This is an area that really interests me. We spend far to much time trying to get lucid and its like trying to wake up in the morning, should be natural and easy but there is a blockage that I feel is more conditioning that anything else. As I like to say its possible so lets make it probable and a then up the LD sucess rate.
I have 3 lines of thought on where to start and one is from within the dream space and I would break this down into two areas. One ask the DC what to do, really simple but there are communication issues here with their baby talk when they dont want to answer and secondly try to seed some something in your dreams while dreaming for next time in the hope that it will trigger the "aha" moment. I really dislike reality checks for the reason that if I am at the stage of doing one I am lucid and and they can be very difficult.
The other two thoughts are for daily life.
First is to make a habit in some way by association, say I want to remember something like where are my keys. I can put them down on a table or if you are brave under a book in a draw. I can then go past something that I do a lot like the stairs mid way down the hall and each time I go past say to myself "the keys are in the draw in the office under the book" After about 3 passes for me it is in and then each time I go past in the future the thought appears in my mind - it can be annoying and I just cant forget as it is seeded by an action. If there is a way to seed the intent to the dream state from here I dont know but can try.
The 3rd way is one that I feel could produce more success. The dream state appears to be under control of the SC and so the SC needs to be able to be instructed and we need to assume that it will take instruction so we have to show some leadership here as it is a stubborn sort of a thing (directly related to its other half)
There are times during the day when I feel connected, say when I see something in the garden that totally captures my attention, or when I am in tune on my bike riding up a hill and just feel complete. At these times I feel my consciousness and sub-consciousness are in tune for an instant at that time I should simply say aloud and in my mind that (in my next dream I want to be told/made aware.... that I AM DREAMING) make it plain that it is an order.
If you are in tune with you body and mind I feel this may get some results.
What leads me there is that when I am trying for WILD and get to solid HI I will sometimes think in a forceful way (I want to be in the dream state, please put me there) and it will sometimes instantly transit me to a dream.
I also think that SC should be chopped a little and maybe called sub-c and super-c. Sub-c being the interface between waking and sleeping awareness and not involved in the dream content. Thinking this way when we immerse for a day its like using a shotgun to kill a flea and firing it a lot of times because we dont where we are aiming. So a day long immersion will of course hit the Sub-c interface and plant instructions for awareness. In going to sleep and using intent and strong will we are doing the same thing but in a shorter time frame, still trying to hit the mark but a little more focused that's all. The key is to know when the Sub-c is active and able to be imprinted with an instruction.
I want to know how and when this part of us can be used to imprint, I dont think the Sub-c is smart or dumb as that is not the correct concept but it is able to collect or be imprinted with instructions and then we will have the issue of saying "I dont want to LD tonight" as it will be simple as I feel it should be.
I feel the the question we ask (am I dreaming) is wrong and we will get better results by asking (am I asleep or awake) and imprinting this during the day when we feel we are in tune with ourselves. I find in doing this its not long before the question appears and I am being asked. Its at that stage we should start to answer. A simple step by step process.
