Quote Originally Posted by InnerVision View Post

EDIT: To the OP, in my opinion forcing awareness is never really a good thing. I find that strong, forced and tense concentration leads to tunnel vision (either literally or in the mind). I experience this myself when I am nervous/stressed; I can focus very well on one thing but I lose every kind of overview. This is a bad thing for lucid dreaming; think about your most unaware dreams. I, at least, find myself doing linear stuff, utterly oblivious to my surroundings. Awareness, at least in relation to LD'ing, should be relaxed, natural and 'broad' if you know what I mean.
Yes this is my problem. I keep getting that mental tunnel vision effect. What is your thought process when you are doing awareness? (Ok maybe not your literal thoughts, but can you explain how you feel?) Every time I try to be aware while actually doing something (like brushing my teeth, writing, or reading) I become mentally exhausted, because I end up forcing it. As opposed to relaxed awareness, when I feel that burst of wonder when I enter a room or a big space. Times like these I usually don't become exhausted but I can never quite trigger that feeling without walking into a large spacial area (like the mall or a parking lot).

Also, as mentioned above in an earlier post, I wasn't really thinking about my "self". I think that's a big part that I missed out on. I never really had a strong concept of "me". I look around and see my surroundings, but never thought about me occupying the space as an actual person. Hopefully this makes at least a little bit of sense.