Self-Awareness Qustion

So this question is directed at those of you who use self awareness, mindfulness, constant vigilance (whatever you want to call it). Basically I just tell myself I could be dreaming at any time whenever I go into "zombie mode". Then I try and not daydream and I try to keep my thoughts focused solely on the present. I sort of look for anything weird that happening at the moment but that isn't very high on my priorities for Self Awareness, as I have to constantly ask questions and that would take up all your thoughts for the day.

So my question is...am I doing this right? I've heard some people say all you need to do is this, but other say you need to ask questions. So I just need to know if this is all I need to do. If its not, what type of questions do I need to ask myself?

Hi, Sharpshoey,

In my opinion, asking yourself questions to "test" whether or not you're dreaming is entirely unnecessary, and is used more as a tool to help beginners understand the process of questioning your reality. Instead, simply act as if you are in a dream all the time. Literally pretend as if you know that you are in a dream, and you're just choosing not to control what happens.

That's just one way of getting your brain in the habit of becoming lucid once you actually are dreaming. There is another active thread about this in another part of the forum. You're doing this right, though. Just try to remain consciously present and aware. Practice maintaining your attention in every moment on whatever it is you're doing. Your FULL attention. The best way, in my opinion, to develop your focus and awareness is simply to meditate, concentrating on your breath on a regular basis. This alone will increase your awareness, and thus your capacity for lucid dreaming.

Cheers

Honestly, I would say no, you don't have to constantly ask yourself questions. The only time I see it fit to do so is when those weird events occur. Now the term "weird" is different for everybody, so really it all depends on what is weird to you man.
As for watching out for the weird stuff, make sure you do it passively, meaning it doesn't always have to be your top priority, but whenever something unusual does happen, make sure you notice it and take action. You dont want to be self aware only in zombie mode, though that is good training for when you get really tired and such, but you should be self aware all throughout the day. This may sound hard, but it is in no way compared to the hard effort that those who practice ADA put in.
Some questions that I ask myself throughout the day are, "What am I doing right now?" or "Is everything making sense at the moment?" and even "What is going on right now?". The questions you ask yourself should be personalized to fit you to what you feel you need. The best questions are those that can really revive your awareness should you find yourself slipping in it from time to time. Of course after some practice though, that won't happen anymore.
Self Awareness shouldn't be at the top of your mind everyday, but I would say that it should be in the back of your mind frequently. Again though, this varies for everyone. As rainman said, try to keep your full attention on everything you do, and like i said earlier this may seem hard, but it really isnt. It actually becomes quite effortless when you come to realize the fact that it is all going to the betterment of your lucid dreaming skills. I even found it enjoyable at one point because I knew that soon it would pay off and I would get lucid dreams every night. The only time you really need to "test" whether or not you are dreaming, is when the unusual stuff happens. Self Awareness will kick in on its own and immediately make you lucid when it starts tom leak into your dreams. The reality checks just work kind of as a net for when you accidentally dismiss something weird.
If you like meditating then I would go with what rainmain said, however if you don't find that approach suitable for you, then just stay focused on your goal to Lucid Dream everyday. That is what I did alone, and with determination and perseverance, I made it to getting at least an LD a night, and also being self aware in at least half of my REM dreams every night. Just giving it your best shot really does do the trick, and make sure you never get lazy, but also that you don't over do it.

Thank you both for the great replies! You both were very helpful and I will start using your advice instantly. So what I'm going to do is just stay conscious of what I'm doing (like I've been doing) and then if I start slipping in awareness ask myself a question...and also ask a question and RC when something weird happens. Thanks a lot for the help!

I feel that the self awareness is already starting to pay off (only a little bit because I've only been practicing it for 2-3 weeks) but I can tell it is going to work wonders if practiced consistently.

Everyone else made good comments, but I just want to point out that it's okay to daydream. The trick is to be aware of the fact that you are daydreaming while you are daydreaming. Actually makes for good lucid dreaming practice in my opinion. I essentially use lucid daydreaming to practice my VILD technique in addition to all day awareness sort of thing. The ability to daydream and use your imagination is a wonderful thing and I do not think that you should suppress it.

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Originally Posted by Oreo

Everyone else made good comments, but I just want to point out that it's okay to daydream. The trick is to be aware of the fact that you are daydreaming while you are daydreaming. Actually makes for good lucid dreaming practice in my opinion. I essentially use lucid daydreaming to practice my VILD technique in addition to all day awareness sort of thing. The ability to daydream and use your imagination is a wonderful thing and I do not think that you should suppress it.

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Thanks for telling me that :) I personally LOVE to daydream and I do it basically all day, which is probably way too much. I am very creative and have a huge imagination so that is why I do it so often. Maybe I can set aside some time for me to daydream then...that way I'm not totally deprived of doing that.

Thanks again everyone.

Indeed, very good points here, I just wanted to comment:

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Originally Posted by OneUp

This may sound hard, but it is in no way compared to the hard effort that those who practice ADA put in.

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In my opinion, self-awareness is way better than ADA anyway. To each their own, but I just don't see how sensory/environmental awareness can regularly get you lucid. It can, for some people, I suppose, but I'm sure I'm far from the only one who's been aware of some extremely realistic senses and environments in dreams, but not one shred of lucidity. Self-awareness is what triggers lucidity.

As long as you know all the time your doing and thinking it doesnt matter if you are daydreaming or not. The problem is if you start to daydream without noticing you losing all the focus on your envioroment or the state of mind you are in. Self awareness is just self observation. Knowing what you are doing doing. At least for me.

I don't ask myself questions a lot, but I do try to stay mindful/vigilant-for-dreams continuously. When I find I've tuned out, which is inevitable, I just tune right back in. I frequently ponder the notion that at any conscious moment, I could be dreaming. (I really find this idea fascinating). Sometimes I bring this notion to the forefront of my thoughts but usually it's on the back burner.

It may sound funny but I found my #1 dream sign is....not thinking about dreaming (this may be everybody's in fact)! So I pay attention to what I'm thinking and *not* thinking about. If I find I've gone a while without even a hint of the notion of dreaming in my mind, I perk up awareness fairly high and do some physical RCs to boot.

I watch my attention, and I try to notice when I stop noticing things. Example: I went for a walk yesterday and in the park encountered some people with dogs talking kind of loudly in the distance and I at first paid them no attention. Then I realized what I'd done: and I specifically turned around to check them out and did a nose pinch RC for good measure. If I make a lot of location transitions without full awareness (going inside from outside, vice versa, turning down different streets), I'll definitely do an RC and re-install mindfulness/vigilance.

The biggest challenge is staying mindful while at work, which requires long periods of concentration. But at least in meetings (over the phone :) ) I've started doing RCs from time to time. Which is an improvement, since before, I would emerge from an hour-long meeting and realize the entire time had been spent zoned out (but still concentrating on the matter of the meeting, and speaking / giving ideas, I wasn't asleep at the wheel!)

I've adapted the Sageous RRC in to the following practice. When I feel the need, I just stand still and build a very strong sense of *me*. I then say out loud (or to myself if in company :) ): "*I* (*I*....*I*!!!!) .....am *HERE*.....*NOW*...." and really feel this deeply. Usually gives me goosebumps :). Sometimes I'll repeat the "I" several times to build the intensity and the sense of wonder.

Mindfulness is great not just for dreaming. I'm starting to be able to catch my upwards spiral of irritation at something someone has said before it blossoms, and just let the bad feelings go. Awesome stuff!

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It may sound funny but I found my #1 dream sign is....not thinking about dreaming (this may be everybody's in fact)!

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Now that you mentioned this and I think about it...I realized that that is my #1 dream sign too! I realized that in almost every dream, I didn't think once about dreaming, so I am going to start doing an RC and heighten my awareness if I haven't thought about dreaming in a while.

Self awareness tips (not just for LDing): questioning your motivations for everything you do and say, trying pick out ego, trying to overcome pride, never giving in to social pressure when it goes against your values, practicing self respect, practicing emotional temperance and forbearance, forgiving your mistakes and always looking at the positive learning experience. Practice loving kindness not just for others, but also for yourself. :)

I think these help for lucid dreaming :)