My New Consciousness Designations - States of Mind

[Xanth]

I was dreaming this morning and I came to a realization after I awoke.  I realized that the term "Conscious awareness" just doesn't work when using it to describe anything more than your awareness during a dream, or in any case, it makes it more confusing.  I need a phrase or phrases to make it easier for new people to learn the concepts and a catch all "Conscious Awareness" just doesn't do that, because once you pass into Lucid Dreams and even further, Astral Projections, the term begins to fail.

We dream every night of our lives, yet we don't remember all of them, why?  We have varying levels of consciousness through these dreams... everything from not remembering that a dream ever happened, to remembering bits and pieces of a dream, to remembering every last detail of the dream.

I was thinking about how we "remember" our dreams... and I realized that the dreams I remember most, are the ones in which I was most consciously aware in.  Not consciously aware in that I knew I was dreaming... but consciously aware that I was experiencing the dream AS it was happening.  I call this "Dream Awareness".  Basically, I'm living the dream life as if I was awake and not realizing it's a dream.  I am the actor not realizing he's in a play.  This tends to give me the best chance to remember after I wake.

The next step up from that would be "Lucid Awareness".  This is the point where you know you're dreaming and you know that what is around you is a dreamscape.  You don't have much more awareness than that though.

After that, I'd call it "Astral Awareness".  At this point, you are as wide awake and aware as if you were awake in the physical reality... except you're in the nonphysical.

Also, I believe that the line between Lucid Awareness and Astral Awareness can be very blurred.  Your awareness can float between that range at any one time during the experience.  You'll start off with Lucid Awareness, then muster up Astral Awareness... after some time, you might lose focus and concentration and drop back down to Lucid Awareness.  You could shift back into Dream Awareness too.

For myself, I start off with Dream Awareness, then I'll shift into Lucid Awareness... after that I'll do my conversion to bring forth my Astral Awareness.  Generally what happens after some time in Astral Awareness is that I'll just wake up.

I guess you could say that this is the first thing I now disagree with Frank on!  

http://unlimitedboundaries.ca/2010/10/04/my-new-consciousness-designations/

[personalreality]

I have written a post with a slightly different take on Xanth's new designations.

You can read it on my blog "Shades of Consciousness"

http://nonphysical.wordpress.com/

[Xanth]

Those work great too, PR!

My approach here is to remove these experiences as being something you do or something that happens to you (external)...

For example:
Saying something like, "I had a lucid dream".
To saying, "I experienced lucid awareness".

I believe that it's important to realize that it's your awareness that dictates the experience... not the other way around.

[personalreality]

good call.

[Xanth]

good call.

Thank you. 

Any other opinions?  Ideas?  Thoughts?

[Stookie]

I think there is a reason that there aren't good definable terms. Awareness is awareness. How aware you are at any given moment can vary a lot, regardless of the state of consciousness. To me, your level of "lucid awareness" isn't a lucid dream, it's an almost-but-not-quite lucid dream. Trying to narrow it to 3 definable states boxes it in and might limit the potential of an experience, especially one that can vary a lot depending on the individual. Calling it "astral awareness" seems wrong in that you can have that level of awareness without being in the astral.

Just always shoot for clear, concentrated, focused awareness regardless of "dreaming" or "ap'ing" or "meditating", and even daily physical awareness (you KNOW some people are at 20% or less much of the time), and you'll be covered. Does a half-assed experience really need a definition? Lucid awareness = more work to do.

[personalreality]

i called it "Content Awareness"

but i specified in my post on my blog that we're talking about an infinite continuum of awareness and nailing down any concrete designation is impossible.  these designations are also able to "slide" up and down the continuum to varying degrees. 

[Xanth]

I think there is a reason that there aren't good definable terms. Awareness is awareness. How aware you are at any given moment can vary a lot, regardless of the state of consciousness. To me, your level of "lucid awareness" isn't a lucid dream, it's an almost-but-not-quite lucid dream. Trying to narrow it to 3 definable states boxes it in and might limit the potential of an experience, especially one that can vary a lot depending on the individual. Calling it "astral awareness" seems wrong in that you can have that level of awareness without being in the astral.

Just always shoot for clear, concentrated, focused awareness regardless of "dreaming" or "ap'ing" or "meditating", and even daily physical awareness (you KNOW some people are at 20% or less much of the time), and you'll be covered.

I agree AND I disagree.
I'll explain.

You're viewing these things as being external "experiences".

You're right in that consciousness can range ever so dramatically between each of these "levels", and as PR said, the 'scale' will never be accurate.  But, I feel that, in a manner to teach what is happening to people who come here, I require some form of model.  I mean, Robert Monroe and Frank Kepples models both worked wonders for me and has taken me far beyond anything I'd have even considered prior to them.  However, for me, just saying "Conscious Awareness" didn't cut it... I couldn't say, "well you were 50% consciously aware, so you were lucid dreaming"... cause we both know that kind of scale would be even more meaningless than what I'm putting forth here.

Saying you have "Lucid Awareness" gives someone a better idea of what I'm referring to.

The main point of my original post, and where I disagree with you is where you say "Calling it "astral awareness" seems wrong in that you can have that level of awareness without being in the astral.".  You're saying that the "astral" is a separate place that you're "in".  You're viewing it in that single sentence as somewhere to go to... where, I'm saying it's not somewhere you go... it's something you ARE.

You're not IN a Lucid Dream.
You have Lucid Awareness.

You're not IN the Astral Plane.
You have Astral Awareness.

even...

You're not IN a Dream.
You have Dream Awareness.

There is a massive difference between each of those sets of statements.
I believe that this is where the confusion comes in when people try to define these experiences... they're trying to define them in terms of external solutions.  When really, all they need to do is look within for the answers.  Look towards their OWN CONSCIOUSNESS. 

Does a half-assed experience really need a definition? Lucid awareness = more work to do.

Yup, I certainly do believe that.
I'm one of those people that requires a 'definition' for my experience. 
First, it makes it easier for me to place the experience within my own person... and secondly, it makes it easier to relate my experience to others wishing to either learn from it, or just simply understand it.

[personalreality]

I think you could even say that you have become astral awareness as if astral awareness were an entirely different self than waking awareness (which has infitine variations as well)

[Xanth]

Exactly.

Actually...
I'm gonna refer to these as my new "States of Mind".

And yes, "Waking Awareness" should be added in there as well!
Thank you Personalreality. 

[Stookie]

You're viewing these things as being external "experiences".

I understand the spectrum of consciousness, that it's all happening within consciousness, that the astral isn't a "place" etc.  This is an good example of how definitions of these things fail because of the number of variables that aren't definable or change from person to person.

If the person you're talking to doesn't understand what consciousness is from outside their conceptual or scientific view, everything else falls apart. And not many people you come across, especially beginners, have had the opportunity to experience "consciousness" for what it is. I don't even know how to describe what that experience would be called.

I'm one of those people that requires a 'definition' for my experience.

If you keep putting finely-tuned definitions on your experiences you could possibly be limiting yourself in the future. Franks stuff got me going, but when it halted I had to ignore a lot of his advice, especially regarding energy, chakras, & vibrations. I guess I can see for beginners how it might help them understand something they haven't yet experienced, but as I've gained experience I've had to drop the whole focus models because they don't always fit in with my experiences anymore. I've outgrown my expectations as a beginner and need something bigger, something that's not so definable. I can use them on the physical level to describe my experience to others, but as you probably noticed, I don't describe very many of my experiences, for this very reason. I don't want people to have preconceived notions, I'd rather them think through and evaluate their own. And we have more than enough available information to get people going on their own without a glossary.

If you want to describe the level of awareness, why not on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest. Then you can have an astral projection with 70% awareness without having to call it a "semi-lucid-astral-awareness-shift".

Wouldn't "waking awareness" and "astral awareness" be the same thing? Like they should happen from about 8-10 on my scale of awareness? The difference being where along the spectrum of consciousness awareness is focused (not "where" they are). (I guess a "10" would really be "super-consciousness", beyond physical and ego experience).

I'm not meaning to knock your definitions, it's just they don't fit my experience (or maybe just concepts) regarding these things. And I guess that's where we all vary and need to learn in different ways. It's cool you've found yours... for now. Keep an open mind - it'll keep changing and evolving as you progress.

[Xanth]

To each our own, I guess.
I mean, I'm okay with you calling it a "tomato" and me calling it a "tomoto".   
It's how we go about and understand things, different paths... same mountain.

And yes, you're right "waking awareness" would be the same as "astral awareness"... it might not apply in a scale of "non-physical" awareness.
Since "waking awareness" would only refer to the physical.

See Stookie!  You've already helped with these designations.   
Thank you.

I tried at one point to use a %... as I said in one of my previous posts, I tried saying something like, 50% conscious awareness... but I feel that opens up more questions than it does answer things.

And now I'm realizing that these "States of Mind" are actually separately defined as per the "Focus Levels".
As I just relayed in the IRC chat to folks there... one can have a "Dream Awareness" and be within "Focus 1 oC" at the same time, we call it a "False Awakening".  That's the kind of connection that helps me understand all this stuff. 

[personalreality]

"semi-lucid-astral-awareness-shift"

i'm keeping that.  i don't know how i'm gonna use it yet, but i will.

[Stookie]

i'm keeping that.  i don't know how i'm gonna use it yet, but i will.

When you're trying to confuse the crap out of someone?

[personalreality]

lol, yea.  it just sounds to fun to pass up.

[Xanth]

LOL 

[Stookie]

Cool. I'm going to go for a super-aware-double-lucid-astral-shift on my lunch break today.
With an extra splash of vodka and a twist of lemon.