Thread: What is the correct way to increase awareness?

Right now I'm doing well and my environment is okay. However, up until quite recently I had been in bad places in life where I'd rather have time pass by fast without me noticing the details of my surroundings. Such habits I had been keeping up with for years stuck with me and I have this very 'hazy' mind with thick brain fogs. I'd like to completely change this since I want to remember more dreams (if I'm correct, having high awareness affects dream recall, right?) and at the same time I'm fine with my perception of time slowing down.

What's the right way to increase my awareness? I want to establish routines and habits that affect my daily life as well as my REM life.

When a dream is easy to remember, this is because our attention while recalling the dream is naturally attracted to where our attention was during the dream.

Our attention tends to be naturally attracted more to details we consider to be more attractive or aversive than things we consider to be neutral.

Something we always dream about is our existence. During the dream, the more attracted we are to our existence or things we equate to our existence, the more likely we'll recall the dream regardless of anything else we dream about.

The fact we exist is the basis of our experience of anything. I think maintaining interest in this concept will help.

You might want more structure to this practice. Think of your thoughts, sensations, feelings, environment ect. as your awareness. Appreciate your awareness as you guide it or let it guide you. There's no need to stress or be anxious about it. Anything you experience is evidence you exist and recognizing and appreciating that fact is all that is really needed, I think.

Originally Posted by dolphin

When a dream is easy to remember, this is because our attention while recalling the dream is naturally attracted to where our attention was during the dream.

Our attention tends to be naturally attracted more to details we consider to be more attractive or aversive than things we consider to be neutral.

Something we always dream about is our existence. During the dream, the more attracted we are to our existence or things we equate to our existence, the more likely we'll recall the dream regardless of anything else we dream about.

The fact we exist is the basis of our experience of anything. I think maintaining interest in this concept will help.

You might want more structure to this practice. Think of your thoughts, sensations, feelings, environment ect. as your awareness. Appreciate your awareness as you guide it or let it guide you. There's no need to stress or be anxious about it. Anything you experience is evidence you exist and recognizing and appreciating that fact is all that is really needed, I think.

what do you mean by the last sentence? How should I actively practice it?

To actively practice it, try to maintain a mindset that you are aware and try to appreciate being aware, no matter what your awareness projects. You'll forget you're aware occasionally and that's okay. Just as we might experience the projection of our computer and forget we're experiencing a computer, we might experience the projection of our awareness and forget that we're aware. When this happens, just try to go back to the mindset that you are aware and try to appreciate being aware.

If you want to look stuff that inspired my idea online you can look up natural awareness, and Rupert Spira.

Originally Posted by dolphin

To actively practice it, try to maintain a mindset that you are aware and try to appreciate being aware, no matter what your awareness projects. You'll forget you're aware occasionally and that's okay. Just as we might experience the projection of our computer and forget we're experiencing a computer, we might experience the projection of our awareness and forget that we're aware. When this happens, just try to go back to the mindset that you are aware and try to appreciate being aware.

If you want to look stuff that inspired my idea online you can look up natural awareness, and Rupert Spira.

So basically I need to be aware of my awareness?

Yes, that's it.

I would also start with your senses. Following along with a book like Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen Laberge and Howard Rheingold can really help when you're in this beginning stage. He has some great awareness exercises. Dreaming Yourself Awake by B. Allan Wallace has awareness meditations (rather than exercises) as well.

Starting with your senses means to notice everything you see, hear, feel, smell, & taste. Give your senses all of you attention. If you are eating a meal, eat, and do nothing else. Full attention on that sense.

Notice all the details in your surroundings, and you will notice them in dreams. When you are dream journaling, write down every detail you can remember. During the day, frequently ask yourself questions like - Where am I right now? Am I dreaming right now? Where was I 5 minutes ago? What was I doing?

And most importantly (for lucid dreaming), whenever anything strange happens (no matter how small) train your brain to question your reality (do a reality check, too). This builds the critical reflective attitude essential to having DILDs.