hasn't had a LD to grasp how vivid one can be.

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Originally Posted by Caretaker

I like the way you think, Siphorix. I've had something similar written on my hand (near the base of the thumb) so I notice it when I'm typing. I'm getting more and more into the habit of questioning reality now. There is a small question I have though. Once you have your first LD and experience how realistic it is (or so I've read), does it get easier to question reality during waking life? I'm assuming it would be but you can understand if it's hard for someone who hasn't had a LD to grasp how vivid one can be.

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Firstly, like EVERYTHING, once you do it for the first time, every time following that become way easier. This is because you will know and experience the steps your body/mind took to get the dreaming stage (for WILD and MILD).

Once you are actually in a LD, you will be able to first hand know what everyone on this forum is talking about as-well. There is a saying "A thousand words cant even begin to describe one experience). You will know what it feels like, how realistic it is, etc (even though the intensity, vividness, and feel vary... so if you have a LD which is fairly dull, DONT give up! ..cause the next one may be very realistic). Along with this, with each passing Lucid Dream, you will become more familiar with them. You will remember to do tricks for better dream control, you will remember to do tricks which boost the realism of the dream.

As far as how realistic a dream is... There is only soo much I can say about that...

Have you ever turned your computer on, and were looking at a really cool high-res picture? Did you notice how sharp everything was? How about how much the colors stood out? A dream can be exactly like that quality. Some report (even me) that some of their dreams have a higher "pixel ratio" then the Waking life. That everything is more vivid, sharp, cleaner, high-def.

My very 1st lucid dream was actually a DILD. I was just having a normal dream, when I walked outside, I remember becoming instantly Lucid when I said to myself "WOAAAHH! This is way to high-def to be real!.. It was like my entire world was on a super HD-TV.

You've seen the movie Avatar, right? (the one with the Tall blue Aliens).. If you have ever watched that in IMAX, Theatre, or even on a nice TV, it has some AMAZING graphics, colors, themes, etc... Well, ive been there, personally (in a Lucid Dream of course). Words cant even begin to describe how more than real every looked, smelled, tasted, felt, sounded. It was really one of a kind experience. ...and if you remember in that movie, when he first got put into the Avatar body, and he went running outside, remember how he was using his 5 senses, he even took a bit of that fruit? ...Lucid dreaming is JUST like that. In a sense you are in a different place/body, yet EVERYTHING is real.

.... I mean, Lucid Dreaming would have to be something worth the time. How many Lucid Dreaming websites are there? How many people talk it? ... Did you know that there are some devices which help you LD, that cost about $3000, so money is obviously being spent on this too. - Look at all the discussions there are where people say "I didnt know if I was awake or dreaming", meaning it would have to be at least exactly as real as the waking world, only difference; There are 0 limitations to what you can do [Super Powers, the law, being god in a sense, etc]..

Hope that helped some... Sorry if im being repetitive, or not very detailed. I woke up like 5minutes ago, so I am very groggy.

No you explained it awesomely. Gives me a lot more motivation to achieve my first LD. I haven't given up yet and don't plan on it. Even if I have to practice for months before achieving my first LD, I'll do it (of course I'd prefer sooner). What I really can't wrap my mind around is taste or smell. I could see how sound, touch, and sight in a dream can be extremely real but I guess I won't know how smell and taste are until I have a LD. Thanks for the great description, Siphorix.

I promise you, once you have that first Lucid Dream, your motivation to try harder will Sky-Rocket !!! You will be obsessed with Lucid-Dreaming.. haha

Yeah, LD-ing is SUPER AWESOME. It is just pure enjoyment to simply sit in a corner and observe the world. LDs actually feel much clearer and more real than real life!