Meaningful Awareness/Reality check ?

The information on meaninful reality checks (one of many great reminders) found here: "http://www.dreamviews.com/general-lu...-remember.html" got me to thinking more about my awareness check-ins and good ways to be aware such as "I am awake, and this is why I know that." For knowing that you are awake, could it be as simple as this simple question "these 3 reality checks show I am awake but does everything seem logical and look normal?"

Would most people agree that the biggest secret to having many LDs is awareness? There is an article on another forum by Robert Waggoner that talks about this. The basic idea is that behind many of the most prolific lucid dreamers is a daily routine of checking in on reality or in one case of continually asking "What was I just doing?" Many got good at checking if dream or reality and (thus?) great at LDing due to a problem with constant nightmares.

The one pitfall I am wondering about is those who are saying that they get confused after their mundane dreams that seem very normal, asking if they were dreaming or awake. But isn't that resolved if you remember to ask during the dream the initial question "these 3 reality checks show I am awake but does everything seem logical and look normal?" Easier said than done, I know, but it provides a meaning behind the reality checks and awareness check-ins that send you in the right direction towards prolific lucid dreaming, correct?

Yes, awareness is one of the pillars to lucid dreaming. Especially meta-awareness (being aware of your own awareness). It doesn't need to be a question, more than it needs to be an action. Stopping your current life for a second and remembering of being aware, this is, knowing and perceiving your surroundings and yourself, as well your context and presence in the universe. Instead of needlessly extending this post, I'd recommend you to read this great thread created by Sageous, he does an amazing job at explaining the principles of awareness.

Thank you Zoth00 :) That is also a great thread by Sageous that you included. So knowing that awareness, meta-awareness and memory work is more of a journey, for purposes of increasing DILDs significantly, could it be as simple as starting with just that one aspect of awareness (reality vs dream) and the building upon that over time?

Yes it can. In fact, it's what we (communities) often encourage to the beginners: to find a way of starting to change their perspective of wandering through their lives in "ant mode". For this, reality checks are perfect, even though many lucid dreamers don't give them proper value. A simple question like "Where was I 15 minutes ago" can be a great reality check. It's clearly effective (you either remember or not), it thrives in a new action of questioning your state, and if formed as an habit, it will start showing up in your dreams. In other way, we use "techniques". Not to devalue them, but they work under principles of (no surprise here): memory and awareness. Take something as simple as MILD: nothing but development of prospective memory. Take ADA (All-day-awareness): nothing more than awareness around the self and your surroundings. Take tholey method, take reality checking, they all can be traced to the same place: the formation of an habit in which you perceive YOU and YOUR world while you're experiencing it.

That's why you see so many veteran lucid dreamers which one with their own set of "techniques". So if you stick with these fundamentals, even in a simple way of being aware (am I dreaming?), you can go far. Actually, the sooner you realize that what's giving you lucid dreams is awareness and memory (and emotional engagement to your goal) rather than following a technique like a ritual, the sooner you'll develop a better sense of it. Live each moment by paying attention, by being aware of things and yourself rather than lost in random thoughts. Just by doing that, you'll realize that there's loads of information going in. For example, right now I'm sitting in my bed, I know that I'm awake because I can clearly see how I got here, why I'm here, what I'm doing, where I am. All that, because I'm writing this post like I'm waiting for something: I'm merely aware of my position in the universe, an observer. The goal is not gathering the biggest amount of sensorial input, but simply living the moment. If you act like this, even in your clouded mind dreams you'll be able to reach the state of "outsider" and realize the errors in that reality.

PS: on an extra note, I've read somewhere of an exercise that helped me a lot to start developing this sense of awareness. Imagine you have a twin ghost that sees everything you see and it's floating above and behind your shoulder. Imagine his perspective: he can see you, your thoughts, where are you going, where are you, what you're doing and even if you're engaging in something, he can still observe you. That's what I mean with an "outsider perspective" ;)

Wow, I really like that outsider/twin-ghost analagy! That could help with so many different bad habits, turning them into good habits, LD-related or not. Thank you for your thoughtful response (and your other responses/threads/guides I have seen perusing the forum)! What a great, active and helpful forum! Too many exclamation marks? haha