As taught in Vipassana (Goeinka) this is the point of focus to develop before switching one’s attention to scanning the entire body, first outside, then inside. It takes many days of breathing this way to initially develop the focus before scanning. A second Vipassana course, Satipatthana Sutta deals exclusively with The Buddha’s method of Vipassana meditation (link below the chant).
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Thanks to all for this excellent discussion as it has helped me to boil down my thoughts about this topic. I hope nobody minds if I put those boiled down thoughts in to words.
When I first achieved “transformational lucidity” in my dreams I did not use it for entertainment purposes. I never intentionally traveled to exotic places nor did I use it to engage in some of the other more hedonistic activities that get a lot of press at times. Instead, I used it to transform the very nature of my dreams.
I tamed the monsters and calmed the tumultuous plot lines until the nature of the dreams gradually changed. With no more crazy anomalies, I flew from dream scene to dream scene, often times to the surprise of dream characters who would often times just look at me as if to say, “What are you doing, Steve?” According to my journal some actually asked that question out loud.
Eventually I slipped into a pattern of calm observation as nothing required transformation and I felt as if I was tapping into something important. As an aside, that foundational lucidity seemed to seep into my waking state which seems, in turn, to have become a bit more dream-like. 
So here’s the thing…I think that once we achieve dream lucidity it stays with us and slowly becomes just a part of us. It feels as if we are able to bring a measure of that lucidity into all of our dreams. With that foundational lucidity, I think that we gain access to a deeper dimension of the dream state, one that we really can’t quite comprehend but one that contains some sort of primordial wisdom.
I like the idea of being able to “abide in the infinite display of enlightenment’s empty appearance without trying to catch anything or being able to be caught”. I worry that if we squander our lucidity on frivolous games in those dreams we are wasting an opportunity.
Thanks for bearing with me here…I haven’t quite crystalized my thoughts on this and I appreciate everybody’s help with that.
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Good to read about your progress over the past year plus, particularly your willingness to share the ups, downs and sideways you’ve experienced. It’s also good to know your background since there has been so much preparation along the way, which provides a good reference point for your experiences.
I think this may be necessary for many of us who need some confirmations on the path as we go further along this journey. Whether or not we transcend but include them (frivolous games) as Andrew has observed, this is probably directly proportional to the confidence and dedication we develop. Shared ideas lead to shared progress, as evidenced by several NC threads.
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I don’t believe this to be the case 100% of the time. However, I do believe that the Macrocosmic Consciousness becomes much more easily accessible in the dream state. I also believe that the number of ego and conceptual ‘filters’ one carries with them into the dream world will make it much more difficult to gain access to this.
I dont believe that dreams are the only way to access the Infinite Consciousness. I think Trance, Meditation, and The Hypnogogic state all offer ways to tap into this realm.
Andrew said something very interesting in one of his videos, that Buddhas do NOT dream.
This can be taken a number of ways, but I think he was making a point that once all the subconscious and unconscious thoughts and memories have been purified there is just pure awareness.
Is that pure awareness a gift of 100% access to the infinite consciousness in the dream state, or does having that pure Buddha awareness mean you just dream of emptiness, light, or nothing all night long?
I believe it is the former, but I know nothing.