Self awareness is one thing that many of those projecting could do with gaining more of. It's that 'hey I'm dreaming' moment that awakens the reasoning mind, allowing you to take control of the dream.
Obtaining this self awareness means being aware of the subtle changes during a dream. Impossible? It's not that difficult to do, however, getting the correct mindset can take a while. (Three weeks or so).
After a boring dream you may have noticed (if you recalled anything) that it all flowed along with the same uneventful morbidity.
This is typical for most people, eventually this leads to not wanting to remember anything, especially when the activities of the coming day occupy your mind.
The problem here is that this 'washing over' of dreams actually programs the subconscious. Its effect then becomes that you train yourself to ignore dreams. This makes them harder to recall and a whole lot of other problems arise.
It has been noticed that most posted dream recalls lack much of the detail. A minority seem to possess the knack of recalling a great deal of info, this appears to be a lack of the self awareness mentioned earlier.
From personal experiences, when I'm in an 'interesting projection', my mind and thoughts are working 5 times faster than they do in the physical. (Anyone notice the increased speed?) I have a good memory in the physical but its not as clear as that in the NP. Eg, conversations in the physical, I'd recall the outcome of one easily, we all do, but remembering exactly what gets said is another story. In the NP, most often, conversations get recalled precisely. This is mostly due to the self awareness being heightened which in turn creates a clear pathway for telepathy. This is something the experienced will know. The extra sense of awareness in the telepathic communication is acting as a trigger to aid a full recall. The awareness you feel in a telepathic communication, where the info comes to life, is the exact same awareness you need to have concerning every single action you make while in the NP. You watch what you say and do, like at a job interview.
Its this awareness that will make a positive impact upon your trials and tribulations.
For a new student to the art, the dream awareness is important to improve. The likelihood of a spontaneous projection over a consciously controlled one is extremely high. If the awareness is dull or not developed sufficiently, the questions of 'was I close'? Will continue unabated. The reality is the student projected but the overall awareness was appalling so only pieces of it were remembered. It has the similarity of a dream and the subconscious programming of 'exterminate the memory' comes in and ruins the whole recall of the actual success.
For the advanced projectors this is mostly overcome as they've took a long time to adapt and alter their mindset into a switching on of the recall. If a constant self awareness is worked on, it has the same effect as grounding with benefits. The interpretations are required less and the memories of the experience increase in detail. One benefit is when you're in a formless environment with nothing to ground yourself on, the few seconds you'd normally have as your limit are increased by magnitudes. Its similar to that dual awareness type of perception from the early days. This time you are keeping a perspective on the environment and another almost in the third person upon yourself. Your thoughts and emotions creating an environmental change are recalled by this awareness so aid in learning to manipulate it. Should another mind enter the scene, you'll not lose the whole experience which is likely without the extra self awareness. You also keep your identity rigid and not melt into the oneness which is your exit unfortunately. You can visit but not stay. (A good thing in reality lol).
Developing this is due to the amount of FOCUS you have. Xanth constantly reminds us of this and has taken it to a deserved high level. With this capability you think twice before doing something. The initial decision based upon your perception and personality, the second is you question yourself on the merits of the action. ( both can be done simultaneously with practice).
Jumping off a cliff in the NP is a perfect example. You'll make sure you're in a projection just before you jump. This is the self awareness in action and its inherent in all of us. Not doing this check (when physical) will be stupidity as it could be a nice walk turning into a disaster. Its automatic, being aware of this and staying focused will help you achieve more in the NP.
Let's go back to dreams. This time you find yourself walking through your old school with no clothes on and it all seems fine. A common dream. If you constantly double check your actions through self awareness you'll be already programmed to NOTICE that something isn't quite right here. This awakens your awareness enough for you to interact. A projection can easily be made from this realisation.
Now look at the same dream experience without self awareness. You know what's going on and when it hits you, you just carry on with the rosewood glasses. It's wrong but something is allowing it to continue. That subconscious programming mentioned earlier is working and those few seconds you were aware, are then lost.
This occurs quite often and you can program your subconscious to respond positively with affirmations.
In most dreams there's a few seconds where your awareness is heightened. You actually react to the dreams storyline and think clearly,( if only you were instinctively self aware), you then make a choice, the dream continues.
In some of these reactive moments, the clarity increases, this enables more general awareness and if you're awareness stretches above the line, you become self aware. The dream becomes lucid and you have the opportunity to get into the driving seat.
Triggers are, FEAR the big one.
Emotional stress outside the expected norm.
Personal injury.
Any unwanted destruction to what you cherish.
Down the list you can actually apply items as triggers. In a recurring dream, you become aware sooner in each cycle. The recognition is subconsciously programmed to return the 'problem' to your conscious mind aka you become self aware (a mental attachment of the 'fight or flight' reflex).
I've self programmed any fearful situation to trigger my self awareness. Nightmares are a trigger and this prevents them from instigating their evil grip in most cases (some I just let loose for the play). I have control and follow the storyline through with an LD if I want to kick butt.
I'm sure some of this is familiar and some may be new.
The game is how aware are you when you only think you're aware?
Work it out and then ask yourself am I self aware?
You'll see a big difference between the awareness you have at present and being fully self aware. Its hardly used in the physical, to test it just take your thoughts from a moment ago and see if you can recall that fading headache or the itch you automatically scratched.
How deep were you breathing and your heart rate...
These are all parts of the self and they're not on your mind at all.
If you had an accident a day ago, they would be wouldn't they?
Remember to check that you are self aware, the focus required is small. The result is a big change.
Drops of rain make an ocean.
Comments most welcome, questions on anything you're unsure of, just ask.
Loved the read! Not sure if I missed it or not, but how do you train yourself to become more self aware? Just practice in reality or what?
You start by watching everything you do and questioning yourself on the best option to take. This creates a lot more self awareness which is the difference of knowing you can have a projection or not rembering much.
You can do this anytime.
In essence, it's another very effective reality check? Noticing your thought process, and why you make the decisions you do?
That's exactly it. Its something I do most often.
I look within myself to examine the situation and it works far better than grounding with environmental sensing.
You become so alive, the results give many hyper-real experiences. Your available memories are also very good
There's none of that 'where did I put the keys'? thing we all know so well from the physical. Hours later you find them and think ' oh yeah, that's where...', there's none of this frustration. You just know instantly.