Reality Checks, tips and advice please

[SkullKid]

I was just wondering what types of reality checks I could do daily. I currently do the nose plug one which has got me a lucid dream before however I was just wondering if you guys had any good RCs I could do. Also i'm struggling to perform my RCs daily, I just keep forgetting. Any tips on how to remember to perform them?

[DaTechnoKing]

Rather than place all your money on RCs, you really should try to gain an overall awareness of the world. By changing your perspective of the world an fully realizing what it is to be awake, your body will tell it's dreaming, and you'll have a higher chance of being lucid. Also, when it does come to reality checks, make sure you really fully question why you aren't dreaming, and why it failed. Retrace your steps as to how you got to that point. Also, do reality checks always after some common event, such as walking through a door. Happy dreaming!

[MadMonkey]

The nose pinch RC is so easy, discreet and reliable that its almost the only one I use. I usually don't need to RC in most of my LDs because I just have a feel for whether I am dreaming or not and the subject only really has to cross my mind. A great way to get into the habit of RCing all the time is to right RC on one of your hands and every time you notice it do an RC. Alternatively you could RC every time you walk through a door. You really have to stop and think about it like TecknoKing said. You don't want to get into the habit of doing half assed RCs.

[Burke]

Some RCs I do include, as you said, the nose plug, as well as checking my hands for extra/missing/deformed fingers, trying to push a finger through my palm, looking at a clock then looking away and then back again (the time usually changes radically), looking at text (it often looked weird and jumbled up), turning lights on/off (not super reliable but sometimes dreams have different effects), and even looking in a mirror (not looking like yourself, any abnormalities). There's many more but those are the most common that I can think of. Normally I just do the hand check/nose plug and sometimes looking at a clock.

[Sivason]

I like adding some non-physical RCs into the mix. I never did the nose-plug, or count fingers thing. Really think about what DaTechnoKing is saying. It is the best advice. It may be harder to grasp than us just listing RCs, but in the end is far more useful. Learn to question the very nature of the events in your life. How do you know you are not dreaming right now? Not because you can not breath if you plug your nose, but because being awake has certain elements you take for granted. Learn to question those things. Here are a couple mental RCs that work on that principle DaTechnoKing brings up. 1) Everytime you go outside, look at the sky. It should look like the sky. Examine it for a second and think, "does that look like a normal sky?" In a dream it may not even be there! Sometimes it will be blank, others times it will be moving around. 2) Every time you see a sign, really look for a second. Ask yourself "can I really understand this sign?" I get lucid alot with that one. In dreams you can almost never really see a clear message on a sign and understand it. You can see the general theme of mental RCs and questioning what it is to be awake. Make up a few of your own or try these. Keep working on the physical one to. These mental ones can be done dozens of times a day, and draw no attention to yourself.