Thread: My 3 week all day awareness experiment results!

Originally Posted by bluremi

I'm glad this is working for you. I previously tried a 1-week "literal" ADA experiment and found it was not of much use. You can read about it here:

http://www.dreamviews.com/induction-...roper-try.html

My approach was slightly different: rather than trying to slowly weave together a tapestry of intermittent ADA habits, I tried to consistently maintain ADA at all times every day.

I eventually found it possible to do but mentally tiring, and even though I built a habit of awareness after several days it did not carry through to my dreams, so my motivation dissolved and I was unable to continue.

Based on this experience and accounts of others on these forums, I think some people are more naturally prone to awareness in their dreams, and ADA tends to be an effective technique for them. For others it might be a waste of time.

Nevertheless, I think maybe your approach is less mentally draining and motivation-sapping (it's a "gentle" awareness rather than forcing it 100% of the time) so I will try it out for a few weeks and see if the effect is any different.

A couple things:
1) a few days is WAY too short to decide that ADA is not working for you. I've read stories of it really kicking in after about 1-3 months

2) the beginning is really hard as your mind is not used to doing it. The longer you do it the "easier" and more "background" it becomes so it interferes less with waking life.

3) full ADA is not required for achieving lucidity. Instead, focus on just ONE aspect of yourself and your environment: some people become aware of how gravity feels, some where they are, some how their heart is beating, some how they're breathing/blinking. The term for this is ADA/RC or "continuous RC." Becoming aware of just one aspect of your awareness/environment is much easier than full ADA, and in my opinion, in theory, just as valuable, since I suspect the key to the lucidity is from the awareness/mindfulness itself, not what you're mindful of, that's just a place to hang the awareness.

I find that while I'm doing my ADA/RC (I focus mostly on location, sometimes objects, and sometimes gravity), when I have "free" mental awareness (like when walking somewhere), I will notice sounds and other things, but only when I have the extra awareness capacity, and not for long. But I do try to keep location awareness all day long. And I believe it is showing results, I just woke from a dream I swore was real where I noticed my location and the feel of gravity/weight, next step is getting lucid from it!