Eamo:
First, I've included the text of our exchange below, in case any curious lurkers want to get the details (I'm assuming that is okay with you, Eamo; let me know if it wasn't. Now:
The trouble is that it might be difficult for someone to RC to their trigger or DS at times (for example, when talking to people or in conversations). I see that they can be done subtly as well, but I guess what I'm wondering is if it would be possible for someone to just “become aware” at these times instead of doing a physical RC -- as it is after all, the awareness you put into RC’s that makes you lucid -- and not the check itself (Although the check might be useful come dreamtime).
I guess the simple answer to this is that you do not have to do a RC every time you get a dreamsign in waking life. If you don't want to feel like an idiot by suddenly, say, poking your palm or searching for a clock in the company of folks who won't get it, then don't do it. RC's are important, but missing one now and then is not a big deal. Now for complexity:
Unless you've become a total creature of habit and do RC's without thinking about them (which is bad), or use an alarm of some sort to remind you to do RC's (which is not part of your question), yes, doing a RC is actually a product of your awareness, of remembering for whatever reason that you are supposed to do one (in waking-life or in dreams). So you would indeed possess a bit of self-awareness at the time of doing a RC, and that is good. But the purpose of the RC, I believe, isn't to create lucidity, but to confirm it. Yes, you can become aware that maybe you are dreaming when you see a dreamsign, but that bit of awareness might not be enough.
Without the physical reinforcement of a RC, that awareness will probably fade quickly, especially if you are in the midst of waking-life distractions. Or, worse, without a physical digression to doing a RC, when you see a dreamsign you will quickly learn to say to yourself, "Oh look, there's my dreamsign! But I know I'm in waking-life right now, so this is not a dream," followed by a return to whatever it was you were doing, dreamsign and the possibility of being in a dream forgotten. And, sure enough, this same thing will happen when you get that dreamsign in a NLD, without a hint of lucidity. Adding a RC to that moment of awareness sustains the moment, and confirms not only your state but your interest in that state. I think that is their real value, especially in the beginning of your lucid journey.
All that said, remember that your RC can involve little more than eye-movement or perhaps a quiet flex of your fingers in your pocket as the, say, squeeze an object you keep there for just this occasion. There is no specific requirement in what you have to do, as long as what it does tests and confirms your state accurately and meaningfully.
tl;dr: If your RC is going to embarrass you, then don't do it at times when embarrassment can happen. Yes, you tend to be elevating your awareness before you RC, but they are still an excellent tool for sustaining and qualifying this awareness. And, again, there are RC's that can be done without others noticing.
Here's the background PM's:
S: First, full disclosure: I have never become lucid from doing a RC during a NLD, and I have almost never used dreamsigns. But that's just me:
E:Thinking about it, dream signs can often be an excellent tool for lucidity, and I assume could be used to heighten the lucid mindset or even act as a good way to create it.
The things is, there are lots of triggers someone could RC to become lucid in a dream, but sometimes an RC isn’t always a possibility -- like looking at hands, checking time, pinching nose etc. especially in public (a concern I think shared by many dreamers ). But given that it’s the self-awareness which you put into the RC that makes you lucid and not the “check” part of the RC, is there really any need to do the physical check IWL when you’re absolutely certain it’s not a dream? Isn’t there any way you could just become more aware, or do you think the actual check is what’s necessary to carry this self-awareness?
I’m not really looking for a way to mentally RC, as I know that probably doesn’t exist -- or else they’re not very effective. And you also said that the RRC is not an effective induction tool in a dream (I know that’s not its purpose anyway) which just leaves me to wonder how you would create this RC self-awareness without the physical, well...RC.
S: Yeah, I've found it kind of amusing the things people do -- or think they must do -- to RC. Your waking life RC can be as simple as looking at your watch, and then looking again, or even picking an insignificant object on the periphery of your vision, looking at it once, looking away, two things that can be done quite subtly. In my case, I wear glasses in waking-life, but never in dreams, so I just touch my glasses to confirm they are still there.
And no, mental RC's are not a good idea, because they allow you to be both lazy and to separate the exercise from the reality you are supposed to be checking. Neither of those things seem very productive.
This is a very good question:
E:But given that it’s the self-awareness which you put into the RC that makes you lucid and not the “check” part of the RC, is there really any need to do the physical check IWL when you’re absolutely certain it’s not a dream? Isn’t there any way you could just become more aware, or do you think the actual check is what’s necessary to carry this self-awareness?
S: But given that it’s the self-awareness which you put into the RC that makes you lucid and not the “check” part of the RC, is there really any need to do the physical check IWL when you’re absolutely certain it’s not a dream? Isn’t there any way you could just become more aware, or do you think the actual check is what’s necessary to carry this self-awareness?
RC's, for me, really are a tool for waking-life mental calisthenics and something that I think is almost always used after you realize in a dream that you are dreaming, meaning self-awareness/lucidity is already present. So I do think RC's are a thing to be done primarily in waking-life, and are only a handy confidence builder during the dream.
Why is there a need to do RC's? Because they give you a moment to step away from the distractions of waking life and remember that you want to be lucid. They are very useful in getting your head in the right place for your daywork, I think. That might be vague, but suffice it to say that RC's are doing more than just confirming your state; or, rather, confirming your state does more for your LD'ing mindset than just telling you if you are dreaming.
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