This morning I was writing on my dream journal when the memory of a different, longer dream came to my attention. I probed my mind a little further and realized there was more to its length than I initially expected. But its memory felt a bit foreign to me. It was distant and, more importantly, I couldn't put myself fully in the experience of dreaming it. On looking back to many of the accounts I've jotted down throughout the years, I noticed most of them follow a similar pattern. The dreams, which are always non-lucid, are ones I feel as a retelling of events I didn't participate in. A "you weren't there" sort of thing. Intrigued, I took a memory trip down the more memorable dreams and found almost all of them followed a different pattern prior to becoming aware.
These are dreams I can actively recall as being there on the spot while they were happening. There's a level of awareness occurring while the dream unfolds, an awareness that exists even if the dream is still, non-lucid. You are right there in the midst of it all, and it is this "living the dream" what I believe helps us reach the threshold for lucidity.
A dream I had yesterday, were a reality check came knocking on my door, revealed a similar pattern. Dreams that come close to being lucid yet fail, walk the same line as those that succeed. In these dreams my dream-self is more inclined to initiate the reality check. The intent to question the experience arises. It is brief, but dreams that reach lucidity are oftentimes born from that intent. There's an 'I' in that dream.
Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the rest of my non-lucid attempts. Why didn't I reality check in these dreams, why are the results of practice nowhere to be seen? Perhaps I was never there to prove my worth! If you were not there, how can you fight back non-lucidity? It's like failing a test you never took. In these dreams there is no 'I'. It doesn't look like a dream Silence took part in.
Many times it makes reading the night's feedback more confusing. Days left questioning if the amount of exercises are enough. Are the reality checks the issue? Or is it the daily questioning, about not being aware? These are doubts I see reflected in many beginners like myself as well. But what do I tell them?
I reason "oh you weren't mindful enough during the day", or "oh you need to have a more critical mindset." But if I never set foot in the dream presently how can I know? I can see the lesson in the dreams were I get close but fail. The reality check popped up but you didn't act on it? Well, there's an area of improvement. Were you present but never tested your surroundings? Now we can agree your reality testing needs work. The ability to retain presence while in a non-lucid dream is what leaves me scratching my head. Even awareness comes to the surface if I do retain presence. In the majority of lucid dreams I never actually get to test the reality check as I already know I'm dreaming!
Anyway, just felt like thinking aloud today. If anyone wants to chime in, go for it.
These are dreams I can actively recall as being there on the spot while they were happening. There's a level of awareness occurring while the dream unfolds, an awareness that exists even if the dream is still, non-lucid. You are right there in the midst of it all, and it is this "living the dream" what I believe helps us reach the threshold for lucidity.
A dream I had yesterday, were a reality check came knocking on my door, revealed a similar pattern. Dreams that come close to being lucid yet fail, walk the same line as those that succeed. In these dreams my dream-self is more inclined to initiate the reality check. The intent to question the experience arises. It is brief, but dreams that reach lucidity are oftentimes born from that intent. There's an 'I' in that dream.
Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the rest of my non-lucid attempts. Why didn't I reality check in these dreams, why are the results of practice nowhere to be seen? Perhaps I was never there to prove my worth! If you were not there, how can you fight back non-lucidity? It's like failing a test you never took. In these dreams there is no 'I'. It doesn't look like a dream Silence took part in.
Many times it makes reading the night's feedback more confusing. Days left questioning if the amount of exercises are enough. Are the reality checks the issue? Or is it the daily questioning, about not being aware? These are doubts I see reflected in many beginners like myself as well. But what do I tell them?
I reason "oh you weren't mindful enough during the day", or "oh you need to have a more critical mindset." But if I never set foot in the dream presently how can I know? I can see the lesson in the dreams were I get close but fail. The reality check popped up but you didn't act on it? Well, there's an area of improvement. Were you present but never tested your surroundings? Now we can agree your reality testing needs work. The ability to retain presence while in a non-lucid dream is what leaves me scratching my head. Even awareness comes to the surface if I do retain presence. In the majority of lucid dreams I never actually get to test the reality check as I already know I'm dreaming!
Anyway, just felt like thinking aloud today. If anyone wants to chime in, go for it.
via Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views - Attaining Lucidity https://ift.tt/2VMkss6
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