Trying to figure out how to do a reality check for my dream sign

Hey guys! I posted this on another board but it seems like it doesn't get as much traffic so I'm going to post in on here. I'm really excited to be able to lucid dream and I've been making a dream journal for about a week now, and literally every dream I've had the house that I grew up in is in it somehow. Sometimes I'll be in a hotel, and I'll walk into one of the rooms and the room will be the living room from my house. I'm never usually at my house, the layouts and rooms are just used in some way. I unfortunately no longer live there, although my grandparents still do and I go there only one day a year. (i'm actually going there saturday)My question is, how can I use a reality check for this particular dream sign? Also, which reality check should I use, or is that more of a subjective answer? Thanks in advance!

Hi, I suggest reality checking not only when you see a dream sign, but when you don't. To become lucid, you don't need a dream sign, because if you're already aware enough of your surroundings (coming from skepticism in real life), you can become lucid any time.

Besides, it's hard to do a reality check in real life if you're never at your house. :P You could possibly do a reality check every time you see a photo of your old house, but that's pretty much an induced dream sign (you're picking up a photo and looking at it), and not a spontaneous one.

do you have any suggestions on how and when to do a reality check then?

Randomly. Don't wait for any signal, because chances are, your dream won't give you a signal. If you have to write notes to yourself reminding you to do a reality check, scrap them after a while because there won't be notes in your dreams. Basically, be skeptical about your surroundings. Observe things more often, and a few times a day, really stop and ask yourself if you're dreaming, then do a reality check.

When you're dreaming, you do things without thinking "why am I doing this?" Instead, you should ask yourself that. The way it works is if you're skeptical enough in real life, it'll pass over into your dreams. :)

Ah cool, i just read your guide and i'm going to start trying some of what that said. How long does it take the average person to begin attaining lucidity using the DILD technique? I know for each person it's different and some people will never even attain it. I was just curious how long it may be before I have a lucid dream realistically?

Using the DILD technique with simple awareness, it took me only 3 or 4 days. But I think that was a short amount of time compared to other people; I've read it can take up to a week, more or less. It depends on the person.

awesome! thanks for your feedback. I had another dream last night that the Spanish-American war took place in my old backyard, but alas, did not become lucid, although at one point in my dream i remember thinking (why is this war taking place in my backyard? huh...)

A good way to attain a habit of reality checking, is every time you wake up. I always do this and it helps with false awakenings (I consider these free LDs). So when you wake up in the middle of the night do a reality check. If you do this every time you open your eyes after sleeping, sooner or later you will end up in a false awakening, or you will dream you are in your bed at some point, and you will conscientiously do a reality check.

Like Puffin said, don't wait for a dream sign to reality check. Do it whenever you think of it. The idea is to train yourself to start paying attention. Pay attention in real life, and pay attention in your dreams. Dream signs can aid in this by helping you to familiarize yourself with your dreams. Making a list of dream signs can help you really pin down what YOUR dreams feel like.

If you are familiar with MILD, you can use your dream sign with it. As you are falling asleep, imagine yourself in your old house performing a reality check and becoming lucid. You can do this during the day, also.