Dee Miller:
Recently I noticed I am able to remain conscious if I fall asleep while performing choiceless awareness. I usually continue to meditate, and it seems to be productive. However, I lose consciousness after half an hour or so.
Is there any way to lengthen the time I'm able to remain conscious?
Well, what you're talking about in terms of consciousness during sleep borders on lucid dreaming. I've experienced lucid dreaming, and compared to the former its main quality seems more vibrant and alive (brightness of colors and qualia in general) than remaining conscious during sleep. Similarly to conscious sleep, it is susceptible to one's own will as far as dream content is concerned rather than being at the mercy of the subconscious mind to direct. In other words, few, if any, nightmare situations. Any ill or threat in the dream state can be easily corrected in lucid dreaming through being consciously aware of the direction of the content and consciously changing that direction.
I have also experienced what might be termed "consciousness during sleep." It might also be termed "mindfulness during sleep." And I say that last because I usually provide the mind with a resolution before I go to sleep that I will rest peacefully and wake up refreshed, alert, focused, and mindful. Often when I do this, I seem to be conscious throughout the night (especially if I am well rested from the previous sleep cycle, as opposed to not being so) even if there are dreams occurring. I even catch myself working on problems I've been thinking about during the day, and sometimes arrive as some good solutions.
So, you might try making a conscious resolution before nodding off to sleep to "remain mindful throughout the night" and see what results you achieve.
