You see! This is exactly what I mean. You started to get lucid because you probably programmed your mind earlier to enter the phase. The unconscious part of you was working on the "order" you placed and in this case surprised the conscious part of you. It is probably not what you had in mind because you wanted to catch an awakening in order to experience separation but what matters is that the phase state was delivered to you earlier than expected.
Summerlander, thank you. You have been EXACTLY right. Now I don't know if this is because I am suggestible and my mind is just taking what you are saying as truth, so it complies, or whether there is a science/principle at work here.
On Saturday night, April 7th, I decided I was going to take a break until at least next Thursday. I always wake up between 3 and 3:30 every morning on my own. When I went back to sleep, I was either in an LD, or OBE standing at my bedroom door. I remembered how I wanted to recognize lucidity triggers in the phase, so I took the time to
open my door and ask myself if I was dreaming, being sure to answer "Yes". I was also able to do this with a
flipping on a light switch, so I count that as a success.
I usually do it this way. During the meditation, my mind tends to get lost but I am quite adept at keeping it awake regularly during the process. If you do fall asleep, then have the intention and motivation to catch the next awakening and separate. I must say that when I fall asleep, I don't usually enter the phase upon awakening. With me, it happens while I'm dreaming. If you become lucid while you are dreaming, then there is no point in waking up to separate. Lucid dreaming is being in the phase already.
Something frustrating has started to happen though with my POA. I'm still pursuing phase tail, but the object of my desires has begun to delay me. She will say something like she needs to go get something real quick, or needs me to wait a minute. Things start to degrade and get hazy as soon as that happens. Other women present themselves as alternatives, and if I give in, the reality and control of the experience degrades further.
At one point the bedroom I was in looked completely wrong and though I was trying to rub my hands together and blow on them while trying to will the environment to re-shape to what it was before, it never snapped back into place—so while my POA was to have a hyper-real sexual encounter with specific women, what resulted was nothing like I had planned. What is the best way to "reset" things? Is there a good way to get back to the original phase version of things without re-entry?
When you wake up, get that algorithm upon awakening going straight away and do it robotically!
Go for separation first as your brain is very close to the phase at that stage. In fact, you are probably more immersed in the phase in those first moments of awakening than you might expect.
I'm not sure, but it seems to me that the best way to be successful with separation is to execute it before that final "drop" into your body takes place. Do you experience this "drop" or slight dizziness when waking up, especially from a dream? Is there a particular sign or feeling I should be looking for that is a sure sign that I'm about to wake up so that I can try to stand up from my bed BEFORE it happens? Thanks for your coaching and insights- they are greatly appreciated!
OBE In/OBE Out and LD Vaporizes - March 9th, 2012: As usual, I woke up about 3:15 am, relieved myself, got a drink of water and went back to bed. I went to sleep and the next thing I remember I was aware of who I was, but not much else. I saw black and purple everywhere, and had a vague sense that I had a body, but I could not feel it or determine how it was placed, or even where I was.
I think I reasoned that if this wasn't an opportunity for exploration, I didn't know what was.

Although I had no surroundings in relation to me, I went through the motions of rolling and standing up. I rubbed my hands together and blew on them. Eventually things started to develop, though dimly. I reached my bedroom door but hesitated to leave the room before I had deepened more.
I palpated the door, doorknob, cutouts in the door, etc., but it didn't seem to help. I moved back into my room further to my computer desk and started palpating things there. I remember getting impatient because things were not resolving, and I worried that I would get kicked out of the phase before I could even start my POA— and that is exactly what happened. I woke up, then went back to sleep.
Next I recognized I was dreaming, but had forgotten my POA somehow, or did not have a sense of how to get to my target bedroom, so even though I was aware that I was dreaming, I felt like I was at the mercy of my subconscious. I was presented with a woman from my past that gave me the impression that I should not pursue anything sexual, even though I could feel my body wanting to "settle".
Things get kind of hazy, and I have this dim sense of some sexual sensation, but it was nothing "natural" and was not particularly satisfying. Without sense of a specific will, I fled from that particular situation and found another woman from my past- still not my target, but definitely a woman that I was interested in having sex with.
Unfortunately, this encounter turned into the situation where the encounter was delayed. This woman "had to find something" before we could do anything. It seems like we were trying to locate some kind of electronic device, and before we could locate this and "engage" I woke up.
I went back to sleep one more time hoping for another chance to pursue my POA. I became aware as I was standing on the stairs to a fire escape or something, and I sabotaged myself by considering the possibility that this LD would end as immediately and suddenly as I found myself in it. It ended right then and when i looked at the clock, it was 2 minutes before my 5 am alarm was to go off- just as I had sensed before opening my eyes.
I need to stop being drawn in by these extraneous agendas so I can pursue my POA effectively. I also need to find out how to place myself in the place where I CAN pursue this. I also need to focus more on being in the phase and believing in my continuity there. Finally, to keep my lucidity and keep things under my direction, I need to take advantage of my ability to make things happen.
Why didn't I think of using location skills to quickly find whatever these women were looking for, or creativity to construct them so the search excuse would be over? Anyway, I find it incredible how much activity is happening when I have proclaimed a break from active practice. Exciting times, and I feel I am getting more and more tuned into the experience and entry. Happy Flying!

Harmless as Doves... Wise as Serpents!