Hello Everyone, I'm Daniel Love, The Lucid Guide.
Today we're going to explore the popular yet often misunderstood lucidity technique known
as All Day Awareness or ADA.
The All Day Awareness technique is a staple of lucid dream practice, in fact, the name
is somewhat of a red-herring, as in reality, All Day Awareness is simply a modern name
for a very ancient psychological and spiritual practice, namely Mindfulness.
In my own teaching, I rarely use the term All Day Awareness at all, as it is a little
misleading and suggests the requirement for an almost superhuman ability to maintain a
continuous fixed awareness - something that not only would require needlessly exhausting
yourself, but also contradicts the underlying nature of the mind.
ADA or Mindfulness is easy to explain yet much harder to master.
The principle is simple:
As you go about your daily business, strive to increase your powers of observation, reflection
and your sense of presence in the moment.
For example, as you're watching this video - pay extra attention to your surroundings.
Feel the sensations in your body, notice the subtle sounds in your environment, become
aware of your sensory experience, the sights, sounds, scents and sensations - and importantly,
your thoughts.
Observe and reflect upon the present moment in all its detail.
There is certainly all manner of details your mind had deemed irrelevant and simply shut
out.
For example, until this point, you were probably blissfully ignoring the ever-present sensation
of breathing.
Those of you with a sharp mind will have likely already noticed a problem here - this being
that awareness itself is like a spotlight - we already maintain a certain form of continued
awareness throughout our day, simply shifting our focus from one point of interest to another.
For example, if you focus now on the sensation of breathing, you do so at the cost of other
points of interest.
In this example, while you may be aware of breathing, you almost certainly are not paying
attention to the sensations in your toes.
So ADA and Mindfulness are not about increasing the amount of awareness, instead, they are
a form of training, attempting to change the nature and focus of your awareness.
For the sake of lucid dream practice - the type of awareness that you are trying to achieve
is one of observation and mindful reflection - this is in contrast to our normal passive
awareness, in which we simply consume experiences, following instinctual urges - almost as if
sleepwalking.
The idea is to bring more moments of genuine observation, thoughtfulness and reflection
into your daily life - which will then, as you build the habit, transfer into your dreams.
Consider it a form of mental exercise, developing active thinking rather than a lazier, passive
mindset.
Throughout the day, try to catch yourself whenever you slip into an excessively focused
and unthinking state.
This is particularly common when using technology such as a smartphone - we develop a form of
tunnel vision.
When you do, take a moment to observe and consider your surroundings.
Of course, also question if you may be dreaming.
Use this time to become more aware of the nature of reality - with the understanding
that this habit and knowledge will help you to more easily discern the differences between
waking and dreaming.
Mindfulness is not a skill you'll develop overnight, in fact, you must consider it as
an ongoing life-long journey, this is a way of being, a lifestyle, not just a technique.
By improving the quality and nature of your awareness throughout the day, you'll naturally
experience more Dream Initiated Lucid Dreams (or DILDs)- dreams in which you suddenly become
aware that you are dreaming.
ADA, or more correctly, Mindfulness, is a core principle behind a lucid mind.
It is learning to actively and thoughtfully navigate through life, to observe and be more
present in the moment.
Importantly, do not exhaust yourself by attempting a superhuman continued awareness - instead,
aim to catch yourself whenever you feel out-of-touch or on autopilot, and gently remind yourself
to become more present, to observe, reflect and think clearly.